Doherty, Agnes (McKechnie Section 1)

See also Section Six

Known from a series of full-length silhouettes of Roman Catholic priests in their clerical robes. (Some examples, on which the sitter’s face is rendered in flesh tints and full contour, are discussed in Section Six).

Most of the silhouettes were inscribed with the names of the sitter and of the place in which the silhouette was taken. The places include Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Salford, and Lane End. Because the sitters are in clerical dress, with full insignia, the dates are difficult to assess, but the profiles were probably produced during the 1840s or 1850s.

The silhouettes were cut from black paper, roughly painted in coarse gold. The strokes with which the hair was indicated, for instance, were rather sparse, although some trouble was taken to show the ornamentation on the robes. The profiles varied considerably in size; the illustrated example is smaller than most of them. All the silhouettes in this one (the illustrated example) were signed. The wording of the signature, ‘Agnes Doherty – Artist’, suggests that the profilist considered herself a professional.

Ill. 345