Revolutionary subjects silhouette portraits

Greetings old friends and new. Best wishes for everyone’s New Year and a hearty welcome to every surviving thing made in 1923 to the world of antiques.

Pick this up at a thrift store today. I can see it’s age after opening it up and the extremely fine, what appears to be varnish is so thin and fragile, if I look at a piece to long it simply crumbles (this actually happened). The frame is obviously late 20th and seems to have been a last ditch attemp to save. The age is there, how much is the real question. I would love to know if anyone can identify the subjects and/or help with the artist, which I have not been able to find anything about. Artwork appears above average for older silhouettes, but I am far from having knowledge on this.

Two interesting observations, is the lady’s eyelash seems to be exposed by the, what I only think was varnish, yet the gentleman’s hair above his head seems to be gone. Ponders .

note; the last two photo was before I took it out of the frame. Most of the dirty film was on the inside. Cleaned and resealed no issues.

Hope for any and all information and opinions.

 

I found a reference to a P. Archer. I don't know if there is a relationship between your silhouette and this drawing.

FWG 02684 - 03116 Illustrations up to A3 - Images and documents (millsarchive.org)

 

I was having a terrible time navigating that site. I'm not sure at all but I think this is a P. Archer entry. So this is all I could bring up. I think it's a right entry but don't really know. Doesn't remind me of a silhouette too much.
https://catalogue.millsarchive.org/...ancestor=30794&topLod=0&view=card&onlyMedia=1


Reference code
DRW-01-004
Title
Shipley Mill
Date(s)

• c 1975 (Creation)

Level of description


Item

Extent and medium
1 drawing

Name of creator
Archer, P
Name of creator
Wharrier, P
Name of creator
Acton, M

Repository
Mills Archive
Scope and content
Tracing; 545x750; Ink; Section; Brighton College of Art 03-008 and 10-002; P Archer, P Wharrier, M Acton

 

The nature of the signing and the rendering of hair and lace make me think this is more likely 20th century. Maybe someone decided to preserve a transparency?

The question is: are the silhouettes on the background paper or on that front layer of whatever it is?

 

You did better than I did. You're right the site isn't conducive to ease of understanding the reference material. For once the signature is readable but I couldn't find a single other reference for art of any kind.

 

Thank you, I came up with a lot less . The site is very vague but it give me something to dig. I can not find the image you show???

 

I think those are newer rather than older too.

Debora

 

Thanks too, if this is the same Archer, a 1975 creation date falls in line with MoS’s(thanks) opinion. Just not sure yet it the artist are the same. I appreciate what you all are giving me.

 

If they were newer, wouldn’t it be more likely to be a well known subject’s?

 

Go to the link and scroll up until you get the header. Then click on his collection and it will give you the screen shots of the pieces.

 

I think they're fantasy pieces. Evoking Georgian portraits but no specific individual. Are they done directly on the plastic film or on the paper underneath?

Debora

 

Colonial Couples seem to be perennially perennial.

 

Just for the fun of it, I took the male silhouette and lightened the very bottom dark strip, where I often look for signatures, and came up with MOSTLY unreadable, and may have no reference to his portrait either, but my efforts below at any rate....DH was a US History teacher (long since retired!) but he didn't see resemblance to anyone...........at any rate.....I couldn't enlarge the writing much as it REALLY became unreadable then........

​

 

Agree, between the lady’s eyelash beneath the film and the man’s hair above his forehead missing I can’t tell. Even with this in my hands,

 

Thank you for trying, and I appreciate Mr DH’s time​

 

@mmarco102, AND on HER side....maybe just an artist's note, as it's not done with ink... just impressed.....as you can faintly see it above in your 3rd image down!

​

 

Thanks, will get out the loupe and have a look.

 

In looking at the female silhouette around her eye and upper lip, it tends to look, to me at least, like the drawing was done on the background, and someone might have put something like a Vellum over them to maybe try and preserve them, but then they got exposed to sunlight, causing the cracking????? Is the cracked film STUCK to the portraits here & there??? Very perplexing....if you have an Art Museum near you that does conservation work, I'd take it there and see what they have to say about it!!! Good luck with it & would love to hear what an expert says if you do have it examined!!!!