tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32023327744712878822024-03-13T04:09:36.103-07:00Gilbert StuartTHE WORLD OF SAMUEL MEEKER, MERCHANT OF PHILADELPHIA, AND GILBERT STUART, AMERICAN PORTRAIT ARTISTStimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.comBlogger213125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-57393080151559907802021-04-02T10:30:00.005-07:002021-04-02T10:44:42.058-07:00Samuel Meeker's cousin and business partner: More on Wm Parsons Meeker. He was indeed married!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhwHdrS3dy1SSYW9sXIsYYubn-oOwNrk6oJ9Zm3HgDVCRmcviQbYhORKcWX8Ru5BLSdSjhL_RPr1uzuH-uBRUAyOoNVIAYPX4UeSfEJb7mn6XtOTNLnOQ7X7Hp3q7ak8wk2CGI9w9pbE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="400" data-original-width="328" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIhwHdrS3dy1SSYW9sXIsYYubn-oOwNrk6oJ9Zm3HgDVCRmcviQbYhORKcWX8Ru5BLSdSjhL_RPr1uzuH-uBRUAyOoNVIAYPX4UeSfEJb7mn6XtOTNLnOQ7X7Hp3q7ak8wk2CGI9w9pbE/w328-h400/image.png" width="328" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dj0UqXMnynUU2Y4OSK_BwuwZYmj6BHiF-N43tybDU0ZUKD1pCvLRk2f89XSqyrqDK1GqYqWzw3Dj0PIb7MW-LYCBVC_424caUt4oN7V4w4seQHnSDET5yKscXOSiiVplQT0hyTWNCtA/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1387" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dj0UqXMnynUU2Y4OSK_BwuwZYmj6BHiF-N43tybDU0ZUKD1pCvLRk2f89XSqyrqDK1GqYqWzw3Dj0PIb7MW-LYCBVC_424caUt4oN7V4w4seQHnSDET5yKscXOSiiVplQT0hyTWNCtA/" width="208" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><b>William Parsons Meeker, also a sitter for Gilbert Stuart </b></span></h2><div>I have been in touch with a descedent of Samuel's cousin and business partner William Parsons Meeker. William handled the business side of things in England, organizing items to be shipped from London to Philadelphia ["<a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/search?q=william+parsons+meeker"><span style="color: #01ffff;">dry goods and hardware</span>"</a>], to be retailed to Philly customers. My thought is that he went back and forth (probably rarely, how often did retail businessmen from America sail between London and Philadelphia, the hazardous trip could take anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 months), did he carry on two lives? It seems that William met his demise, at sea as a younger man, during the War of 1812 with England. As an American, he perhaps was no longer welcome in England. It was a tragic time for both nations, negatively impacting the economies of both countries (in particular import/export, through shipping). Here is more information on William Meeker from my "distant" cousin. More input is welcome at any time, from you Meekers out there. It was thought that he was unmarried, but that has been shown to be false.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;">Terry's discovery that an ancestor of hers was painted by Stuart was exciting, </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: medium;">as it would be to anyone!</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #ffa400;">She, like me, delved into the STORIES of our Meeker ancestry. Terry wrote the excerpt below.</span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Regarding the Gilbert Stuart blog by Elizabeth Ahrens:</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">I read and felt your excitement in 2008 at finding the portrait of your ancestor Samuel Meeker (1763-1831) painted by non other than Gilbert Stuart in 1803. As an Australian, I needed to read about Stuart to appreciate the artist’s following in America. Seemingly, his greatness was evident and his artistic merits were in part due to the nature of many of his clientele – The ‘wealthy and/or famous’.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">My own excitement arose when I read that Samuel’s cousin, William Parsons Meeker (1769-1812) was also painted by Stuart and there it was, William’s portrait right in front of my eyes. I have to admit that it wasn’t the greatness of the artist nor the attributes of many of the sitters that aroused my emotions. You see, William was my 3-x great grandfather. I had done a lot of background reading about the Meekers in America, starting with the progenitor William (Goodman) Meeker who arrived there about 1635. Samuel and William were descendants (and first cousins) of William (Goodman) Meeker.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">William’s parents were Matthias (1744-1832) and Jane Parsons (1746-1814). Matthias Meeker was famous in his own right. He, Rev. J. Arsdalen and Matthias Denman organised residents of Springfield, NJ to discuss how to help those people who were seeking refuge from Yellow fever. That particular epidemic killed 5000 Philadelphians. It was decided to offer asylum and a hospital to those who were affected.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">A sentence written by Elizabeth Ahrens on her blog related to Gilbert Stuart caught my eye; ‘<i>William Parson Meeker, he never married’</i>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>It wasn’t the first time that I had seen this statement about William. I have written a biography of my family’s history. In it, I have shown that William did in fact marry during his time spent working as a merchant in England in the early 1800s.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">William’s portrait presents a handsome young man, yet, apparently, Stuart never beautified his sitters. It’s easy to understand then then why an English lady, named Elizabeth Vandenbrant would find Mr. William Parsons Meeker an attractive gentleman, fall in love, and marry him, and then have his child in January 1810.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">One has to ask why is William presented as a childless bachelor in death (1812); and how do I know otherwise? We can assume that Willian hadn’t told anyone ‘back home’ that he had married or fathered a son. Do we know if he actually travelled ‘back home’? To date, there isn’t any evidence suggest that he did so.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Likewise, we haven’t found a specific marriage record for William. However, there is ample documentation to support our proposal that he and Elizabeth married. Parish baptismal records show William and Elizabeth Meeker as parents for a son.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">When their son married in 1836, he and his wife Charlotte Callan made William Parson a grandfather for 11 children. From those 11 children then are descendants such as myself, settled throughout the globe.</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">William Parsons and Samuel Denman (based in America) were declared bankrupt in London in 1808. Dividends due to creditors were still being played out in court when he died in 1812. Perhaps he was returning home to sort out his financial difficulties when he died at sea in 1812?</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">There’s plenty more to William Parson Meeker’s story as presented by Dr. Terry Joyce PhD (Australia) and Pam Prior (England).</span></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Correspondence: <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>doctor.terry60@yahoo.gov.au</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p></div>StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-82043914065762537602020-12-13T10:58:00.004-08:002020-12-13T12:34:58.934-08:00It is Sad ....when.... [portrait of Elizabeth Hammond Dorsey]<p><span style="font-size: medium;">It is very sad, when a Gilbert Stuart portrait leaves the family to which it belongs.</span></p><p>I am faced with that question as well.... will my daughter appreciate my Stuart portrait of Samuel Meeker, does it fit with "millenial decor" in any way at all? The Meeker portrait belongs, perhaps, in old colonial homes of PA, where it might sit with other portraits of the same time period, in a special place on a special wall....where the family can point to past portraits of their family ancestry! Or it belongs in the <a href="https://www.moaf.org/">Philadelphia Museum of Finance.</a> Where it can be admired, and be part of the financial history of this nation.</p><p>Is this what has happened to the portrait of Mrs. Hammond Dorsey? That she does not fit with the family decor? This portrait is to be auctioned later this week, at Bonhams. It is an oil on panel, and the <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">provenance</span> </span><span style="font-size: medium;">is from the sitter by descent to the present owner</span><span style="font-size: large;">. </span></p><p>The sitter is beautiful, but note that Stuart does not make her nose less hooked. The master painter refused to beutify his sitters. Stuart also painted Elizabeth's father who was Secretary of War in George Washington's administration. Pickering won election to represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate in 1803. Elizabeth (1793-1819) and Hammond Dorsey (1790-1823) were married in Baltimore in 1815. The Dorsey family was a prominent plantation family of MD, Hammond Dorsey was born on the "manorial estate" of "Belmont" built in 1738, where his father grew up. Unfortunately a sister inherited the estate. But the father owned many estates and Hammond inherited wealth. "<a href="https://archive.org/stream/annearundelgentr00newm_0/annearundelgentr00newm_0_djvu.txt">The lands of Caleb Dorsey on Curtis Creek were later found to contain valuable deposits of iron ore which were expooited and became the nucleus for the affluence of this branch of the Dorsey family.</a>" It seems Elizabeth died at a young age, the pair had one daughter born in October 1818. The daughter Mary inherited the family wealth, and married a first cousin.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Mrs. Elizabeth Hammond Dorsey is </b><b>seated three-quarter-length, in a white dress with an ermine-trimmed robe</b><b>, the portrait was </b><b>possibly commissioned by the sitter's brother. They were the children of Senator Timothy Pickering (1745-1829).</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Mrs. Elizabeth Hammond Dorsey</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Gilbert Stuart </b></p><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img alt="Image of Gilbert Stuart" height="311" src="https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.mutualart.com%2FImages%2F2020_11%2F25%2F14%2F145442953%2F716d2f72-ec59-4dc6-bac4-27abfe953128_338.Jpeg&t=1607891536&ymreqid=83cc8a97-e603-e05a-1c32-850001014900&sig=Fi_9v4scLHlKhbLK59q49Q--~D" style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #338fe9; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: auto !important; max-height: 280px; max-width: 235px; text-indent: -9999px; width: initial;" width="249" /></div></div><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-df809afb-7fff-af78-c055-d76246e63e40"><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #3d3d3b; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p>StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-5035564585116125372019-09-01T08:15:00.000-07:002019-09-01T16:00:54.594-07:00Can you help determine if this was painted by Gilbert Stuart?I received this question with a photo of a portrait.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtPibcAe944l0Gv1zs_DwPYfDr_UuZ0JN9SjwxvIZM90P0W7UG10i3DRUudwuEh3FCKFGeD8oCuEwMQ936ZtxL_KS0LE9ixUYnqTU4BUFs-Am6l-m7jPCih0B7JGKaEdc6rJmxcoFb8c/s1600/1565537754047-01.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1428" data-original-width="1191" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtPibcAe944l0Gv1zs_DwPYfDr_UuZ0JN9SjwxvIZM90P0W7UG10i3DRUudwuEh3FCKFGeD8oCuEwMQ936ZtxL_KS0LE9ixUYnqTU4BUFs-Am6l-m7jPCih0B7JGKaEdc6rJmxcoFb8c/s400/1565537754047-01.jpeg" width="332" /></a></div>
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My answer; Do you know the history of the painting (how it passed into your hands). Do you know who it is?<br />
These are the #1 questions that one should know. The majority of Stuart paintings are known and have been catalogued and if not in the catalogues (such as Lawrence Park volumes) & found at a later time, the portrait is added to the list known by the Stuart experts (such as my Meeker painting). As a Stuart portrait commanded a high sum of money, his sitters were generally from the upper classes; those who could afford his prices and who were often well-known in society (elite society being rather more closed and rarified in these early days). Stuart was famous during his lifetime, having painted commissions of George Washington, etc. These portraits would be handed down from generation to generation and treasured by the family, hanging in a place of prominence.<br />
Knowing who the sitter is in a portrait is evidence of the portrait being handed down. It also can provide a time line of when the portrait was done, also a clue to whether the portrait is a Stuart.<br />
The portrait above is a very good portrait, so I was very interested in the answer to my two questions.<br />
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However, I had already determined that this portrait was not a Stuart. It is a magnificent portrait. It shows a female half turned to the viewer sitting in an upholstered round backed chair, with no embellishment to her looks (Stuart famously did not beautify female looks often leading to disgruntlement). The flashes and dashes of color bring out the accents in her clothing, which could be from the time of Stuart or thereabouts. The background surrounding the sitter is a simple dark blend. However as Stuart once claimed "a portrait of mine is my signature." This portrait does not have his signature, neither figuratively nor literally (he did not sign his portraits.) The flesh tones do not shine with Stuart's deft touch, the overall impression is flatness of color. The second arm of the sitter in this portrait is not convincing, it has an oddness. Stuart had a formula for pricing. If the portrait included one arm and hand, the hand usually was holding something that indicated a clue as to the sitter's profession or interest. This portrait with the extra effort would be more expensive. Meeker is holding some papers, indicating his profession as a merchant.<br />
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The writer's answer confirmed my thoughts for the most part. "I had just picked it up at an outdoor flea market this morning. I know nothing about it. The seller had cleaned out a local estate, but knew nothing of the prior owners."<br />
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Thus the identity of this woman, once important enough in the family to have a great portrait of herself done, is now lost to her descendents. If she had been a Stuart, she would be hanging proudly either in a great residence, or a museum. But our writer has a fine portrait, a great piece of art. Does anyone know who she is?<br />
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-38256684913993553772019-01-15T14:41:00.000-08:002019-01-16T15:11:01.896-08:00Fascinating, fine & finished; the Stuart portrait of Joseph Brant. Could there be another as of yet undiscovered Stuart portrait of this most famous native North American?<div>
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During the American Revolutionary war, American native Indian populations were forced to chose sides between the Americans and the British. Joseph Brant (1743-1807), also known by his Mohawk name of Thayendanegea, became one of the most well known American Native military and political leaders of his time. Brant chose to side with the British, who promised to protect Indian lands from American settlers who were pushing deeper and deeper into Indian Territory.</div>
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Through his intellectual ability, charm and opportunity (his sister was the consort of Sir William Johnson the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs), Brant rose through the British military ranks—becoming a prominent leader of Indian forces allied to the British in a number of critical Revolutionary war fights.</div>
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At the same time through his social abilities and elegant language skills he rose to social prominence in English society. In London to lobby for the protection of Mohawk lands in North America, he was presented at court to George III. He became an instant celebrity and received reassurances of protection for his peoples and their lands. His portraits were commissioned by the British aristocracy. Although he seems to have worn “Anglo clothing” in his daily life, he adopted “Indian dress” in his portraits (full Iroquois chieftain garb, in one portrait by George Romney holding a tomahawk). </div>
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From <b><i>Gilbert Stuart, The Metropolitan Museum of Art</i></b> by Carrie Rebora Barratt and Ellen G. Miles p 71 on the portrait of Brant commissioned by the Duke of Northumberland:</div>
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“Stuart gave Brant a fully modeled visage projecting the strong characterization for which he had become so well known. The limpid eyes, strong nose, resolute mouth, and slightly flaccid jawline describe a man of intelligent determination capable of conciliatory debate. The clothing maintains his nationality and his dignity; over his open collar shirt a cape of small joined silver rings encircles his shoulders, a wide sliver armband is on his right biceps, and four silver bracelets are on his exposed right wrist. …. The silver ornamentation conveys his high rank; some of it was costume embellishment, but most pieces would have been ceremonial gifts. Tied around his neck he wears the gorget from George III on a blue satin ribbon and hanging below that, a medallion portrait of the king in an imposing brass locket. He is, by Stuart’s brush, the exemplification of the savage and noble, an Iroquois statesman ornamented by the British.”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLg4vHnbc0-cPWE5kOHqP0OI8XrVDh6P_lQvqhwPU5jGTM-hK5CWtwBMq0BcTPjsJqN8FmWgSSkqyxsCTy3sBEnuFnC5eicbE9MregIk_I7tRJheJ3K0gDeOe3UEGjHqON0twYKPhPvo/s1600/Brant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLg4vHnbc0-cPWE5kOHqP0OI8XrVDh6P_lQvqhwPU5jGTM-hK5CWtwBMq0BcTPjsJqN8FmWgSSkqyxsCTy3sBEnuFnC5eicbE9MregIk_I7tRJheJ3K0gDeOe3UEGjHqON0twYKPhPvo/s400/Brant.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Joseph Brant by Gilbert Stuart 1786</div>
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<i> <span style="font-size: x-small;">23 1/2 x 24 in oil on canvas</span></i></div>
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<i>The Northumberland Estates, Alnwick Castle,</i></div>
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<i>Collection of the Duke of Northumberland</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYz_RlJ-klt1y-eICR0WOAa72agD6cFcXINjvlYfi_Vnr4je8une7lln_vfL1jKa6pZxJp4NFc650cWvX3mmcsSsM6sAdHNZ3E4jeICAUnMIKqk4PMpKY1jIxP2s0hlAVe1Yk3W90v7k/s1600/edited+Brant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="389" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoYz_RlJ-klt1y-eICR0WOAa72agD6cFcXINjvlYfi_Vnr4je8une7lln_vfL1jKa6pZxJp4NFc650cWvX3mmcsSsM6sAdHNZ3E4jeICAUnMIKqk4PMpKY1jIxP2s0hlAVe1Yk3W90v7k/s320/edited+Brant.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
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A reader of this blog has sent a photo of a portrait of J. Brant (above), and asks if it might be an original Stuart. He lists a few reasons why he thinks it might be.</div>
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"I am sending you some images of Joseph Brant that I would appreciate you looking at. I came across your blog while researching this painting. I do realize that he is the most painted and copied native in the world but I do feel there is a possibilty it could be by Stuart.</div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">bought at auction in Paris Ontario (next town to Brantford)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">on panel which I've heard he did if it was going to Upper Canada due to conditions</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Label on back from framing co. operated from 1886 to 1891 in Leeds England</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">it is 11 1/2 by 14"</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">I believe I see blue shades in the skin</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="color: lime; font-size: x-large;">****</span></b></i><br />
<i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This would be a copy of a portrait of Brant, 30 x 25, now held at the Fenimore Art Mueseum, Cooperstown, N.Y (thought to be an original). Could his be a Stuart original copy, the reader wants to explore the possibility.....</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>My take, with the help of my portraitist consultant.</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
This portrait is definitely a copy of the Stuart portrait now at the Fenimore Art Museum (considered to be original, in my opinion it does not look to be a Stuart original. This portrait is not currently used by the experts when discussing Stuart's portrait of Brant). But is it an original copy done by Stuart himself? He is known to have made copies of his own portraits.<br />
The fact that it was sold in a town near Brantford is not special, as Brant was able to settle his people in this area after the British loss to the American rebels. The town was named in honor of this most celebrated warrior/diplomat. But Stuart was the reigning king of portraits (then and now), and to make a copy of his style & of a portrait done by him would be common.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li>the first significant clue when determining whether a portrait is done by Stuart (he did not sign his portraits) is the famed Stuart coloring and rendering of the skin tones. When comparing the two portraits above, the facial coloring of my reader's portrait is flat and one-dimensional without any demonstration of Stuart's ability to create the brilliant translucence and transparent hues in the skin tones. The reader's portrait seems to be a predominantly orangish color, but that could be the photography.</li>
<li>Stuart also uses dashes of this translucence in other more minor features; such as in buttons, lace, or in the case of the Northumberland Stuart portrait above, the "joined silver rings", and in the other ornaments decorating the warrior. The copyist makes a stab at a similar effort without much success.</li>
<li>in the words of my consultant "the painter copied the picture without understanding the anatomy of the face." The facial structure is squattish, flat and disproportionate.</li>
<li>Stuart did make copies of his originals. The most famous of his numerous copies are those of George Washington; this was a means to make more money on a portrait that was highly in demand at the time. Although Brant was a well-known figure, he was celebrated only in England and not in America where he was seen as a vicious enemy--thus negating the theory that Stuart would make copies of this portrait in order to increase his income. The size of this portrait is not in keeping with Stuart practice. The copies that Stuart produced were eerily similar to the original, in style, content, and size. He sold them for an exorbitant price.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Conclusion: This portrait sent by my reader is a nice/very good.... but amateur copy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;">***</span></div>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_AvYWCoAW-MoAXbjkRzBQzcTC1JEi51CrFFVh1sf3hgqcaB5lAA-NSAwVl8gJICkFSHIKQzysDJ1YZgn6jPUGgww6lGpsB0gQwGpK9DUy5S3uYCttZzREPX8DUHUGgN2Oj1loQ1umkE/s1600/brant+tomahawk.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_AvYWCoAW-MoAXbjkRzBQzcTC1JEi51CrFFVh1sf3hgqcaB5lAA-NSAwVl8gJICkFSHIKQzysDJ1YZgn6jPUGgww6lGpsB0gQwGpK9DUy5S3uYCttZzREPX8DUHUGgN2Oj1loQ1umkE/s400/brant+tomahawk.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Portrait of Joseph Brant 1776 by George Romney, oil on canvas, 50 x 39 in. <br />
<b>The</b> <b>National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa</b><br />
In his right hand is the tomahawk. The Earl of Warwick commissioned this portrait.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><span style="color: orange; font-weight: bold;">For more posts on BRANT</span> <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2009/04/joseph-brant-and-events-leading-up-to.html"><span style="color: orange;"><b>click here</b></span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;">and </span><a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2009/04/major-samuel-meeker-continued.html" style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: orange;">here</span></a><span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"> ---</span><span style="color: #e69138;">(at this time I thought that my Stuart portrait was of </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #e69138; font-size: medium;"><b>"Major Samuel Meeker" who in fact is known to have skirmished with Brant.)</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b>***</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="lotdetail-description" style="background-color: white;">
<div class="lotdetail-description" style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; text-transform: none;">
<i>there is an update to the ownership of this portrait: it was sold in July of 2014</i><br />
<div class="lotdetail-designation" style="color: #353530; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 18px;">
"BY ORDER OF THE 12TH DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND AND THE TRUSTEES OF THE NORTHUMBERLAND ESTATES":</div>
<div class="lotdetail-guarantee" style="color: #353530; font-family: "Mercury Display 4r", Mercury, serif; font-size: 25px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 2px; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Gilbert Stuart---<span style="font-family: "benton" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">PORTRAIT OF THE MOHAWK CHIEFTAIN THAYENDANEGEA, KNOWN AS JOSEPH BRANT </span><span style="font-family: "benton" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic;">(1742–1807)</span></div>
</div>
<br />
<section class="lotdetail-estimate filter" style="color: #353530; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 0px; text-transform: none;"><div class="estimate" style="border-bottom: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline-block; line-height: 2; margin-bottom: 0px;">
<div class="lotdetail-estimate-wrap" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 10px; vertical-align: top;">
<div class="left-section" style="display: inline-block;">
<strong>Estimate</strong><span class="range-from" data-range-from="1000000">1,000,000</span> — <span class="range-to" data-range-to="1500000">1,500,000</span> </div>
<div class="pull-right" style="display: inline-block; float: none; vertical-align: top;">
<div class="dropdown currency-dropdown inline" data-default-currency="GBP" style="display: inline-block; position: relative;">
<strong style="color: #a47f1a; display: inline-block;">LOT SOLD.</strong><span style="color: #a47f1a;"> 4,114,500 GBP</span><span class="curr-convert" data-orig-currency="GBP" data-price="4114500" style="color: #a47f1a;"></span><span style="color: #a47f1a;"> </span></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section></div>
<h3 class="lotdetail-section-sub-header" style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22.75px; line-height: 40px; margin: 10px 0px; text-align: left; text-transform: none;">
<span style="font-family: "mercury display 6r" , "mercury" , serif; font-size: 16px; padding-right: 20px; text-transform: uppercase;">PROVENANCE </span></h3>
<div class="readmore-content" data-id="0" data-lotitemid="6RK33" data-sale-number="L14033" style="width: 658px;">
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; text-align: left; text-transform: none;">
Commissioned in 1786 by Hugh Percy, 2nd<span style="font-size: 9.75px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Duke of Northumberland (1742-1817);</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By descent to his son, Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland (1785–1847);</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By inheritance to his brother, Algernon Percy, 4th Duke of Northumberland (1792–1865);</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By inheritance to his cousin, George Percy, 5th Duke of Northumberland (1778–1867);</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By descent to his son, Algernon George Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland (1810–1899);</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By descent to his son, Henry George Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland (1846–1918);</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By descent to his son Alan Ian Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland (1880–1930), who married Helen Gordon-Lennox (1886–1965), daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond;</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By descent to their second son, Hugh Algernon Percy (1914–1988), who succeeded his brother, the 9th Duke, as 10th Duke of Northumberland in 1940, after he was killed in action whilst serving with the Grenadier Guards during the retreat to Dunkirk;</div>
</div>
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; margin-bottom: 10px; text-transform: none;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
By descent to his son, Henry Alan Walter Richard Percy, 11th Duke of Northumberland (1953–1995);</div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10px;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="color: #353530; font-family: benton, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; text-transform: none;">
By inheritance to his brother, Ralph George Algernon Percy, 12th and present Duke of Northumberland (b. 1956), the current owner.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-11980977075359401192018-10-04T09:28:00.000-07:002018-10-04T20:11:00.810-07:00A Previously-Unpublished Gilbert Stuart Portrait of Emily, Duchess of Leinster <br />
<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">(this post is pressented by Jeanne Grimsby)</span></b></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Gilbert Stuart was born
in Rhode Island in 1755 and moved to Scotland in 1771 at the age of 16 to study
with Cosmo Alexander. Following the death of Alexander, Stuart returned to
Rhode Island in 1773. He moved to England in 1775. There, he developed a
successful career but was plagued by financial difficulties that caused him to
flee to Ireland in 1787. He remained in Ireland until 1793, when he again fled
mounting debt and returned to the United States. During his time in Ireland, he
painted these portraits of the Second Duke of Leinster, and of the Dukes’s
mother, the Dowager Duchess of Leinster.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">In 1787, the year he
arrived in Ireland, Stuart painted this portrait of William Robert Fitzgerald,
Second Duke of Leinster, wearing the Order of Saint Patrick:</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGIfqLj0CvGQf1IHtmDE9oIOqbnPk9ZZkYUV_DwuQMiMTMAQOtD6QLlt1Q3cfQL4wEhPWnb9qeA8lDfqc2_v67dhvOk97e9sL7hzF3iYfUuGL3yYz6L3WjvI2YHoymUoy4sisGFI1Dic/s1600/Gilbert_Stuart_%25281755-1829%2529_-_Portrait_of_William_Robert_Fitzgerald%252C_2nd_Duke_of_Leinster++web%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="596" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGIfqLj0CvGQf1IHtmDE9oIOqbnPk9ZZkYUV_DwuQMiMTMAQOtD6QLlt1Q3cfQL4wEhPWnb9qeA8lDfqc2_v67dhvOk97e9sL7hzF3iYfUuGL3yYz6L3WjvI2YHoymUoy4sisGFI1Dic/s320/Gilbert_Stuart_%25281755-1829%2529_-_Portrait_of_William_Robert_Fitzgerald%252C_2nd_Duke_of_Leinster++web%2529+%25281%2529.jpg" width="264" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Formerly the property of
the Montclair Art Museum, it was sold in 2010 to benefit the Acquisition
Endowment Fund.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><b>Stuart’s Portrait of
Emily, Duchess of Leinster </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Five years after painting his portrait of the Second
Duke of Leinster, Stuart painted this previously-unpublished portrait of his
mother. Emily [Lady Emilia Mary Lennox], the Dowager Duchess of Leinster was a woman whose life was even
more eventful than Stuart’s own. Born in 1731, Emily was the second of the
famous Lennox sisters, daughters of Charles Lennox, Second Duke of Richmond,
and illegitimately descended from King Charles II of England. At fifteen, she
married James FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare, and went to live in Ireland. The
marriage was a happy one despite Lord Kildare's constant infidelities, and the
couple had nineteen children. After the death of Lord Kildare in 1773, the
Duchess caused a sensation by marrying her children's tutor, William Ogilvie,
with whom she had begun an affair some years earlier. Ogilvie was the natural
father of her youngest son from her first marriage. A further three children
were born to them after their marriage. Twelve of her 22 children predeceased
her. She died on 27 March 1814 in Grosvenor Square, London.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0All1lBvh8Upbl0zTUOYtvFYcxV3UboR9gjHkesGwIzQs1dW8fsiBUhpEuKAqy1Az_RHB980pcQWssuBgO0nFk6pM3vskdzsQHb6Vr22a1VSt8mETWIMGIlIRelgHkTYnbQT84ivWIxo/s1600/WHOLE+PAINTING+web.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0All1lBvh8Upbl0zTUOYtvFYcxV3UboR9gjHkesGwIzQs1dW8fsiBUhpEuKAqy1Az_RHB980pcQWssuBgO0nFk6pM3vskdzsQHb6Vr22a1VSt8mETWIMGIlIRelgHkTYnbQT84ivWIxo/s640/WHOLE+PAINTING+web.jpg" width="520" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">The simple
background includes the suggestion of a chair with red damask upholstery. The
sitter’s hands are summarily indicated as a pinkish blur in the lower left. The
supposed date of c.1792 begs the question of Stuart’s completion of the costume
and background, as he left many unfinished portraits behind when he fled from
Ireland in 1793. However, the cursory nature of the work in those areas would
seem to suggest that Stuart completed this painting himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Until 1952, this painting was in the collection at
Oakly Park, Celbridge, Co Kildare, once the home of Sarah Lennox, Emily’s
sister. It was sold in 1952 by Tormeys Auction Rooms Dublin in an estate
dispersal. The painting descended in the family of the purchaser until about
2002. It was bought from a London dealer by the current owner.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">***</span></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFr-5nuAeumWYlL9eI-uX667vxGlAvdCW-2yJmM14Suw78HIr03y2lr1FEn7m1GrJFDgtgEFrnbv3nco3WRmlQjEMNjt4ms9W_ftXHxXlTuItNRrLA7fZW3qXrkohG0XNLL7hRVQKBC98/s1600/emily+lennox+artist+unknown.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFr-5nuAeumWYlL9eI-uX667vxGlAvdCW-2yJmM14Suw78HIr03y2lr1FEn7m1GrJFDgtgEFrnbv3nco3WRmlQjEMNjt4ms9W_ftXHxXlTuItNRrLA7fZW3qXrkohG0XNLL7hRVQKBC98/s400/emily+lennox+artist+unknown.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">a portrait of a young Lady EMILY LENNOX</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">artist unknown</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">[The Stuart portraits mentioned here are not listed in the Lawrence Park volumes. However, Edward, Lord Fitzgerald (1763-1798) is. Stuart often painted extended family members. The portrait of young Edward depicts a dashing modern young man. He is also a son of Emily. Watch for this upcoming post!] </span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-18023021701790293082018-04-18T08:11:00.000-07:002018-08-01T20:36:52.072-07:00Captain Wiliam Locker is up for auction, the claim is that it is an original copy by Stuart of his own original. He did make copies....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Captain William Locker was active in the British naval service beginning in 1746, served with distinction in the 1860s, married an Admiral's daughter, and was promoted to captain in 1768. He took command of different frigates and during this period one of his lieutenants was the nineteen year old Horatio Nelson. Locker's teachings had a lasting effect on Nelson.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Locker continued to serve England during times of conflict with France and Spain. In 1793 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Greenwich Hospital.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
From Lawrence Park:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
London c 1785, Canvas 34 x 30 inches. Half length, turned three quarters to the left, with his brown eyes directed to the spectator. His sparse white hair is tied in a queue bow, and he wears a naval uniform coat of dark blue with white facings and gold braid and buttons, and a white stock. The plain background is dark brown.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
FROM: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Greenwich Hospital Collection</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This one is considered and known as an original Gilbert Stuart.</div>
<span style="font-family: CeraPRO-Regular; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM_Eb0sfcZTILtRF5wSB-UqJlnpMwBCw8tmzkZwhIULMbF-Hiw2CZ_p_fznJns_fFPewK1oIzUYvDUTKWkf5b34Im0ag__t6sOs6AjC5Bcpd3XNgxf3TBldiRXBctgMRqfggyFLrziGQ/s1600/william+locker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1002" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzM_Eb0sfcZTILtRF5wSB-UqJlnpMwBCw8tmzkZwhIULMbF-Hiw2CZ_p_fznJns_fFPewK1oIzUYvDUTKWkf5b34Im0ag__t6sOs6AjC5Bcpd3XNgxf3TBldiRXBctgMRqfggyFLrziGQ/s640/william+locker.jpg" width="534" /></a></div>
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</div>
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<br /></div>
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****</div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now up for auction at "Freeman's" on April 25 is, a stated original Stuart COPY of this portrait by the master, for 25,000. to 35,000. USD : seen just below.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Notes on this portrait indicate that according to tradition, Stuart painted this copy of his portrait of Captain Locker at the request of Locker's daughter. Stuart's original work of 1785 is in the collection of the Maritime Art Museum, Greenwich, as seen above. Lawrence Park does not mention a copy of this painting by Gilbert Stuart; he would have mentioned an original Stuart copy if there was one...</div>
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The provenance states:</div>
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"From the family collection of a Philadelphia Gentleman."</div>
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The copy is too good for me to determine whether it is an original Stuart or not. We know he made copies of his Washington portrait. Unfortunately he never signed his portraits.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJymz-_JUVXCXqFHwvTePVDP6zsfPvqM1A50xs-sqiE-tnwXQlp_kpn1LSfmThx2x7yMdyefNse1017QYuUzAtCwOoA0J1nyfv5esA8ky1nFWXKL0ZlBsP_z5q1y_0ho587udXO0L6xSc/s1600/a+copy+william+locker.Jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="570" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJymz-_JUVXCXqFHwvTePVDP6zsfPvqM1A50xs-sqiE-tnwXQlp_kpn1LSfmThx2x7yMdyefNse1017QYuUzAtCwOoA0J1nyfv5esA8ky1nFWXKL0ZlBsP_z5q1y_0ho587udXO0L6xSc/s640/a+copy+william+locker.Jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Wait there is ANOTHER copy! This one is at the Nelson Society. Here the portrait is definitely a la Stuart, but the clouds are again different and the painting is not attributed to Stuart.</div>
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Captain William Locker was famous in his time. These portraits are all excellent in providing us a likeness of the captain.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYZdphZXJMMvJXtfKxu1AQPRjkiVGX5de3Z-QVHsnpmCxsJqtHr3OqE7RzZE9WXIkd7c7pOIXW7hyphenhyphency7svgTe8tr7AGFkRCBSavn8LWx2e0uHlmfLsOswzhptxaQ_zouB3YG7PCPh_u8/s1600/aaa+locker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="374" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYZdphZXJMMvJXtfKxu1AQPRjkiVGX5de3Z-QVHsnpmCxsJqtHr3OqE7RzZE9WXIkd7c7pOIXW7hyphenhyphency7svgTe8tr7AGFkRCBSavn8LWx2e0uHlmfLsOswzhptxaQ_zouB3YG7PCPh_u8/s320/aaa+locker.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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The portrait below is interesting as it shows Cap Locker at an older age. The painter is not known.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkT45EjQGuSdyAH36Gf0ZSV5P9oSs6qBJF_BeY1qVwSvGi4y2BrkCunk9WpZtArjcysUxubjizRR-pmUKGvpNf6b_2vyHE-NHciXrCHJjySPsUNol6uhm2wdwKuPN4_qsfQS2wzwGxd60/s1600/Captain_William_Locker+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1056" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkT45EjQGuSdyAH36Gf0ZSV5P9oSs6qBJF_BeY1qVwSvGi4y2BrkCunk9WpZtArjcysUxubjizRR-pmUKGvpNf6b_2vyHE-NHciXrCHJjySPsUNol6uhm2wdwKuPN4_qsfQS2wzwGxd60/s320/Captain_William_Locker+%25282%2529.jpg" width="264" /></a></div>
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From my favorite (living) portrait painter.... her comments on this particular post I agree with completely. </div>
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Jeanne wrote "I just came across your April 18 blog post. What a magnificent painting that first one is. Absolutely wonderful. It reminds me of your own Stuart in its strength. The other two are a mystery. They are Stuart-like yet much weaker in execution. What seems odd to me is that the faces are so exactly alike that the second and third almost could be traced from the original, yet the coloring is very different -- it makes the sitter look much older. The backgrounds are not typical for him either, I don't think. Darn that man for never signing anything."</div>
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MORE FROM JEANNE: </div>
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Rereading your post, Park's description <b>[see Lawrence Park description above]</b> seems not to fit any of the three portraits of William Locker:</div>
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Both of the portrais in which Locker is shown in uniform have sky backgrounds. In the portrait with the brown background, he was not in uniform. Makes you wonder whether Park was relying on secondhand information. Or there is a fourth painting, or the one in the Maritime Museum was overpainted.</div>
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The portrait of Locker as an older man was by Lemuel Francis Abbott-- there is an interesting wikipedia article about him.</div>
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To me the coloring of the painting in the Maritime Museum looks more like Abbott's work.</div>
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<span style="color: #990000; text-align: center;">****</span></div>
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Perhaps the painting seen and described by Lawrence Park....is missing? We are LOOKING FOR A NAVAL UNIFORM & a PLAIN BROWN BACKGROUND !</div>
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I wonder if the Maritime Museum portrait is an original Stuart. Usually his men have ruddy cheeks, the coloring is so drab!</div>
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<span style="color: #990000;">****</span></div>
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<br />StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-65115977334487940732017-12-31T09:54:00.003-08:002017-12-31T09:54:37.892-08:00 Attributed Gilbert Stuart, 1756-1828. Portrait of a seated lady.This portrait, attributed to Gilbert Stuart, was sold at auction (William Bunch Auctions) this month. The estimated price was $4000.00 to $6000.00. It only sold for $1300.00. Can a genuine Stuart sell for such a minimal price? Is it genuine? The description for the portrait also includes: "Signed in pencil along with pencil sketch on back." Highly unusual, and suspect.<br />
The provenance, "from the estate of former PA William W. Scranton." is also sketchy. My opinion on the authenticity of the portrait all things considered?<br />
It has the style of a Stuart and is a beautiful portrait, but does not have the exquisite Stuart flair. Stuart exclaimed that his signature was the entire portrait itself.... hmmmm. I do not think it is genuine.<br />
But I could be wrong!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0UhooA6QNck4VQ4l1DK14GOjC-3CbGP1zJ2hA15VsJCSbEYWLmfWDjsFQGCGIR829VMJlqSI2pjAMme_Nw4tnCKTRzOnxtNcm1O0gB2sz47gCZEpwy4k_eZMWGvEmFMfjXnJReG970w/s1600/portrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1334" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0UhooA6QNck4VQ4l1DK14GOjC-3CbGP1zJ2hA15VsJCSbEYWLmfWDjsFQGCGIR829VMJlqSI2pjAMme_Nw4tnCKTRzOnxtNcm1O0gB2sz47gCZEpwy4k_eZMWGvEmFMfjXnJReG970w/s320/portrait.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-7445322582390066392017-03-04T10:56:00.000-08:002017-03-04T14:57:48.470-08:00Is Janet's portrait of Washington by GS? portraits of George Washington (and Meeker) &.... When Stuart was Really Interested in a male face...<b>See post previous to this, for backgound on Janet's portrait of President George Washington.</b><br />
After leaving America to make a name for himself in London and Dublin (1775-1793), Stuart returned and for the rest of his life painted in New York, Philadelphia, Washington DC, spending his last days in Boston. He left NY for Philadelphia with the express intent to paint George Washington in person. Philadelphia, when he arrived in 1794, was the temporary capital of the US from 1790 to 1800. Besides his by now well established reputation as a fine portrait painter, through familial contacts he was well placed to move among the elite economic and political circles. A letter of introduction to the President from John Jay (first Chief Justice of the United States, a Founding Father) led to an invitation to visit.<br />
Stuart painted only three portraits with live sittings, painting afterwards at least 100 replications of these works. Most are based on the Athenaeum portrait, called <i>The Athenaeum. </i> This unfinished work (which also includes wife Martha in a separate portrait) is one of Stuart's most celebrated portraits, although unfinished.<br />
Stuart painted Washington in 1795 when the Pres. was 63.<br />
Stuart asked permission to keep <i>The Athenaeum </i>to fulfill commissions for replicas (providing a steady income--and not requiring the President to sit for any commissioned portraits, which the President did not like to do.) The President saw the advantage for Stuart in keeping the original and thought it a great idea for the artist to keep it.<br />
In the post just previous to this one, Janet asked about whether her portrait of George Washington might be a Gilbert Stuart. So now you, the reader, knows that the majority of portraits of GW painted by Stuart were based on <i>The Athenaeum.</i><br />
Thus, an answer to this question would be to present portraits here, and let you decide. Some easy things to look for: The age of Janet's portrait seems to be within the realm of possibility, as does the background of reddish brown curtain sweeping over the shoulder. The detail photo depicting the neckcloth appears to distort the chin somewhat, that should be discounted (ie a bad photo). The costume is correct; but does the neckcloth itself show the bright swerving dashes of alternating dark and light characteristic to GS's treatment of the jabot ( ruffle on the front of the shirt.)? A common GS detail is a light spray of white on the shoulder of the jacket (for his earlier male portraits when men wore their hair in this style) indicating some of the powder which has floated off the hair. The proportionality of the facial features in Janet's portrait seems to be correct. All in all her portrait captures the likeness of Washington and is a fine portrait. But.......IS the portrait by the MASTER? <br />
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Below Samuel Meeker's portrait from the Philadelphia period</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"But when he was really interested in a male face, he painted with that compound of insight, sympathy, and scientific detachment which is the ideal of modern biographers."</span> </b> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>On Desperate Seas</i> by James Thomas Flexner </span> ---A BIOGRAPHY of Gilbert Stuart<br />
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One might ask, was Stuart interested in the person of Samuel Meeker? Can you see Meeker's personality? Does the portrait somehow reflect a calm personality, wisdom, kindness? </div>
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How does the master acheive that?! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiqwnd_IQ62bAVRUWl8l2h7-U6zRDsdeH1Nfd3K2VnuwA1PAZJg_AgYD612iVOfuJP4ZBzPPY2BpZz3p7EBd11bikV3WfZqPDyyIpqaSAOsuHONBySrY2GYCnVbSe7Wu3C2y81Nse2MsY/s1600/Meeker+three-quarter+length.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiqwnd_IQ62bAVRUWl8l2h7-U6zRDsdeH1Nfd3K2VnuwA1PAZJg_AgYD612iVOfuJP4ZBzPPY2BpZz3p7EBd11bikV3WfZqPDyyIpqaSAOsuHONBySrY2GYCnVbSe7Wu3C2y81Nse2MsY/s640/Meeker+three-quarter+length.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh402eXa_Hv7WTtNFTu3FRy9S9kwPs5ay316hrlEkpTahVf62VozNyVdAt6YkyU61pEIExESar6UAjlVL5smZ8-8SXYaDMl6tqHozgVekt9hYAQdPNTsSMmGSBmw2K6RAcndZqR_pX_VYI/s1600/aaBeths+GW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh402eXa_Hv7WTtNFTu3FRy9S9kwPs5ay316hrlEkpTahVf62VozNyVdAt6YkyU61pEIExESar6UAjlVL5smZ8-8SXYaDMl6tqHozgVekt9hYAQdPNTsSMmGSBmw2K6RAcndZqR_pX_VYI/s640/aaBeths+GW.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
the unfinished <i>Athenaeum</i>, kept by the artist until his death to make additional GW portraits<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmA_95thAJH6DTMr9H3rZgyS6Cwn2dRir4s0Tp6n9wW16-08JCqdk4ERDWEYqjEchgZDznCGGwv5W61jLMXE-ymMdIzwjqaw0p9cZrvc6Xr97fHwW2cwHo4ESgUhI4pwxHs7doeqN7a4/s1600/GW+athen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-41257XDjDgxoeWtZO_VKCG1cRW9sPftgGj7UOBTf0HYNxbxbb0n7a-HaWGV1PgfUQd_2mS8FSnr8He9Uoc8eqnql-iydyHPeB55CtLEGj6qPg8R_7QlThsQaVkrpeA2Dpmc76jhwJKE/s1600/George-Washington-%2528The-Gibbs-Channing-Avery-Portrait%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-41257XDjDgxoeWtZO_VKCG1cRW9sPftgGj7UOBTf0HYNxbxbb0n7a-HaWGV1PgfUQd_2mS8FSnr8He9Uoc8eqnql-iydyHPeB55CtLEGj6qPg8R_7QlThsQaVkrpeA2Dpmc76jhwJKE/s320/George-Washington-%2528The-Gibbs-Channing-Avery-Portrait%2529.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">The Gibbs-Channing-Avery Portrait at the MET</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MB_3sHTn-KlUx8G7WhxKgq7As7scXR8-3cTSmC0k9fX93rb1CwOPbhLZ1nzya1oSzVdzF-yQ_6FbYCQW_iIFt8eMGmZz2nO2q-BV52FUyd3sKJziEzvCsmn9wdM1npLPkKYitoFZpVM/s1600/AA+janets+george.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MB_3sHTn-KlUx8G7WhxKgq7As7scXR8-3cTSmC0k9fX93rb1CwOPbhLZ1nzya1oSzVdzF-yQ_6FbYCQW_iIFt8eMGmZz2nO2q-BV52FUyd3sKJziEzvCsmn9wdM1npLPkKYitoFZpVM/s320/AA+janets+george.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><b>Janet's unsigned George Washington portrait.</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tZ6IeZdjNgm-9LiwHEsmudOo7xOmIex2LxXGv49Vrw1nVLhUNOs0WlaF97EZ3EC_X1oRxSKzwJejuJJzpZnrM3uO5zBqAqBXwNkhWuGTbEzpQUTa3PmGxIvNAQmHSidw7SybSINrVh4/s1600/AA+jabot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-tZ6IeZdjNgm-9LiwHEsmudOo7xOmIex2LxXGv49Vrw1nVLhUNOs0WlaF97EZ3EC_X1oRxSKzwJejuJJzpZnrM3uO5zBqAqBXwNkhWuGTbEzpQUTa3PmGxIvNAQmHSidw7SybSINrVh4/s320/AA+jabot.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Skin hues are not subtle and lack the renowned inner vibrancy, flesh tints and transition areas are rough without use of the creamy, subtle light dark shading, & masterful coloring </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">the hair/jabot without characteristic dashes of brilliant structure, shoulders seem disproportionately thin, the portrait lacks the typical Stuart "photographic likeness", enabling the viewer to study the sitter's personality</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">lips/chin lack firm realism, as does the shadowing of the beard (see Meeker) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">As I wrote Janet, the portrait is decisively NOT a Stuart. </span></li>
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2011/10/whodunnit-was-it-stuart-continued-what.html">Here is another example of a portrait</a> that may or may have been done by Stuart.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">With comments from the expert</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2016/05/stuarts-pigments-and-paint-application.html">for Stuart's pigments and paint application click here</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;"><u>A NEW BIO OF GEORGE WASHINGTON</u></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">"<b>George Washington: The Wonder of the Age</b>" by John Rhodehamel </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>"This sympathetic, though not uncritical, account of the first president's journey from minor Tidewater gentry to mythic statesman is crisply written, admirably concise and never superficial. As a brief acount of Washington's life, it is unlikely to be surpassed for many years." </i>review by F. Bordewich</span><br />
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-24975547722280184032017-02-26T08:18:00.001-08:002017-02-26T08:21:51.089-08:00Is this portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart??<br />
Our master is known for his portraits of George Washington; thanks to this we can have a vivid image of what our most famous American, our Founding Father, looked like. Of course you all know that Washington had a set of false teeth after suffering from bad dental health for years, so this had the effect of molding the shape of his lips...Note that he is never depicted smiling. Washington was inaugurated for his first term as President in 1789.<br />
Being President, certainly Washington would be the subject of many portraits of the day. And our Gibby did not sign his works. Can it be easily discerned which are true Stuart portraits? Can we abide by Stuart's "stated" signature, that the portrait in its entirety is his signature?<br />
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Janet has sent me photos of a portrait along with a note containing a bit of background:<br />
"My husband and I own a very early oil painting of George Washington. We have owned it for many many years. My husband purchased it from an art dealer in Massachusetts I am guessing 20-30 years ago. He is almost 85 so not exactly sure. We are not familiar with art other than a few that we have owned for our own enjoyment. If I send you a picture of it can you give me any information about it? It is not signed. I recently tried to find out about early oil paintings by Gilbert Stuart. It would be a miracle if it were by him. It is wonderful and we do love it! Please let me know if you are willing to take a look at it....I read you told a man to send you a picture to verify IF it could be by Gilbert Stuart...."<br />
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MY ANSWER AND MORE ABOUT STUART'S WASHINGTON PORTRAITS IN THE NEXT POST<br />
the unsigned portrait in its frame, detail of the face, and detail of the neckcloth<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1N7SLs-Ryq3T8PnUWC1lVV3Vzuy57hHg_YX1Pt6ZT6QZoOVbIuFXCg3TnvL6ihiHQWEYCtVW81sh0fAjjzQFgQ7shxY8ADzjkq6AchVe7SdlK6o2nKfEzaucIFeeptSSbK6sTavqbagU/s1600/IMG_1710.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBLuO3pySvJKsQrJLyKgr_5finbOA3nOjkYQqnyzHknmB_Mb71Iu77Zt6HPGKQKn09yx6_VSWb0WR2tUYK0Ih6yoAHtqVKvt2USdBvMT8fMFYTjmp1h_7SeZdrwx4MRNVxet8ilBbUE8/s1600/IMG_1712.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBLuO3pySvJKsQrJLyKgr_5finbOA3nOjkYQqnyzHknmB_Mb71Iu77Zt6HPGKQKn09yx6_VSWb0WR2tUYK0Ih6yoAHtqVKvt2USdBvMT8fMFYTjmp1h_7SeZdrwx4MRNVxet8ilBbUE8/s320/IMG_1712.JPG" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1N7SLs-Ryq3T8PnUWC1lVV3Vzuy57hHg_YX1Pt6ZT6QZoOVbIuFXCg3TnvL6ihiHQWEYCtVW81sh0fAjjzQFgQ7shxY8ADzjkq6AchVe7SdlK6o2nKfEzaucIFeeptSSbK6sTavqbagU/s320/IMG_1710.JPG" width="320" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg6mfBWqx75q0nSawqdJIHvhsJF1wgvt-t_U4wV1cWXIkgkXvVTRSQUpgieBWK2dEbzifr-9ZbVu3glom2YlDiJ7xzHV3aZEQwP4YfgCQ23BysxypLpQLGZ6G5_EbAqqbuiD3J0k9cpI/s1600/IMG_1708.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimg6mfBWqx75q0nSawqdJIHvhsJF1wgvt-t_U4wV1cWXIkgkXvVTRSQUpgieBWK2dEbzifr-9ZbVu3glom2YlDiJ7xzHV3aZEQwP4YfgCQ23BysxypLpQLGZ6G5_EbAqqbuiD3J0k9cpI/s320/IMG_1708.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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Here is another George Washington, is it by Gilbert Stuart? for a post on this<a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/search?q=pastel"> Click on this link:</a><br />
If there are other portraits of G.W., please send them (photos) to me bethjena at gmail<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgK9ghE2He6gIIdwhcnv-IDEakrDaw9DSV9_M9qP7xzwJhcNoOKYz_2E-F4AVOy__f7C0oW_PpT7TPy7RP1gp7LrrB132is2d6FeV1bZj_VdGQN7gRtyrpZwOS0Ktyep4lwzejkSoosE/s1600/AA+Geroge+Washington+Pastel+%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtgK9ghE2He6gIIdwhcnv-IDEakrDaw9DSV9_M9qP7xzwJhcNoOKYz_2E-F4AVOy__f7C0oW_PpT7TPy7RP1gp7LrrB132is2d6FeV1bZj_VdGQN7gRtyrpZwOS0Ktyep4lwzejkSoosE/s320/AA+Geroge+Washington+Pastel+%25285%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-3284679308554379132016-10-12T16:37:00.000-07:002016-10-12T16:37:42.846-07:00Fine copies of Stuart are also floating about; Mrs Luke White and her Son, Lawrence Park thought the copy he was looking at was originalGilbert was in Dublin for nearly six years (1787-93). As a reminder he had left America to find his fortune in London (and escape the War of Independence) arriving in 1775 nearly destitute and without friends or patrons. {It is possible that Stuart had thought he had found a rich patron in Dublin, the Duke of Rutland, but the Duke died about a month after Stuart's arrival.} It is thought that Luke White was among his first sitters in Dublin. Elizabeth was his first wife, she bore him seven children.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>On Oct 5 the Stuart portrait of Mrs Luke White and her son was auctioned at the Doyle Auction House of New York. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A portrait Of Mrs. White is listed in Lawrence Park; #903</b></span></div>
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*************<i><b>from the Park Volume</b></i><br />
MRS. LUKE WHITE d. 1799<br />
AND HER SON<br />
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Elizabeth de la Maziere, of Dublin, Ireland. In 1781 she married Luke White. According to family tradition, the boy in this double-portrait is her fourth and youngest son, Henry (1798-1873) who was created Baron Annaly in 1863, in which case the picture was painted later than 1790, but it is imossible to establish this with certainty, as a living descendent expresses the opinion that the child might be her second son, Samuel.<br />
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Dublin, c.1790. Shown at half-length, Mrs. White is seated, turned half-way to the right, with her hazel eyes directed at the spectator. She has a wealth of hair, powdered gray, and she is dressed in a white dress, with a pale yellow silk shawl over her shoulders and arms. A black velvet ribbon encircles her neck. On her lap she holds her small boy, who has long, blond har and whose gray eyes are directed at the spectator. He presses his head to his mother's cheek, is turned half-way to the left, and puts his left hand on his mother's shoulder. He is dressed in a white dress with large ruffled collar and a pink sash. The background shows trees, sketched in brown, to the left and above the figures, and a distant landscape of hills and sky in blue and yellowish-pink at the right.<br />
This double-portrait has the same history as the companion picture of Luke White by Stuart. It is now owned by Henry Reinhardt & Son, NY.<br />
<b>The present Lord Annaly owns a copy of this picture, and another copy was sold at the auction of Lord Massy's belongings in 1916 to a furniture dealer. Who painted these copies is unknown.</b><br />
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<b>This is the portrait of Mrs.White auctioned on Oct 5 </b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOELKUm_byYy314hVmWWq7gzijBTt1miXWYkn-NZpIFsNkdErcm2KDZf1mHUrt4jBt-C0fxMxCwWQCynukZ5lSJ8tuNlpBhgYJD6bV0K7-S-DfyIR3jeDty-C218nMi8VNllTt9ydiWA/s1600/aaa+Mrs+Luke+white.Jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOELKUm_byYy314hVmWWq7gzijBTt1miXWYkn-NZpIFsNkdErcm2KDZf1mHUrt4jBt-C0fxMxCwWQCynukZ5lSJ8tuNlpBhgYJD6bV0K7-S-DfyIR3jeDty-C218nMi8VNllTt9ydiWA/s400/aaa+Mrs+Luke+white.Jpeg" width="333" /></a></div>
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Thus, Lawrence Park indicates that there exists in fact 3 portraits of Mrs. Luke and her son (note that this one does not have the landscape touches mentioned by Park). Lawrence clearly thought that the one he was looking at was the original.... but the auction house declares that the portrait it auctioned on Oct 5, was a copy, BY STUART, of the original Stuart! (thus an original Stuart)<br />
This is getting confusing~<br />
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<b>From Doyle Auction House:</b><br />
<b>**</b><br />
Provenance:<br />
By descent in the White family in Ireland<br />
Scott & Fowles, NY, acquired from the above, 1920<br />
Ehrich Galleries, NY, 1930<br />
Mrs. James B. Higgin, NY, acquired from the above<br />
Wildenstein and Newhouse Gallery, NY, by 1932<br />
Leroy Ireland, acquired at auction, c 1940<br />
Ernest Closuit, Fort Worth, TX, acquired from the above, 1944<br />
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, acquired from the above, 1959<br />
Morton Kornreich, Harrison, NY, c 1980<br />
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A label on the back of the auctioned portrait describes the work and identifies Wildenstein/Newhouse as part of the provenance, and indicates that the other related portrait is at the Toledo Museum of Art.<br />
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A portrait described by Lawrence Park (no.903) as the original from which Stuart painted the present work, presently in the permanent collection of the Toledo Museum of Art, is now believed to be a copy. It appears that the location of the original double portrait is unknown.<br />
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<b>Well, to my eye, the portrait that was auctioned, looks to be a Stuart original. But, where is the ...original original...? The #903 portrait from Park (see below) shows hands that are perfect; Stuart did not particularly like doing hands....But, if it is not a Stuart, it is a beautiful, magnificent copy, at least the black and white image. And Park was convinced apparently that it was original.</b><br />
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<b>The person who would know the authenticity of these portraits would be Carrie Barratt, who has the most up-to-date accounting of all Stuart portraits. But looks to me like Doyle House auctioned a genuine Stuart. A reputable auction house would give the most latest accurate information on a portrait. Lawrence Park shows an unfinished portrait of these two, #904, which must be considered the original, then Stuart used this unfinished portrait to complete the final painting. Apparently this unfinished portrait has not been located.</b><br />
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<b>#903 Mrs. Like White and her Son in the Lawrence Park Volumes (my photograph)</b></div>
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<b>This portrait is "AFTER" Stuart</b></div>
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<b>but ....Park thought it was original.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRv7SCCuYCg-GYz0QH79R9pYTAZS5WFZV1bT93GjqwVp2E-EDyTxwEfydjoQjVlI-zxDmbb2eZ8A7OKyCt1HVRq_Vvpden2iWJky5m0Hm4ZCggfElQbvrqXl5Yjs8zDEER8oCK_8NaM0/s1600/aaa+white+%252819%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRv7SCCuYCg-GYz0QH79R9pYTAZS5WFZV1bT93GjqwVp2E-EDyTxwEfydjoQjVlI-zxDmbb2eZ8A7OKyCt1HVRq_Vvpden2iWJky5m0Hm4ZCggfElQbvrqXl5Yjs8zDEER8oCK_8NaM0/s640/aaa+white+%252819%2529.jpg" width="492" /></a></div>
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<b>The Stuart portrait of Mrs White was sold for $43,750.00. The estimate was $20,000.- $40,000.</b><br />
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<br />StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-19792061470981623442016-09-30T09:22:00.000-07:002016-09-30T09:22:11.215-07:00Regarding authenticity, the difference between "by" and "after" Gilbert Stuart when considering a purchase of a Stuart portrait<span style="font-size: large;">Those of you thinking of investing in a masterpiece by Gilbert Stuart, perhaps by auction, pay close attention to the wording which describes the portrait. Also the price range is an indication of authenticity. Authenticity of Stuart portraits is always an issue of importance to consider, as he never signed his portraits. He considered the entire portrait as his signature.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If the wording includes "after", this indicates that the portrait is a copy of the Stuart style.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Gilbert Stuart was the rage at the time he was engaging in his art, thus his style of portrait painting became popular (unless of course the sitters wished to have a more flattering image!). People also respected the Stuart style because the artist was actually earning money from his artwork...a novelty indeed.</span><br />
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Here is an example of a fine portrait. </div>
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This is James Barton, founder of Milford, PA's Cold Spring Water Company</div>
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Starting price at auction for this painting is $2000.00</div>
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Although it has many seemingly authentic Stuart touches, do you think it is "by" or "after"?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7G-U-29e5eadN9NiDCe1hIt__HRBYIu1E-nc8WaKc1rwcH8eZMUgB1RcZoWAu69R29l1QqM2VQ48AokxJh977kqInZSDBNzRbwep1Qm9GiBxA-xqfBToHibnWNyGvQjsovpFqIYsTIEA/s1600/James+Barton+.Jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7G-U-29e5eadN9NiDCe1hIt__HRBYIu1E-nc8WaKc1rwcH8eZMUgB1RcZoWAu69R29l1QqM2VQ48AokxJh977kqInZSDBNzRbwep1Qm9GiBxA-xqfBToHibnWNyGvQjsovpFqIYsTIEA/s400/James+Barton+.Jpeg" width="317" /></a></div>
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Naturally the most important aspect to consider when viewing a portrait... when the question of authenticity comes up. Does the portrait jump off the canvas? Is it so beautifully realistic that it looks like a photograph? So true-to-life that you feel you could cup his face in your hands, begin to talk to him?</div>
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This portrait is "after" Stuart.</div>
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-57627272325095976302016-06-15T20:13:00.000-07:002016-06-15T20:17:06.015-07:00Stuart's Pigments and Paint Application continued (2nd part)SEGMENTS FROM:<br />
<i>American Painters on Technique: the Colonial Period to 1860,</i> "Gilbert Stuart: the First American Old Master": Mayer, Lance, and Gay Myers; Los Angeles, J Paul Getty Museum, 2011<br />
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Stuart also had opinions about Titian and Rubens that may have influenced his own method of applying paint. In sharp contrast to painters who loved the mellowness and deep tone of Titian's paintings, Stuart believed that "Titian's works were not by any means so well blended when they left the esel...Rubens...must have discovered more tinting, or separate tints, or distinctiness, than others did, and that, as time mellowed and incorporated the tints, he (Rubens) resolved not only to keep his colours still more distinct against the ravages of time, but to follow his own impetuous disposition with spirited touches." <span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Dickinson "Remarks" 2.]</span><br />
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One odditity in the layout of Stuart's palette, as reported in three different accounts,<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Jouette 1816] </span>is that the color blue was placed farthest to the right, next to the thumbhole. This position of honor (nearest to the hand that holds the paintbrush) was traditionally given to the white pigment and is shown that way in most other palettes of all periods. It is tempting to think that Stuart had a special reason for placing his blue in this prominent position--he loved to commingle bluish strokes with his flesh to imitate the effect of blue veins under the skin. But this unusual arrangement is contradicted by five other accounts that have him placing the blue more conventionally on the other (left) side of the palette,<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Dunlap 1834] </span>so it is possible that Stuart sometimes arranged his palette this way, and sometimes not.<br />
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Stuart's principal blue pigment (and in some accounts the only one) was Antwerp blue. Unfortunately, this is an imprecise term, and we cannot say exactly what "Antwerp blue" meant in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the term had come to mean a weaker variety of Prussian blue, but modern authorities point out that in earlier times colormen may have also sold completely different copper-based pigments--or even mixtures of pigments--under the name Antwerp blue.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Harley 1982]</span> During Stuart's lifetime, the finest and most permanent blue color was known to be ultramarine, but it was extremely expensive (the much cheaper artificial ultramarine becoming available only after the artist's death in 1828). The expense of ultramarine helps explain some of the slightly confusing explanations of various observers about Stuart's use of blue pigments. Jouette said Stuart "uses no ultramarine but keeps it by him." <span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Jouette 1816]</span> Jocelyn gave the most complete explanation: "though he [Stuart] preferred Antwerp blue to all other ordinary blues, he would doubtless have used Ultramarine...but for the expense, and especially the trouble & uncertainty of procuring it." The final word on this matter should be given to Stuart himself, who would probably have been impatient with the discussion: "I can produce what I wish from these colours, nor can any man say whether or not I put into my faces ultramarine. Colouring is at best a matter of fancy & taste."<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> [Jouette 1816]</span><br />
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Stuart did not change his palette very much during the time when there are good records of his colors..........TO BE CONTINUED...<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span>StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-23596591883599009912016-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:002016-06-15T20:17:22.670-07:00Stuart's Pigments and Paint ApplicationSEGMENTS FROM:<br />
<i>American Painters on Technique: the Colonial Period to 1860,</i> "Gilbert Stuart: the First American Old Master": Mayer, Lance, and Gay Myers; Los Angeles, J Paul Getty Museum, 2011<br />
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In 3 parts:<br />
In spite of {Benjamin} West's statement that "it is of no use to steal Stuart's colors [if you want to paint as he does you must steal his eyes]", American painters were extremely curious to know which pigments Stuart used to achieve his dazzling effects. As a result, we probably know more about his pigments than about those of any other early American painter.<br />
The most remarkable thing about Stuart's colors is that they are not very remarkable. Portrait painting can be done (and has been done for centuries) with relatively few pigments. In fact, all contemporary observers agreed that Stuart used a limited number of pigments and mixtures on his palette. It was traditional for a painter to place dabs of pure colors around the edge of the palette (usually beginning with white next to the thumbhole and proceeding left to the darker pigments) and also to place some premixed "tints" in the area below this row. Stuart apparently placed seven or eight pure pigments and nine or ten premixed tints on his palette, which is fewer than many other artists whose palette arrangements have been recorded. For instance, Thomas Bardwell, in his 1756 book, recommended twelve pure colors and twelve mixed tints for portraits. In the early nineteenth century, some writers recommended up to sixty-six mixed tints! Jocelyn's description of Stuart's actual wooden palette took a gentle poke at artists who thought that a large number of mixed tints would help them; he said Stuart's "pallet-board" was "smaller than the large pallets affected by some lesser artists."<br />
A limited number of pigments and mixtures makes sense given Stuart's style of painting, and in fact it was his method of applying his paints that was unique, rather than the nature of his pigments. In the use of his palette and the application of his paints, Stuart was nearly the opposite of Copely, who was said to have spent hours premixing the exact tint with his palette knife for every flesh tone and shadow. Stuart, by comparison, "condemned the practice of mixing a colour on a knife, and comparing it with whatever was to be imitated.---'Good flesh colouring,' he said, 'partook of all colours, not mixed, so as to be combined in one tint, but shining through each other, like the blood through the natural skin.' Stuart could not endure Copely's laboured flesh, which he compared to tanned leather."<br />
Suart used, in Jouett's words, "chopping" strokes of distinct colors to give the effect of translucent flesh, thereby avoiding the leathery look that he disliked in Copely's work. Jouett also reported Stuart's advice to "keep your colours as separate as you can. No blending, tis destruction to clear and beautiful effect." Others noticed this as well; John Cogdell, after describing how Stuart combined different colors, added: "Tho this is not done on his pallette but only as they are wanted with the pencil. Mr. Stewart lays one tint over another." In a detailed account of Stuart's method, Obadiah Dickinson described how a portrait became more distinct as it progressed; "Mr. Steward endeavours in the first sitting to give the appearance of the person at 20 yards distant and in each succeeding sitting to advance its effect nearer until it be completed at 2 yards distance." But Dickinson noted that even in final touches, Stuart advised; "What you do in the shadows over the glazing must be finished if possible with a single touch or you will spoil the beauty of your work."<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stuart also had opinions about Titian and Rubens that may have influenced his own method of applying paint............</span> TO BE CONTINUED<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE93WMYDH99q2pJUgYIRdsevrS3Qrq5uj6cN4WtvSUvypAB7V47cVmz3kwTjRmXD50Csl8UgWoCn9lkS_V_q0Sk42GIrmJR6iL7HmrA4Mb66DQldxo7ssguL_vdf6rwokQMWxPw9HjXto/s1600/Beth+and+MLI+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE93WMYDH99q2pJUgYIRdsevrS3Qrq5uj6cN4WtvSUvypAB7V47cVmz3kwTjRmXD50Csl8UgWoCn9lkS_V_q0Sk42GIrmJR6iL7HmrA4Mb66DQldxo7ssguL_vdf6rwokQMWxPw9HjXto/s640/Beth+and+MLI+010.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Samuel Meeker 1763-1831 a merchant in Philadelphia</div>
StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-30835411440081667612016-04-14T10:35:00.001-07:002016-04-14T11:00:23.041-07:00Progress on the portrait in the Stuart style, and a question for the experts! & insight into how Stuart painted<div>
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<i><b>Jeanne Grimsby is painting the portrait of my gt grandmother <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_824052172"></span>Carrie [Martin] Cory,<span id="goog_824052173"></span></a> gt grandaughter of the twin sister of Samuel Meeker, following as much as possible the style of Gilbert Stuart. As a reminder, Samuel Meeker gifted Phoebe, his twin sister, the Gilbert Stuart portrait of himself to celebrate their 40ieth birthday. I am sure there was a fancy dance ball at their Schuylkill estate, <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2009/11/fountain-green-seat-of-mr-s-meeker.html">Fountain Green</a> on this occasion. (click on the link for more information, or also enter into the search box on right.) I have written Jeanne that I am certain Carrie would have been so thrilled with this project!</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Now for the big news, a question for the experts in fact.</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Was Gilbert Stuart left-handed? As far as I know, this has not been discussed as a possibility.</b></i></div>
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<b><i>It is amazing that with this project, Jeanne has proposed this insight!</i></b></div>
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<i><b>Below is the latest communication and report on the progress of the portrait, with insights into how Stuart {might have} painted~</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Jeanne has so kindly offered me the painting, I feel like this is a replay of what happened when the twins turned 40 years old...... but with only a slight variation...</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Thank you Jeanne, for such a wonderful, amazing project!</b></i><br />
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<i><b>A [dizzying] Summary: Phoebe Meeker marries Job Brookfield (second marriage), daughter Mary Brookfield </b></i><i><b>(b. 1804-after 1856) </b></i><i><b>m. John Ludlum Martin </b></i><i><b>(b.1796-1856), son </b></i><i><b>Thomas Mulford Martin (b.1831-1917) m. Mary C. Ayers & has 3 daughters Carolyn (Carrie)</b></i><i><b>(b.1862-1937)</b></i><i><b>, Jane and Emma. Carrie inherited the painting as her two sisters were childless. The GS portrait comes to Ca. Carrie's son Benjamin Hyde Cory is my grandfather, he passed in 1983. His daughter Carolyn Cory Ahrens is still with me, my mother.</b></i></div>
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~note to me from Jeanne~~~~~~~~~~~~</div>
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Today was another productive painting day. The result of using the portrait of <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2016/03/mrs-harrison-gray-otis-nee-sally-foster.html">Sally Otis</a>, with her smooth, pale complexion, as a model for color and shading was that Carrie was looking about 18. So today's task was to age her a bit. Now she looks in her 40s, which I think is correct for her hair and dress style. I resisted the temptation to put some gray in her hair, although the photo seems to show some unruly gray hairs sticking out at her temples. If you would prefer that I add that detail, let me know.</div>
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Today was also my first attempt ever at painting a lace jabot, and I think it turned out well for the first time. I think I would have to paint a few more portraits in Stuart's style to really assimilate it all. The jabot is from his <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2011/10/fine-portrait-by-stuart-of-john-adams.html">John Adams portrait</a>, as is the blue velvet jacket she is now wearing. In reality, she probably would have removed her jacket when sitting for her portrait, but I thought just having a white blouse occupy such a large area of the picture would be a distraction, so she has a jacket on.</div>
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Stuart was a very "loose" painter, very modern in his approach. In his Adams portrait. the canvas shows through in places. Because I didn't see that in the beginning, my painting is a bit overworked, especially in the background. I have also used the background from the Adams portrait (the National Gallery has a great downloadable high-resolution image of it). The background is a shaded brown, a great way to use up the brown paint left on the palette at the end of the day. Brown paint dries very quickly, so there is no keeping it for the next day. If you look at the background of the Adams portrait you can see that it is not all one color - it is painted in sort of cloud-like forms. That is done using a long-handled bristle brush, and sort of scrubbing the paint on using your whole arm - which brings me to today's discovery - that Stuart was left-handed. If you look at the background of the Adams portrait you can see curved shapes made by a left-handed painter. I tried to duplicate them, and couldn't because I am right-handed. Similarly there have been other places where I have had difficulty painting certain things the same way because Stuart painted them left-handedly. </div>
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Anyway - I expect to finish the painting in the next couple of weeks. I'll send you another photo when it is done. After that, it will need to dry thoroughly before it can be varnished. That will be at least another 3 months. If you like it and want me to send it to you, the earliest I could ship it out would be mid to late August. </div>
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Jeanne<br />
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-38492084542003812152016-03-07T15:50:00.000-08:002016-03-07T15:50:30.782-08:00Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis (nee Sally Foster) & ....Jeanne's fascinating project, to paint the gt grandaughter of Phoebe Meeker in the style of Gilbert StuartCarrie [b. Martin] Cory was born in 1862 in New Jersey. Her father was Thomas Mulford Martin, grandfather was John Ludlum Martin and grandmother Mary [Brookfield] Martin; the mother of Mary Brookfield was <b>Phoebe Meeker, twin sister of my Samuel Meeker. </b>Thus Phoebe Meeker was the great grandmother of Carrie. <b> Carrie is MY gt grandmother. {Thereby is the Provenance of the Samuel Meeker painting.}</b><br />
Carrie moved to Fresno Ca after she married Lewis Cory who was born in San Jose Ca in 1861. The two were formally married in New York City in Oct of 1882. The Cory family was established in New Jersey before later descendents (Dr. Ben Cory) took the trek across the plains and established his practice in the Pueblo of San Jose in late 1847 (just before gold was discovered).<br />
<i><b>Now one of my readers has begun an exciting project, after seeing photos of my gt grandmother (scroll down to see the photos, and <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2014/06/carolyn-carrie-ayers-martin-direct.html">click here</a> for more on Carrie.) She is attempting to paint this descendant of the Meeker twins in the style of Gilbert Stuart. What a fascinating idea, and this piece of artwork will be posted when it is finished! Just below is the latest email from Jeanne, who provides technical details about the work in progress. For those of you who love GS, or who love portrait painting for that matter, read on!</b></i><br />
<i><b>At the end of this post, you can view the GS portrait of Sally [Foster] Otis that Jeanne references. It is truely the work of a master. Stuart painted other Otis family members so I will post more information and other portraits of her family in the near future.</b></i><br />
<i><b>For me, this project is a special one; and I can only point to my Gilbert Stuart blog, for having a reader bless my ancestor with a portrait. I'm sure that Carrie would be highly pleased. Her life as a housewife [albeit wealthy housewife] in Fresno Ca was probably not as exciting as the life of the Meeker twins in early Philadelphia at the turn of the century. Although Fresno at the time was supposed to be the next San Francisco.... </b></i><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>FROM JEANNE:</b><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica;">Just thought I'd send an update on the progress with
Carrie's portrait. I think you may be surprised, as I am, at how her appearance
is developing. The face is well along, although not glazed yet, and she looks
somewhat different than I had expected. I wanted to explain a bit about why
that is the case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
Although Stuart would have used the "sight-size" method of developing
his likenesses, we don't have the luxury of Carrie sitting in person. What we
have is two somewhat blurry photos (they are still a whole lot better than
similar photos from my own family). In a case like this, the way I get a
likeness is to enlarge the photo(s) to full size and make a careful tracing on
clear acetate. I transfer the outline to the painting surface, which in this
case is a gessoed panel. I keep the acetate tracing taped to the side of the
panel during painting so I can periodically flip it over the painting to check
for accuracy. So I know that Carrie's image is a true one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><br />
The photo I traced was the hatless one, because it shows her forehead and hair.
When that photo was enlarged, it was just barely possible to locate and draw
the correct contours of her eyes, especially the lower lids. What initially
appeared to be outer edges of her lower eyelids in the photo are actually their
shadows. The eyelids themselves are shaped as you would expect from their
appearance in the other photo. In addition, she had very excellent bone
structure with a strong brow ridge. My older daughter has the same feature, and
when she is photographed outside in bright sunlight, her eyebrows disappear.
That is what happened to the outer portions of Carrie's brows in the first
photo, so I did have to shape them as they appear in the second photo. Between
those two refinements to the photo, her appearance is somewhat different than
you will have expected. I think she looks quite pretty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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As I had mentioned in earlier email, the light source in the photo was not as
perfect as I had originally thought. Looking through Stuart's work (and that of
other artists too, like Reynolds for example), I have discovered that nearly
all of them have the light source on the "near" side of the subject's
face, illuminating the shape of the nose so that the shadow of the nose is on
the "far" side of the face. Among the few exceptions to this in
Stuart;s work are his Jefferson portraits. So I had to find a Stuart painting
with a female sitter to use as a model for the shading on Carrie's face. There
are not many good closeup photos of Stuart's portraits, which is sort of odd I
think. But I did find the portrait of Sally Otis at the Reynolda House website,
and I am using that as a guide for shading and color. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
As you can guess, I am having a lot of fun with it all, and learning a few
tricks as well. Today, I'm going to start on the lace blouse, which will
probably bring its own challenges.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">Jeanne mentions the Stuart portrait of Sally Otis, so I thought it would be interesting to include her portrait in this post. The portrait descended through family members, and was acquired by the Reynolda House from Vose Galleries in Boston in 1967</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>courtesy of Reynolda House </i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mrs. Harrison Gray Otis</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1770-1836</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b>FROM
LAWRENCE PARK VOL</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Mrs.
Harrison Gray Otis 1770-1836<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US">She was
Sally, daughter of William and Grace (Spear) Foster of Boston. She married, in 1790, Harrison Gray Otis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: DE;">Boston c.1809. Panel, 32 x26 in. Half-length, life-size, seated in an Empire
armchair, upholstered in blue damask, upholstered in blue damask, her body
turned three-quarters left, her head nearly three-quarters, and her brown eyes
directed to the spectator. Her brown
hair is parted with small curls on the forehead and in front of the ears and
done high on her head, with a small jeweled pin showing. She wears a simple white muslin dress,
low-necked, high-waisted, and with very short, slightly puffed sleeves. Her waist is confined by a narrow white
girdle fastened in front with an oval gold pin. Over her right shoulder is a light reddish-brown India shawl with
embroidered design, which falls upon her lap, and surrounding her, appears
behind her left arm and lies upon the chair arm. About the upper left arm is a chased gold amulet. She sits with her body slightly inclined
forward, with her hands lying lightly clasped in her lap. The backround is of dark tones of
greenish-browns and grays. A close
inspection of the background shows indistinctly the head of a child which has
been painted out. In addition to this
visible evidence, there is documentary evidence that when first painted Mrs.
Otis was shown holding her son, Alleyne Otis (1807-1873), in her arms. This evidence is given by a letter written
to Mrs. Charles Davis of Boston to her mother, Mrs. Benjamin Bussey, under date
of Oct. 13, 1809, referring to a visit which she had made a few days before to
Stuart’s studio. “Mrs. Otis’s picture is as perfect as it can be. She is taken with her younger son in her
arms and a most beautiful one it is. I
asked Mr. Stuart how it was possible to get a correct likeness of children, who
are always in motion. ‘I shoot flying,’
was the answer.” Of this picture Mr.
Charles Henry Hart wrote: “Its dignified and graceful pose and its delicate and
pure color make it one of the painter’s great achievements.”</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: DE;"><br /></span></span>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: DE;">***</span></span></div>
StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-72458432017426237522016-02-10T09:05:00.000-08:002016-02-12T08:57:02.446-08:00I am honored at this request; my great grandmother Carrie and her similarity to my Samuel Meeker portrait. My answer? Yes, of course.<div id="yiv2305261798yui_3_16_0_1_1455116017182_3731" style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
I received an interesting email, see below. <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2014/06/carolyn-carrie-ayers-martin-direct.html">Carrie [Martin] Cory, </a>my great-grandmother, brought the Samuel Meeker portrait to California from New Jersey. The portrait was passed to her through her father (Thomas Mulford Martin), both direct descendents of Phoebe Meeker (twin of Samuel who received the portrait as a gift on their 40ieth birthday.) For more on Carrie's story and provenance of the painting, <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2012/05/dr-ben-corys-son-lewis-marries-carrie.html">click here. </a> My great-grandfather Lewis Cory and wife Carrie Cory are of course in the history of provenance of the Meeker painting, as I am, now.</div>
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Does Carrie have an incredible resemblance to Samuel Meeker? I say, yes! It is simply astonishing.</div>
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After marrying Lewis, Carrie left New Jersey, to live in Fresno California. Lewis was one of the first practicing attorneys there having received his law degree from Columbia. She received the portrait because there was no male sibling, and her two sisters remained childless.<br />
Phoebe Meeker was Carrie's great-grandmother. Carrie is my great-grandmother.</div>
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Good morning,</div>
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Just looking through your blog again for a Gilbert Stuart boost for my day, observing his use of color on foreheads, cheeks, and eyes, which I think is the most obvious characteristic that we notice first when looking at a possible Stuart. </div>
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The photo of <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2014/06/carolyn-carrie-ayers-martin-direct.html">Carrie Martin</a> in your post from June 24, 2014 struck me as being lit and composed very much as Stuart would have set up a sitter for having a portrait done. The main difference I think is that her head is not turned quite as much as Stuart would have done, so her eyes are then turned more to look directly at the photographer. </div>
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Which brings me to a question that you will probably think is odd. What would you say to the idea of a painting of Carrie in Stuart's style? I am an (amateur) artist - you can check out a few of my pieces on facebook - and doing a painting in Stuart's technique would be tremendous fun and great practice for me. I am not suggesting that you commission a work. It is just an idea that intrigues me, but I would not use your photograph for such a purpose without your permission.</div>
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If you are OK with the idea, I'll go ahead, though at a somewhat smaller size than Stuart would have done. Would you be able to tell me what color Carrie's hair and eyes probably were? In the photo, her hair looks light brown or auburn and her eyes look possibly light blue. </div>
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Please let me know what you think.</div>
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Jeanne Grimsby<br />
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<i>Yes Carrie's hair would have been auburn, and quite possibly her eyes were blue. Her son (my grandfather Benjamin Hyde Cory) had blue eyes, as does my mother Carolyn [Cory] Ahrens.</i> <i>Ben and his daughter (my mom) are also in the provenance of the painting; another amazing story! Although Ben could have inherited his blue eyes from Lewis.</i><br />
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-17946488980924615932016-02-03T08:56:00.002-08:002016-02-03T09:08:30.467-08:00More evidence that Ruggles is a Stuart! and two other possible Stuarts...?<br />
When determining if a portrait is in fact done by our master Gilbert Stuart, particularly when it is not mentioned in the Lawrence Park volumes (a set of 4 large books two of which provide black and white photographs of the portraits and two which give written descriptions and short bios), it helps to cement the attribution when the evidence piles up.<br />
On April 27 I did a post on the individual <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2015/04/ruggles-whitingdid-he-sit-for-stuart.html">Ruggles Whiting [click on this link</a>], a writer [<i>Elisha L. President Dover Historical society] </i>wrote to me that he thought this portrait was a genuine Stuart. I also thought it to be a genuine Stuart.<br />
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Elisha has found a copy of the will, and this portrait is mentioned as being "taken by Gilbert Stuart" [note the language, similar to photography]. This can be considered solid evidence!</div>
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<b>"<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">In researching Ruggles Whiting I recently
found a copy of his will, written in 1816 and probated in 1827.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">Page 3 contains the
following statement:</span></b></div>
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">“It is my will, and I do hereby give and bequeath
to my beloved son Lucius R. Whiting my library, charts, globes, my wardrobe
including my watch and all wearing apparel, my chess board and best set of
chessmen,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: red; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10.0pt;">my portrait of myself taken by Gilbert Stuart Esq., my
portrait of Ralph I. Reed, taken by the same artist before his decease</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">, and all my sporting apparatus of every kind.”</span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">Elisha points out that this will indicates that Ruggles owned another Stuart, and indeed a third Stuart. From the will: "</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">“It is my will and I
give and bequeath to the Government of the United States, my original portrait
of Jacob Perkins Esquire of Newburyport, the great mechanical inventor, taken
by Gilbert Stuart Esq. the celebrated American artist, to be placed in such
part of the National Buildings, in the City of Washington, as the Speaker of
the House of Representatives of the United States for the time being shall
order and direct.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">Thus there should be a Stuart portrait of "Ralph Reed", and of "Jacob Perkins". I will investigate this further~</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">The fact that Ruggles now seems to own THREE Stuart portraits, also is indirect evidence that the Ruggles portrait is a genuine Stuart, as Elisha pointed out in his note to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">Thankyou, super sleuthing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;">Also of note...this merchant was intellectual (library, globes, chess) and atheletic!</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-54114789208124641142016-01-20T11:10:00.000-08:002016-02-03T09:18:23.979-08:00Parents of Lovely Lydia Smith, a fortune begins in the commercial rail industry. Mr. & Mrs. Barney Smith<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoQRtMnxfgyUIt_kL2MxAezAP0X_4WasefwxkD06_PzXLiKLoQoQegqzTc9EDfhxe7BrWTjE2s-Gv9KyxHXqhyphenhyphen1D-sXLeLKwyFR7d5g1ZDQW7J7JhhzHSmfZHXpwIVlUjP3XoqlpjcAU/s1600/Mr+Barney+Smith.jpg" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrn6-81awf0J5x-dUwc9Kv_FtUrSIgjbRHnL0raPqDONlCKPlyIa5gOulL8js5DqAvGo5nUB1SS2-QMoPZdmIzcBMOWLW5fgeBPEtNEPxpMFKJqok2pSpZ4J2pNfv8qOp0pbv076QKRA/s1600/Mrs.+Barney+Smith.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHrn6-81awf0J5x-dUwc9Kv_FtUrSIgjbRHnL0raPqDONlCKPlyIa5gOulL8js5DqAvGo5nUB1SS2-QMoPZdmIzcBMOWLW5fgeBPEtNEPxpMFKJqok2pSpZ4J2pNfv8qOp0pbv076QKRA/s400/Mrs.+Barney+Smith.jpg" width="286" /></a><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGoQRtMnxfgyUIt_kL2MxAezAP0X_4WasefwxkD06_PzXLiKLoQoQegqzTc9EDfhxe7BrWTjE2s-Gv9KyxHXqhyphenhyphen1D-sXLeLKwyFR7d5g1ZDQW7J7JhhzHSmfZHXpwIVlUjP3XoqlpjcAU/s400/Mr+Barney+Smith.jpg" width="305" /><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mr. and Mrs. Barney Smith</span></div>
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Barney Smith: 1763-1828 of Taunton, Massachusetts [Stuart, Boston c. 1825]</div>
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Mrs. Barney Smith: 1755-1843 of Scituate, Massachusetts [Stuart, Boston 1817]</div>
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On April 27th of 2015 I did a post on<a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2015/04/ruggles-whitingdid-he-sit-for-stuart.html"> Lovely Lydia Smith</a>, who is one of the more beautiful ladies who was painted by our master. <b>From the Lawrence Park Volumes:</b><br />
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A daughter of Barney and Ann (Otis) Smith of Boston. Her parents, her brother, Henry Barney Smith, her sister, Mrs. George Alexander Otis, and her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Abiel Smith, were all painted by Stuart. [Stuart often painted numerous members of one family, this was also considered as evidence that my Meeker was painted by Stuart, as his cousin William Meeker's portrait is included in the Park Volumes.]</div>
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<i>To continue to read more about lovely Lydia, click on the link above.</i></div>
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This post presents the parents of Lydia, Mr. and Mrs. Barney Smith. Mr. Barney Smith was a wealthy importer of English goods, and is also known for having purchased the estate of Royal Governor Hutchinson (last royal Gov. of Massachusetts) in 1812, known as Unquety. The house presented an impressive Greek Revival style architecture, built overlooking Boston Harbor.[This Governor remained loyal to the royal authorities and was forced to leave the new world with nothing, thus it can be surmised that Barney got a good deal from this situation.] Barney seems to have been involved in a new means of transport, the commercial railway. <span style="font-size: 16px;">He was one of 4 directors on the newly formed co. Granite Railway in 1826, the </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">first company to have a commercial contract to carry freight by rail. The railyway moved freight, particularly stone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">From The History of Milton 1640- 1877 [editor Albert Teele pp 134-5]</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px;">Mr. Smith was of medium size, of fine form, with light complexion, and a profusion of silky hair of the purest white; his usual dress was a blue broadcloth with bright buttons, and a buff vest. His manners were graceful and pleasant. His kind feelings and ample means prompted him to do so much for the benefit of the community around him, and particularly to his neighbors less fortunate than himself, both in health and sickness, that he was universally beloved and respected while living, and his death which ocurred in 1828, was a public loss to the neighborhood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px;">NOTE the signs in the painting that this individual was a merchant [similarly to my Meeker]...he is holding papers. A contract possibly? The formulaic style for painting "holding the contract" is very typical, where the paper(s) is held in place between the thumb and index finger. The customer would have paid more for the painting, to include the hand and paper.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-32003259630997115602015-06-29T21:34:00.000-07:002015-06-29T21:37:22.817-07:00Did Gilbert Stuart paint the pastel of George Washington? & ATTENTION an upcoming GS exhibition! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A reader wrote me:<br />
Beth I saw your 2011 posting regarding a possible G. Stuart and wanted to run my story by you.<br />
We have had a pastel portrait of GW in our family for unknown generations. It is relatively rudimentary compared with Gilbert Stuarts works, has an odd nose, and, again, is in pastel. It is unsigned, but has in block lettering "G C Stuart" and "1795" in the bottom corner as well as "George Washington" and "1795" to the right of the bust. Some other, less defined writing and another 1795 is below on the right.<br />
It is definitely old by the look of the canvas, and my mother has by marriage connections to John Janney. She has authenticated Washington and Lee items in her estate.<br />
That said, but I question if it is a G C Stuart as it is pastel, has G C Stuart on it, and shows a much younger GW than appeared in contemporary portraits of him around 1796.<br />
Would like your thoughts, and have attached a photo.<br />
Blessings,<br />
Steve Be**si<br />
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What did I write back, yes or no? and why?<br />
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Dear Steve,<br />
Thankyou for your note! Again I would like to remind my readers, and you, that I am not an expert, meaning I am not a titled art historian. For genuine authentication one should consult well-known experts in the field! That being said, let me give you my opinion on your very nice pastel. As you describe it yourself, the pastel is relatively "rudimentary". It is "not signed" which is typical of Stuart's works, he said once that his signature was the entirety of the painting itself--He would never have placed his name in block letters on any of his works.<br />
It is important to note that our master either did not finish a painting, or the portraits were finished masterpieces. I have not heard or seen of any work that was not a masterpiece and an outstanding likeness of the sitter...even some of his unfinished paintings have the glimmers of his mastery. Commonly he did not finish a painting if something the sitter did or said was irritating, or there was disagreement on the price, or the female was too accurately depicted (displeasing the female sitter who wanted and expected to see something beautiful.)<br />
The Stuart portraits are so accurate that they almost look like a photograph--so any work that hints at only 2 dimensions, is not likely to be a Stuart. Your pastel of GW is rather inaccurate; when considering the nose as you mentioned, the lips/mouth...GS definitely had a consistent way of drawing GW's mouth, which emphasized the protrusion of his lips due to his false teeth. Comparing this to GS's GW portraits, one could not easily tell they are of the same person.<br />
Your pastel MAY be from the correct time period, it is hard for me to say. Frame experts can look at the frame, other experts can tell the approx age of the paint and canvas, etc. It looks to be in the style of GS, so it could have originated in that period.<br />
But I can say with certitude, that this work would not have been done by our master. it is still lovely and it is always an honor to have an image of Washington, no matter whether it is a Gilbert Stuart or not!<br />
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NOTIFICATION OF AN UPCOMING EXHIBITION OF STUART WORKS AT BOWDOIN COLLEGE<br />
http://www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum/exhibitions/2015/gilbert-stuart-boston-brunswick.shtml<br />
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<em>Gilbert Stuart: From Boston to Brunswick</em></div>
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July 9, 2015 - January 3, 2016<br />Markell Gallery</div>
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<span style="background-color: #201604; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This exhibition brings together a selection of oil paintings by Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828) from the Museum’s collection, including his famous portraits of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The preeminent portraitist of the early republic, Stuart created fashionable likenesses of the period’s most important political, military, and social figures. Each of works included in the exhibition was completed after Stuart’s move to Boston in 1805. Collectively, they provide insight into the artist’s relationship with other artists and collectors in the region, including members of the Bowdoin family.</span><br />
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My last word on this post, ALEXANDER HAMILTON, treasury secretary under Pres. George Washington, SHOULD NOT BE taken off the $10.00 bill. Gimme a break. That is an outrage, and a lowering the bar of the education in this nation. Everyone should know of, and about, Alexander Hamilton.StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-1268814407857617542015-05-09T17:27:00.000-07:002015-05-09T20:20:54.792-07:00My aunt, a Stanford University Campus 'queen', and direct descendant of Samuel Meeker's twin Phoebe Meeker REMINDER--<i><b>Samuel gifted his expensive/exquisite/illustrious Stuart portrait to his twin sister, all logical deductions point to the portrait being given to Phoebe on their 40ieth birthday. It would have been the occasion for a ball given at their country estate, <span style="color: #e06666;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2009/11/fountain-green-seat-of-mr-s-meeker.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">Fountain Green</span></a> </span>(click on link)</span> on the Schuylkill river. This would certainly not have been an ordinary birthday party! If these two could have looked down into the crystal ball and seen the future, they'd be proud.</b></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My aunt Edelen (and my mom) are direct descendants of Phoebe Meeker </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Phoebe
Meeker</span> (1763-?) m. Job Brookfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Mary
Brookfield </span>(1804- after 1856) m. John Ludlum Martin <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;">Thomas
Mulford Martin </span>(1831-1917) m. Mary Ayers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2014/06/carolyn-carrie-ayers-martin-direct.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">Carrie Ayers Martin</span></a> </span>(1862-1937) m. Lewis Lincoln Cory (portrait brought to Ca) (<i>click on link for a photograph of Carrie to view similarities to Samuel Meeker portrait</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;"><a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2010/07/semblance-slays-me-pops-and-samuel.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">Benjamin Hyde Cory</span> </a></span>(1896-1983) m. Susan Leavitt (my grandparents Susie and Pops) <o:p></o:p></span>(<i>click on link for a photograph of Ben to view similarities to Samuel </i><i>Meeker portrait</i>)</div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> Ben and Susie had two daughters<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Edelen and <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2009/03/march-1-2009-what-occasion.html"><span style="color: #e06666;">Carolyn Cory</span></a> </i></span><span style="text-align: start;">(</span><i style="text-align: start;">click on link for a photograph of mom) </i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">(My aunt and mom </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">both graduated from Stanford University; </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px;">currently Edelen </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">lives in Menlo Park Ca and my mom in Santa Cruz Ca)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Lovely Edelen</span> was voted campus queen at Stanford University in 1951. This photograph took up a full page in the yearbook, the "Stanford Quad 1951"</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The icon to the left became politically incorrect. How I remember it though!</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Was she signing out for a date?</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Happy moms day to Edelen and my mom Carolyn!</span></b></div>
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<br />StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-79931812586939844042015-04-27T15:17:00.000-07:002015-06-29T21:46:42.487-07:00Ruggles Whiting...did he sit for Stuart? Yes or no? and lovely Lydia Smith....<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>A reader wrote me: Beth, I am in the process of becoming more familiar with Gilbert Stuart and have very much enjoyed your blog. It occurs to me that you may find the attached photo of interest and I would appreciate any thoughts that you might care to offer. The portrait is not signed, but was displayed at the MFA in Boston many years ago (1917 to be precise) as the work of Stuart. It was at the time in the possession of the subject's great granddaughter who, in all likelihood, bequeathed it to the Dover Historical Society which has owned it for many years (I'm presently pulling together the provenance and will know the story of the acquisition in due course.) The subject is Ruggles Whiting, a Boston merchant born in Dover, MA in 1779 and died in Boston or Dover 1827. </i></h4>
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<i>My thanks in advance for your thoughts and my apologies for the rather poor quality of my photo.</i></div>
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<i>Elisha L. President Dover Historical society</i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 11pt;">****</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; font-size: 11pt;"><b><i>I looked at this oil that Elisha sent me. Having tried to photograph my own Stuart numerous times, I sympathized with the glare in the lower right corner, throwing some of the light from the flash into the photograph. Did I mind?............!!</i></b></span></div>
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****& my response below****</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCKqHfaj3L68U82zq3xpDZ9pXyGh6vlb9fuhojXwttQ5Fvtg5OjuM5umhPRuLL0mJIhWvTMMwNyV6FCe5U2sRd0_0L359f5AEvErzxT0HbHG4UaKU5U3u95PH2XdIS-fwnEx2OyMGFGI/s1600/Ruggles+Whiting+Portrait+(3).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYCKqHfaj3L68U82zq3xpDZ9pXyGh6vlb9fuhojXwttQ5Fvtg5OjuM5umhPRuLL0mJIhWvTMMwNyV6FCe5U2sRd0_0L359f5AEvErzxT0HbHG4UaKU5U3u95PH2XdIS-fwnEx2OyMGFGI/s1600/Ruggles+Whiting+Portrait+(3).jpg" width="504" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Dear Elisha,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Ruggles is not in the Lawrence Park
volumes, which is not particularly significant as my Meeker was not either.</span></span></div>
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<span class="yiv8980534816"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">It is a
beautiful portrait, and has all the particular and stunning Stuart
features characteristic of a Stuart portrait--...as he used to say.... his
portraits did not need his signature because the entire portrait itself would
be the signature! My Samuel Meeker was born in 1763, which made him about
40 when he was painted. Ruggles looks to me to be in his early
30ies--which means possibly Stuart did his portrait somewhere around 1809 (say
Ruggles is at age 30)--well within the years that Stuart was painting well (see
portrait of Lydia Smith done in 1808-10</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">) .<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Ruggles has a receding hairline, but no
grey whatsoever, does not have the darker bags under the eyes that my Meeker
has...which makes me think he is around 30 or so. The translucent
skin tones are pure Stuart, and the paler forehead was a common feature, since
the men were often outdoors on horseback wearing a hat (the cheeks in contrast
receiving lots of sun). The sitter chose a less expensive portrait, which
did not include a background, or hand or any kind of prop. Stuart would
have surely tried to persuade Mr. Whiting to choose a background that he often
used for merchants (like Meeker) which would have him holding a paper,
indicating a ledger of some sort, and the chair with sky/drapery in the
background. (Samuel Meeker's cousin William Meeker was a business partner
of Samuel but also chose the less expensive format for his portrait, which makes
me think that Samuel was the "CEO".) Stuart was in Boston from
1805 to 1828.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">This portrait looks to me to be a genuine
Stuart. Thanks so much for sending the photo of your portrait! It
is worthy of a great display location, along with the story of the sitter.
I have found that a Stuart portrait by itself, without the story of the
sitter, deprives the viewer of the full scope of Stuart's magnificent talent,
as well as a small dose of our history. The provenance also lends
interest to a Stuart painting. </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Can I post Mr Ruggles Whiting on my blog?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Thanks again,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 10pt;">Beth</span><!--EndFragment--> </span></div>
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<span style="color: lime;">***</span></h4>
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Now for the portrait of lovely Lydia, who sat for our master approx in the same time frame, in Boston. (This lovely portrait I mention in the response above). She would have been only 7 years younger than dear Ruggles. Most likely the Whitings knew the Smiths. Stay in tune for more information on Ruggles, and the Smith family.</h4>
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<span lang="EN-US">Lydia Smith<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Daughter of
Barney Smith, educated in the female arts in France, the portrait shows her
skill in artful clothing (simple white muslin gown with empire waist, the
daring fashion set by the Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon), indulging in the
proper pastime for young ladies of wealth and culture, drawing and music (see
piano in left corner.) Her jewels also
portray elegant simplicity, a string of choker length pearls with a hanging
gold pendant. Lydia studied at the
school for young ladies established by famed Mme Campan (who learned the arts
at the court of Versailles), where she studied French, music, and art; at one
point two of Napoleon’s sisters attended the famous school. This would have
been a most prestigious, and of course the best preparatory education for any
young girl whose principle aim was to attract a worthy suitor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Lydia found
her future husband in London in 1811, widower Jonathan Russell who became the
US minister to Sweden. Perhaps her strong determination to excel became more of
an end in itself, as she was aged 31 by the time of the marriage. Russell was a widower, with four children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Miss Lydia Smith </span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: large;">{from the Lawrence Park Volumes}<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><span style="font-size: large;">1786-1859</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">A daughter
of Barney and Ann (Otis) Smith of Boston.
Her parents, her brother, Henry Barney Smith, her sister, Mrs. George
Alexander Otis, and her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Abiel Smith, were all
painted by Stuart. She and her brother
passed their early life in France and England, and she attended in Paris the
school of Madame Campan. Later she
studied art in England under the instruction of Benjamin West, who gave her his
palette, which is still preserved in the family. She became, in 1817 in Boston, the second wife of Honorable
Jonathan Russell (1771-1832) of Boston, who had a distinguished diplomatic
career as </span><span lang="EN-US">charge d'affairs at Paris and London, and as one of
the commissioners in 1814 to negotiate and conclude the Treaty of Peace with
Great Britain at Ghent. From 1814 to
1818 he represented the United States as minister plenipotentiary to Sweden,
and the first year of Mrs. Russell’s married life was probably passed in
Sweden. In 1818 they returned
permanently to America and settled in Mendon, Massachusetts, where he
represented that district in Congress from 1821 to 1825. Soon after he removed to Milton,
Massachusetts, where he died, and where his widow survived him for nearly
thirty years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;">Boston, c 1807 (the date has been determined to be
two to three years later). Panel, 32 1/8 x 28 ¾. Life-size, half-length, seated
in a gilt Empire armchair, with her body in profile, her head three-quarters
left, and brown eyes to spectator. Her
coloring is brilliant, her dark brown hair is parted and brushed smooth with
the exception of a long ringlet in front of her ear. Before her is a desk which supports the top of a portfolio
resting on her lap. On the cover of the
portfolio is a sheet of paper upon which Miss Smith is drawing, and in her
right hand she holds a <i>porte crayon</i>, while with her left she steadies
the portfolio. She wears a very simple and attractive white muslin dress,
low-necked and short-sleeved, and over her right shoulder is thrown a pale
mauve scarf with gold threads. About
her neck is a necklace of small pearls. In the pearly-toned background appears
the wall of a room on which, at the left side of the picture, are two
pilasters. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><b><span style="color: lime;"> ***</span></b></span></div>
StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-71202472025906329242015-01-29T10:53:00.000-08:002015-01-31T10:20:49.908-08:00many pardons for neglecting my most favorite portrait master of all time... Writing the history of other past ancestors has taken up much of my time, (with more to come). You can find my book (with two other authors) on Amazon. Yet rest assured that my love of GS and his sitters, remains unabated. Look for more posts in the year ahead!<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>From Medicine Man to Medical Doctor</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>The Medical History of Early Santa Clara Valley</b></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Elizabeth Ahrens-Kley</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Gerald Trobough</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Michael Shea</b></i></div>
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****************************************</div>
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<i><b>Santa Clara County of course is home of the famed Silicon Valley here in California.</b></i></div>
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<i><b>You can find more information on my gt gt grandfather Benjamin Cory MD in this blog, and in my essay online which won first place in the essay contest sponsored by the "California Pioneers of Santa Clara County" </b></i></div>
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<i><b>June 2011</b></i></div>
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Just a reminder, it was the Doctor's son, my gt grandfather <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2012/05/dr-ben-corys-son-lewis-marries-carrie.html">Lewis Lincoln Cory </a>born in San Jose California 1861, who married a girl from Rahway NJ. <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2014/06/carolyn-carrie-ayers-martin-direct.html">Carrie [Marin] Cory</a>, {click on link to the left to see the image of my gt grandmother Carrie, gt grandaughter of Phoebe Meeeker who received the GS portrait from her twin brother Samuel; the genetics in the facial similarity between Carrie and the portrait are amazing; a demonstration of the skill of GS} brought the GS portrait of Samuel Meeker to California from NJ due to this marriage and the fact that she had two sons and 3 daughters and her two Martin sisters had no children. Due to this unusual "travelling" from the east to west coast, the portrait was lost to those who were attempting to locate and document all GS portraits.</div>
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What a twist of fate, that Samuel Meeker is now with me, his fine and fascinating history fully explored.<br />
<br />
<b>To see Carrie Cory's position in the line of provenance, click <a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2009/10/history-of-ownership-provenance-of-mr.html">here.</a></b><a href="http://here./"></a><br />
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-24976712297871048682014-10-15T15:02:00.000-07:002014-10-15T15:02:36.924-07:00Samuel Meeker was a "good gentleman" as described by the Wall St Journal today!Apparently Philadelphia is incurring a shortage of Calvary soldiers, our military activities have depleted the ranks! My 'good gentleman' ancestor Samuel Meeker of course participated in this Calvary; remember he was an exceptional horse rider, housing his horses at his country villa Fountain Green, and who was a member of the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club (according to the article, a source for members of the Cavalry). All indications are that he was adept and vigorously active socially, it has been my own speculation that he threw a wonderful ball at his villa on his 40ieth birthday--most likely gifting the GS portrait to his twin sister during this bash. It didn't hurt that my ancestor is good looking. He and his sister were surely coveted guests at any social gathering!<br />
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more on the Gloucester Fox Hunting Club<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;"><b>“</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;"><b> </b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;"><b>The Gloucester Fox-Hunting Club</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">—This pleasant association was composed of </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">many highly respectable gentlemen, resident chiefly in Philadelphia…Elegant </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">society was then comparatively limited; while the city Friend could give a </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">delightful repast, the country Friend could promise good sport from horses, dogs, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">and a fox. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">In 1800 there were about forty members, and it flourished until 1818, when Captain </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">Charles Ross, the last master-spirit, died, and with him the club ceased to exist… </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">Usually about one-half of the club were habitual or efficient hunters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among the </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">most enterprising and leading members were—Mr. Morris, president, and Messrs </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">….Davies, Price, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;"><b>Denman</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">, …Humphreys, Harrison, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;"><b>S. Meeker</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;">…</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Perpetua;"><b>”
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 50%;"><b><i>Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania: being a collection of memoirs</i></b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 50%;"><b> by John Watson published Parry and M’Millan 1879 </b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 50%;"><b>Philadelphia pps 158-9</b></span><span style="display: none; font-size: 50%;"><b>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size: large;">Samuel Meeker was the Lieutenant Commandant of "The Troop of VOLUNTEER GREENS" of the Third Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry. The year was 1810, and war with the mother country was looming on the horizon. "...the air was electrified with the military spirit...all felt war was speedily approaching..." </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">from THE SECOND TROOP PHILADELPHIA CITY CAVALRY by W.A. Newman Dorland 1903</span></span></span></div>
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from the article "Philadelphia is Looking for a few Good Gentlemen" by M M Phillips Oct 15, 2014</div>
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"What Spc. Connell dreaded, however, was the horse-riding requirement, a fear put to the test when the soldiers gathered for a steeplechase at a trooper's horse farm in West Chester, Pa. A highlight of the day was the cavalry skills competition, in which the troopers practiced attacking a watermelon with a saber.</div>
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The expert riders, such as Sgt. Llewellyn Hunt, the descendeant of French generals and a student at Sciences Po in Paris, cantered past the post where the watermelon was mounted, slicing it neatly in two.</div>
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Spc. Connell, who had never ridden before, was helped into the saddle of an easygoing horse, who ambled toward the enemy fruit. Spc. Connell took a mighty swing and nicked off a piece as he knocked the melon to the ground.</div>
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After Spc. Connell dismounted, the other troopers initiated him into one final cavalry tradtion: Opening a bottle of champagne with a saber...."</div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Meeker would have not have approved such LOW SKILLS as not being able to slice a watermelon in half, as well as the limited number of volunteers to this special Cavalry, .....but the final tradition....would have secured the pleasure of his evening!!</span></i></b></div>
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-77547397553934454492014-06-24T16:10:00.002-07:002014-06-24T16:11:55.185-07:00Carolyn (Carrie) Ayers Martin, direct descendant of Samuel Meeker's twin sister Phoebe Meeker my great grandmother Carrie Marin m. Lewis L. Cory (b. San Jose, Ca settled in Fresno, Ca)<br />
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born 23 Feb 1862 Rahway, NJ<br />
d.16 Mar 1937 Fresno, Ca<br />
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Carrie was the Jersey maiden who brought the portrait of Samuel Meeker to California. (Carrie had two sisters with no children, so she inherited the portrait.) Her father was Thomas Mulford Martin, his mother was Mary Brookfield who was the daughter of Phoebe Meeker.<br />
Phoebe Meeker was the twin sister of Samuel Meeker, sitter in the portrait. Through logic and events, I have deduced that Samuel gifted his portrait by Stuart to his twin sister on their 40ieth birthday. Most likely at a celebration/ball at their country estate on the Schuylkill, Fountain Green.<br />
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NOTE THE SIMILARITY of Carrie's lips to the shape of Samuel's mouth. The shape of the face, the cheekbones, the chin... Astonishingly distinctive! This not only offers validation of the family provenance, but also of Stuart's amazing ability to nail the image of the sitter.<br />
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3202332774471287882.post-25989042042334697442013-12-04T20:09:00.001-08:002013-12-04T20:12:06.956-08:00An excellent portrait which the bird(s) had no proper regard for... Was Gilbert Stuart the artist? and other questions.Marsha wrote me:<br />
I got your information off the internet and I am hoping that you may be able to help me. My family has a portrait that was painted long ago of a family member. This painting was supposedly done by Gilbert Stuart (according to family documentation). It is in need of restoration (original frame also) but we were wondering what we need to do to get it authenticated and repaired. The damage is bird poo from a bird that got into the storage area. The frame has been previously repaired but needs to be again. I believe the family member was a Hamilton or a Stuart (no relation to Gilbert). I do not have the documentation with me--my mother has it with her in Texas. But if you can help I am sure I can obtain the information. Thank you for trying!<br />
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Dear Marsha, first of all I extend my sympathy for the unfortunate damage caused by the birdie that the portrait has sustained! On the serious side, the portrait is truly excellent, by a very talented portrait artist. The artist aimed for a genuine likeness it seems, which was always a primary goal of Stuart's work. There was never any embellishment to a woman's face, even if elderly. Obviously to determine whether a work is by Stuart, the first step is to offer whatever documentation you have; what is the woman's name? Her birth and death date? In this way the Lawrence Park Volumes could be checked, to see if she or any other relatives are listed there. Do you have a provenance (history of the ownership)?<br />
Amusingly, the spots of birdie poo almost look like the flourishes of brilliant whites Stuart often used, for example to highlight the lace of a neck-cloth or of a woman's ribbon (<a href="http://gilbertstuart.blogspot.com/2013/11/are-these-gilbert-stuart-portraits_25.html">see previous post</a>.) The frame indicates wealth. However although I think the portrait is excellent, I do not think it was by Gilbert Stuart. The accents are not right, the clothing looks to me to be from a slightly later time period, the style of painting does not conform to GS. Now one thing I did with my GS portrait was take it to the de Young museum in San Francisco, where a couple of conservationists took some precious time out to not only admire 'the handsome guy' but also to subject it to ultraviolet light (taking an Impressionist painting off the easel). This is a free service, at least by this museum, for people like you who think that they may have a valuable piece. Such a service in fact is important, because there are SURELY significant pieces out there, and the owners may not know it. Call your local museum and ask if they are interested in looking at your portrait and tell them what you know about it.<br />
So see if you can find out from your mother what the woman's name is, and I will check the Park volumes and other sources to see if her family name pops up. When you talk to (or email) the individuals at the museum, they can advise you as to restoration. And to all of my readers, please check the portraits in your attic to make sure they are protected from the critters!<br />
Elizabeth<br />
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StimmeDesHerzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15084934926989805342noreply@blogger.com3