Caroline Crachami (d. 1824)
Reproduction
Object numberRCSSC/P 252
CollectionSpecial collections
CategoryVisual works
Object nameSeckel Syndrome, Oil paintings, Portraits
TitleCaroline Crachami (d. 1824)
DescriptionDouble portrait of Caroline Crachami (d.1824), known as the 'Sicilian Fairy', by John James Chalon, unsigned, 1826.
These sketches were made from memory two years after Crachami's death, and as a result the sharpness of the facial features is probably exaggerated. The portrait was formerly attributed to Alfred Chalon (1780-1860), but was in fact the work of his brother, John James Chalon (1778-1854), who enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1796 and from 1800 exhibited oils at the Academy. He worked in both oils and watercolours, producing landscapes and also figure and subject pictures. Together with his brother he founded the Society for the Study of Epic and Pastoral Design in 1808 (later the Chalon Sketching Society). Chalon was elected ARA in 1827 and RA in 1841.
This portrait, as well as the skeleton of Caroline Crachami, were referred to by the American physician and anthropologist Helmut Seckel in his 1960 book on 'Bird-headed dwarfs'.
Production date 1826
Artist
Sitter/subject
presented
Related objectsRCSHM/Osteo. 227
Physical Location
Location
Not on public display: contact museum for access conditions
Physical Information
Physical descriptionOil on canvas, 56cm by 47cm.
Bibliography
SourceSeckel 1960
64-70
NotesSeckel reproduces descriptions of Crachami from earlier sources, including a table of osteometric measurements. The portrait is reproduced as Figure 30.
