Isabel O'Daly
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Teodoro Vidal Collection
Accession Number
1996.91.2
Tags
About this artwork
José Campeche made this portrait of Isabel O'Daly (1772-1840) when she was thirty-six years old. Isabel was the daughter of Thomas O'Daly, an Irish engineer who came to San Juan in 1765 to complete the massive fortifications of the city. Campeche had a gift for painting the effects of light and shadow, and his naturalistic modeling captured the indentation above Isabel's upper lip and the prominence of her chin.
Art Historical Context
In 1808, Puerto Rican artist José Campeche y Jordán captured poised elegance of Isabel O'Daly this striking waist-length portrait, now housed in the Smithsonian American Art's Teodoro Vidal Collection At thirty-six years old, Isabel the daughter of Thomas O'D, an Irish engineer who in San Juan in 5 to bolster the city's formidable Spanish colonial fortifications. This painting offers a window into early 19th-century Puerto Rico, blending European influences with local Creole identity during a time of imperial expansion and engineering feats that shaped the island's defenses. Campeche's master...