New England, circa 1830
Ash splint, with original paint and fabric lining, 7 x 16 x 15 ½ inches
Among the numerous early New England baskets that we have sold over many years, this one is a particular favorite. We first owned it in the early 1980s, and were thrilled to reacquire it earlier this year. It is sturdy and solid with a heft and weightiness that make it substantial.
Book of school girl drawings
Boston, Massachusetts, 1826
Manufactured sketch book with brown and red marbleized paperboard covers, gold stamped red leather spine and edge, watercolor and graphite on paper, 10 ½ x 7 ½ inches
Title page inscribed: “Elizabeth Lincoln / July 1826 / Boston”
This book of school girl drawings includes thirty five individual pages of pictures comprising seventeen watercolors of flowers, some titled; two watercolors of neoclassical motifs; four watercolors of fruit; two watercolors of still-life compositions, including one having a glass bowl with applied mica chips; seven water landscapes, one torn, and three pencil sketches
American, circa 1830
Watercolor on paper, in a period gilt frame with replaced eglomise glass, 20 ½ x 26 ½ inches
This colorful and nicely detailed schoolgirl watercolor is based on the well known engraving, “Mount Vernon in Virginia,” first published in 1800 by Francis Jukes (1745-1812). This view of Mount Vernon as depicted in this specific print was a popular subject for American school girl watercolors and needlework created during the first decades of the nineteenth century.
Probably Bucks County, Pennsylvania, circa 1830 Each, poplar, original brass hinges and lock, original painted decoration, 5 ½ x 12 x 6 inches The first box initialed “GC” and lined with white paper. The second initialed “CR” and lined with original block printed paper.
The refined and highly accomplished painted decoration of these boxes shows the hand of an ornamental decorator of the highest order, similar to the ornamentation on a small group of miniature chests from the workshop of Edward Hicks (1780-1849, including multiple striped borders, a variety of floral, vine, and leafy devices, and the owner’s initials on the front panels, several rendered in gold paint with fancy script or calligraphic lettering.
The genesis of the Hicks attribution stems from a box inscribed “S. W. Hicks” on the front panel made for Edward Hicks’ wife, Sarah Worstall Hicks (1781-1855), with free-hand decoration, now owned by the Newtown Historic Association, with its decoration attributed to Edward Hicks by Carolyn J. Weekley in “The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks” (New York, 1999), p. 73, pl. 54. A related box now in a private collection is inscribed “W. Richardson, Painter,” working in the Hicks shop.
New England, circa 1830 Hollow-cut watercolor on paper, 4 ½ x 3 ¾ inches, original basswood floral paint decorated frame with original glass and backboard
The young gentleman in profile, with hollow-cut face, shirt and collar; the hair, shirt, and two-tone colored coat picked out in watercolor. The silhouette retaining its remarkable original paint decorated flat frame, with quarter round interior corners, and decorated with flowers and leaves, a stylized sun, pinwheels, and a basket of flowers in vibrant shades of red and green on a yellow background. The frame is carved from the solid with no joinery employed. In a superb state of preservation, in untouched condition, with original glass and backboard secured by original tiny wooden pins. This is a gem of the very finest quality.
Provenance: Collection of Carolyn and Tom Porter, Delaware, OH.
Vermont, circa 1780-1820 White pine, original grain painted, original iron cotter pin hinges andiron lock and key, 23 ½ x 39 ¾ x 17 ½ inches In a fine state of preservation; minor overall wear and usage appropriate to age
This is a classic example of an early New England “six board” blanket chest with scalloped boot-jack ends and original iron cotter pin hinges indicative of late eighteenth century manufacture, likely decorated in the early 19th century with boldly painted black brushwork decoration on an unusual moss-green background.
Provenance: By descent in the Compton family of Vermont; David A. Schorsch, New York, 1992; Private collection.
Published: David A. Schorsch, A Sampler of Recent Acquisitions II (New York, 1992), unpaginated.
American, circa 1840 Watercolor on paper thin ivory, with human hair, in original brass locket, 2 9/16 x 2 5/16 inches, oval
Though similar in quality and style to miniature portraits by Clarissa Peters (Mrs. Moses B. Russell), we attribute this likeness to another hand. This fine miniature portrait depicts a contented little girl with large brown eyes and flaxen hair, half-length, wearing a pink dress and holding a rose, seated in a brown-painted tablet back Windsor armchair. Woven flaxen colored hair from the sitter is preserved on the backside of the locket under glass.
Possibly Midwestern, circa 1870 Maple, brass nails, glass bead eyes, original painted decoration, 6 x 4 ½ x 2 ¼ inches In a fine state of preservation with patina, wear and usage appropriate to age
This charming and sculptural pipe bowl is uniquely shaped and retains its original painted decoration. The pipe bowl is in the form of a wide-eyed gentleman in a feathered bicorn hat and smoking a cigar while striking an acrobatic pose. The figure’s hinged lower legs and hat lift to reveal the pipe bowl. The face is remarkably detailed with large eyes, mustache, and extended mutton chop side burns. The distinctive shape of this cocked hat is similar to those worn by the American navy during the 1820s and 1830s.
Provenance: Hill Gallery, Birmingham, MI; Fred Giampietro, New Haven, CT; Collection of Stephen and Petra Levin, Stow, VT.
Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1760 Walnut, maple, white pine, with original brasses, 69 x 38 x 19 inches
This is a classic example of a flat-top Queen Anne high chest made in Salem, Massachusetts, having the signature attributes of a distinctively scalloped apron with central diamond cut-out, spurred knee returns, and elegantly shaped cabriole legs with pad feet. This particular apron design is one of the most beautiful made in colonial America and occurs on a small number of Salem high chests regarded as the best of kind.
Probably Massachusetts, circa 1840-1860 Opaque watercolor on paper, 12 5/8 x 17 5/8 inches Cleaned and de-acidified, repair to vertical crease along right side from being previously folded; mounted to museum standards in a period frame
Provenance: Found in Sunderland, MA; Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hammitt, Woodbury, CT; Private collection; Thomas R. Longacre, Marlborough, NH; Frank and Barbara Pollack, Highland Park, IL; David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, Woodbury, CT, 2007; Private collection, 2007-2020.
Exhibited: “American Folk Art from Connecticut Collections,” Newtown Historical Society, Newtown, CT, 1974. “The Cat in American Folk Art,” The Museum of American Folk Art, New York, 1976.
Published: Bruce Johnson, American Cat-alogue (New York, 1976), no. 28.
Probably Pennsylvania, circa 1880-1900 Softwood, wire legs, original painted decoration, on a modern museum base, 6 x 14 x 2 inches In a fine state of original preservation
This boldly carved and oversized bird carving has a dynamic and unusual form with unusually long tail feathers, and vibrant original painted decoration in a superb state of preservation. It belongs to a well established tradition of painted bird painted bird carvings made in southern eastern Pennsylvania during the last decades of the nineteenth century, see Richard S. and Rosemarie B. Machmer in Just For Nice, Carving and Whittling Magic of Southeastern Pennsylvania (Reading, Pennsylvania: Berks County Historical Society, 1991).
Federal Painted Tall-Case Clock Concord, New Hampshire, circa 1810 Birch, white pine, brass works, painted iron face, original brass finials, with original red paint, 92 x 20 x 9 ½ inches Saddle board stamped twice: “T.CHANDLER.”
With its rare original paint and handsome form, this is the finest known examples of a red-painted country Federal tall clock with original works by Major Timothy Chandler, one of the most celebrated New Hampshire clockmakers. It was formerly in the collection of Charles S. Parsons, Jr., a noted scholar of New Hampshire decorative arts, best known for the book The Dunlaps & Their Furniture. In 1976 Parsons described this clock as: “Figure 17… in its original red paint. Although it does not carry quarter columns in the waist, the size of the door adds an attractive appearance of pleasing proportions. The details of construction also indicate an experienced cabinetmaker who added a scrolled skirt and delicate fretwork.”
Provenance: Collection of Charles S. Parsons, Jr.
Published: Charles S. Parsons, Jr. New Hampshire Clocks & Clockmakers (Exeter, NH, 1976), pp. 22-23.
Isaac Orr and Mary Johnson Orr Corinth, Vermont, circa 1834 Each, watercolor and pencil on paper, 27 x 23 inches, mounted to museum standards in reproduction veneered frames
This pair of portraits depicting Isaac Orr (1804-1873) and his wife, Mary Johnson Orr (1808-1870) of Corinth, Vermont rank among the most powerful and highly stylized known examples by Dr. Samuel A. Shute. Painted two years before his untimely death at age 33, these extraordinary portraits are notably flamboyant and freely painted in a style unique to Samuel Shute. They were part of a commission that also included a smaller watercolor portrait of their daughter, Atlantis Orr (1831-1860), 17 x 14 inches, inscribed on back: “April, 1834, Atlantis Orr 2 years 7 months” now in a private collection, illustrated in A Sampler of Recent Acquisitions II (David A. Schorsch, New York, 1992).
Watercolor portraits by Samuel A. Shute are rare when compared to the body of work done together with or individually painted by his wife, Ruth W. Shute (1803-1882). An unusual and distinguishing characteristic of Samuel Shute’s most highly stylized portraits are stark white-painted faces exemplified in the portrait of Mary Johnson Orr and “Woman with two canaries” in Jean Lipman and Tom Armstrong, Eds., American Folk Painters of Three Centuries (New York, 1980), p. 165. Additional watercolor portraits by Samuel A. Shute include “Dr. and Mrs. Charles Chandler” of 1829 in Lipman and Armstrong, p. 167; “Gentleman wearing a striped waistcoat and Woman wearing a bonnet with pink ribbons” in Stacy C. Hollander, Ed., American Radiance, The Ralph Esmerian gift to The American Folk Art Museum, p. 54, plate 25a-b, and “Lady with a colored belt” in Marna Anderson, A Loving Likeness, American Folk Portraits of The Nineteenth Century (Princeton, NJ, 1992), p. 38.
Provenance: Found in St. Johnsbury, VT; Collection of Stephen Corrigan and Douglas Jackman, Rockingham, VT; Walters-Benisek, Northampton, MA; Private collection; Stephen Score, Boston, MA; David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, Woodbury, CT; Private collection.
New York Region, circa 1740 Maple, old or original brown paint, original split-seat, 49 x 26 ½ x 17 inches In a fine state of preservation; area of rewoven repair to original splint seat
This is a highly imaginative interpretation of a “Dutch” style armchair with dramatic throne-like proportions and elegantly executed details. Disc-turned finials with baluster-shaped stiles flank the arched crest. The whimsical champhered-edged splat incorporates the extremely rare feature of a pierced heart above a fylfot. The rollover arms of fine profile are elegantly champhered. The chair retains its original split seat, on stylized trumpet turned legs ending in ball-like pad frontal feet, ball-and-reel turned frontal stretcher, cylindrical turned rear legs. A related rush-seated armchair of similar proportions and turnings with a variant heart-pierced splat design is illustrated in an advertisement for Williams Antiques, Old Greenwich, Connecticut in The Magazine Antiques, May 1950, p. 333.
Provenance: A pioneer Connecticut Americana collection; Lincoln and Jean Sander, Redding, CT; John Keith Russell, South Salem, NY; David A. Schorsch, Greenwich, CT, 1985; Private collection.
Literature: David A. Schorsch, “Living with antiques, A collection of American folk art in the Midwest,” in The Magazine Antiques, October 1990, p.784, pl. XIII.
Red haired little girl in a white dress Possibly Portland, Maine, dated 1832 Oil on artist board, 22 x 19 inches Inscribed in ink on verso: “W.M. Prior / 1832.” Cleaned and re-varnished, in a reproduction veneered frame
This portrait of a red-haired little girl in a white dress wearing a coral necklace with heart-shaped pendant is signed and dated by William Matthew Prior (1806-1873), one of the most prominent and influential American folk painters of the nineteenth century. Beginning early in his career Prior cleverly adapted his portrait painting style to respond to the taste and budget of his clientele, that ranged from simple and inexpensive “flat” likenesses to highly polished “shaded” portraits in a nearly academic mode. The dramatic clouds in the background of this portrait anticipate the skies of landscapes that Prior painted in his later years
Provenance: Collection of Marjorie Wyman, St. Louis, MO; Private collection.
Rhode Island or Massachusetts, circa 1780 Maple, chestnut, white pine, with original hardware, 25 ½ x 30 x 14 ¾ inches
This is a finely miniaturized version of a classic New England tall chest, with split top drawers and bracket feet, and mellow color. The use of wooden-spring “Quaker” drawer locks and chestnut drawer linings are indicative of early case furniture made in Rhode Island and parts of southeastern Massachusetts. The original pierced Chippendale brasses of a rare design add an element of sophistication to this beautifully proportioned little gem.
Western Massachusetts, dated July 4, 1831 Watercolor and ink on maple with original resin-based finish, replaced bone escutcheon, 3 1/2 x 11 x 7 3/8 inches Inscribed in ink with verse, “White” and “Green” and “July 4, 1831.” With a later ink inscription on underside: “Mrs. Belle B. Gibbs.” In a fine state of preservation with original painted decoration
Executed in transparent watercolor and ink on a dovetailed maple box with original resin based finish having a warm golden brown patina. This box is remarkable for the clarity and vibrancy of its well preserved landscape decoration painted from life and print sources. The scenes of local New England landscapes include: mountains, red-roofed Federal houses, outbuildings, fences, gardens, and row boat. The vignettes taken from print sources depict pastoral scenes with stone thatched roof cottages, fences, trees, and a castle ruin. The front of the box with a diamond-shaped bone escutcheon and steel lock, is flanked by a poetic verse in tiny block lettering above the names of the artists “White” and Green” and the date “July 4, 1831” in ornamental calligraphic lettering. The underside of the lid is inscribed in script: “This work is trifling, yet my friend, Perhaps to you ’twill sometimes End / A memory of those days that’s past, When joy, and pleasure fleeted past.” It has been suggested that this box may honor President James Monroe who died on July 4 1831. Monroe was popular in his day, overwhelmingly elected president in 1816 and 1820, during a period of increased nationalism after the War of 1812 known as the “Era of Good Feelings” between 1815 and 1825.
Charles F. Montgomery observed that “A little before 1800, ornamental painting became a part of the curriculum in girls’ schools in the United States; and as early as 1812 this was extended to include the painting of tables and work boxes. In Reminiscences of a Nonagenarian, the author writing of Newburyport, comments that in 1812 “Miss Mary Ann Colman was a good teacher of water color painting; the fruit and flower pieces executed at her school were natural and well done. She also taught painting on wood; several work boxes and work-stands, painted under her instruction, are still to be seen in the residences of some of our older citizens.” (American Furniture, The Federal Period…, p. 462.) Dean A. Fales, Jr., noted that “fond parents often obtained from cabinetmakers boxes or tables on which their daughters could demonstrate their newly acquired proficiencies.” (American Painted Furniture…, p. 177). For references to this genre see Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture, The Federal Period in the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum (New York, 1969), figs 478-481; Dean A. Fales, Jr., American Painted Furniture 1660-1880 (New York, 1972), figs 284-286, 290-293; C. Kurt Dewhurst, Betty MacDowell and Marsha MacDowell, Artists in Aprons, Folk Art by American Women, (New York, 1979), figs 58-59; Nina Fletcher Little, Neat and Tidy: Boxes and Their Contents Used in Early American Households (New York, 1980), fig 70 and pl. 20; Cynthia V. A. Schaffner and Susan Klein, American Painted Furniture (New York, 1997), figs 1.37-1.43, and Stacy C. Hollander, Ed., American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York, 2001), figs 248 and 250.
Provenance: Owned by Isabella B. Gibbs (1826-1902), a music teacher from Russell, Massachusetts, a town near Springfield; Nathan Liverant & Son, Colchester, CT.
Mushroom-gray painted square work basket
New England, circa 1830
Mushroom-gray painted square work basket
New England, circa 1830 Ash splint, with original paint and fabric lining, 7 x 16 x 15 ½ inches Among the numerous early New England baskets that we have sold over many years, this one is a particular favorite. We first owned it in the early 1980s, and were thrilled to reacquire it earlier this year. It is sturdy and solid with a heft and weightiness that make it substantial.ELIZABETH LINCOLN
Book of school girl drawings
Boston, Massachusetts, 1826
ELIZABETH LINCOLN
Book of school girl drawings
Boston, Massachusetts, 1826
Manufactured sketch book with brown and red marbleized paperboard covers, gold stamped red leather spine and edge, watercolor and graphite on paper, 10 ½ x 7 ½ inches
Title page inscribed: “Elizabeth Lincoln / July 1826 / Boston”
This book of school girl drawings includes thirty five individual pages of pictures comprising seventeen watercolors of flowers, some titled; two watercolors of neoclassical motifs; four watercolors of fruit; two watercolors of still-life compositions, including one having a glass bowl with applied mica chips; seven water landscapes, one torn, and three pencil sketches
Mount Vernon
American, circa 1830
Mount Vernon
American, circa 1830
Watercolor on paper, in a period gilt frame with replaced eglomise glass, 20 ½ x 26 ½ inches
This colorful and nicely detailed schoolgirl watercolor is based on the well known engraving, “Mount Vernon in Virginia,” first published in 1800 by Francis Jukes (1745-1812). This view of Mount Vernon as depicted in this specific print was a popular subject for American school girl watercolors and needlework created during the first decades of the nineteenth century.
Federal One-drawer Stand
Probably Vermont, circa 1830
Federal One-drawer Stand
Probably Vermont, circa 1830
Rare Pair of Paint-decorated Boxes
Probably Bucks County, Pennsylvania, circa 1830
Rare Pair of Paint-decorated Boxes
Probably Bucks County, Pennsylvania, circa 1830
Each, poplar, original brass hinges and lock, original painted decoration, 5 ½ x 12 x 6 inches
The first box initialed “GC” and lined with white paper. The second initialed “CR” and lined with original block printed paper.
The refined and highly accomplished painted decoration of these boxes shows the hand of an ornamental decorator of the highest order, similar to the ornamentation on a small group of miniature chests from the workshop of Edward Hicks (1780-1849, including multiple striped borders, a variety of floral, vine, and leafy devices, and the owner’s initials on the front panels, several rendered in gold paint with fancy script or calligraphic lettering.
The genesis of the Hicks attribution stems from a box inscribed “S. W. Hicks” on the front panel made for Edward Hicks’ wife, Sarah Worstall Hicks (1781-1855), with free-hand decoration, now owned by the Newtown Historic Association, with its decoration attributed to Edward Hicks by Carolyn J. Weekley in “The Kingdoms of Edward Hicks” (New York, 1999), p. 73, pl. 54. A related box now in a private collection is inscribed “W. Richardson, Painter,” working in the Hicks shop.
Miniature silhouette of a young gentlemen
New England, circa 1830
Miniature silhouette of a young gentlemen
New England, circa 1830
Hollow-cut watercolor on paper, 4 ½ x 3 ¾ inches, original basswood floral paint decorated frame with original glass and backboard
The young gentleman in profile, with hollow-cut face, shirt and collar; the hair, shirt, and two-tone colored coat picked out in watercolor. The silhouette retaining its remarkable original paint decorated flat frame, with quarter round interior corners, and decorated with flowers and leaves, a stylized sun, pinwheels, and a basket of flowers in vibrant shades of red and green on a yellow background. The frame is carved from the solid with no joinery employed. In a superb state of preservation, in untouched condition, with original glass and backboard secured by original tiny wooden pins. This is a gem of the very finest quality.
Provenance:
Collection of Carolyn and Tom Porter, Delaware, OH.
Grain-painted Lift-top Chest
Vermont, circa 1780-1820
Grain-painted Lift-top Chest
Vermont, circa 1780-1820
White pine, original grain painted, original iron cotter pin hinges andiron lock and key, 23 ½ x 39 ¾ x 17 ½ inches
In a fine state of preservation; minor overall wear and usage appropriate to age
This is a classic example of an early New England “six board” blanket chest with scalloped boot-jack ends and original iron cotter pin hinges indicative of late eighteenth century manufacture, likely decorated in the early 19th century with boldly painted black brushwork decoration on an unusual moss-green background.
Provenance:
By descent in the Compton family of Vermont; David A. Schorsch, New York, 1992; Private collection.
Published:
David A. Schorsch, A Sampler of Recent Acquisitions II (New York, 1992), unpaginated.
Miniature Portrait Of a Little Girl in Pink
American, circa 1840
Miniature Portrait Of a Little Girl in Pink
American, circa 1840
Watercolor on paper thin ivory, with human hair, in original brass locket, 2 9/16 x 2 5/16 inches, oval
Though similar in quality and style to miniature portraits by Clarissa Peters (Mrs. Moses B. Russell), we attribute this likeness to another hand. This fine miniature portrait depicts a contented little girl with large brown eyes and flaxen hair, half-length, wearing a pink dress and holding a rose, seated in a brown-painted tablet back Windsor armchair. Woven flaxen colored hair from the sitter is preserved on the backside of the locket under glass.
Figural Pipe Bowl
Possibly Midwestern, circa 1870
Figural Pipe Bowl
Possibly Midwestern, circa 1870
Maple, brass nails, glass bead eyes, original painted decoration, 6 x 4 ½ x 2 ¼ inches
In a fine state of preservation with patina, wear and usage appropriate to age
This charming and sculptural pipe bowl is uniquely shaped and retains its original painted decoration. The pipe bowl is in the form of a wide-eyed gentleman in a feathered bicorn hat and smoking a cigar while striking an acrobatic pose. The figure’s hinged lower legs and hat lift to reveal the pipe bowl. The face is remarkably detailed with large eyes, mustache, and extended mutton chop side burns. The distinctive shape of this cocked hat is similar to those worn by the American navy during the 1820s and 1830s.
Provenance:
Hill Gallery, Birmingham, MI; Fred Giampietro, New Haven, CT; Collection of Stephen and Petra Levin, Stow, VT.
Queen Anne flat-top high chest
Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1760
Queen Anne flat-top high chest
Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1760
Walnut, maple, white pine, with original brasses, 69 x 38 x 19 inches
This is a classic example of a flat-top Queen Anne high chest made in Salem, Massachusetts, having the signature attributes of a distinctively scalloped apron with central diamond cut-out, spurred knee returns, and elegantly shaped cabriole legs with pad feet. This particular apron design is one of the most beautiful made in colonial America and occurs on a small number of Salem high chests regarded as the best of kind.
Gray and white cat with mouse
Probably Massachusetts, circa 1840-1860
Gray and white cat with mouse
Probably Massachusetts, circa 1840-1860
Opaque watercolor on paper, 12 5/8 x 17 5/8 inches
Cleaned and de-acidified, repair to vertical crease along right side from being previously folded; mounted to museum standards in a period frame
Provenance:
Found in Sunderland, MA; Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hammitt, Woodbury, CT; Private collection; Thomas R. Longacre, Marlborough, NH; Frank and Barbara Pollack, Highland Park, IL; David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, Woodbury, CT, 2007; Private collection, 2007-2020.
Exhibited:
“American Folk Art from Connecticut Collections,” Newtown Historical Society, Newtown, CT, 1974.
“The Cat in American Folk Art,” The Museum of American Folk Art, New York, 1976.
Published:
Bruce Johnson, American Cat-alogue (New York, 1976), no. 28.
Exotic bird with long tail feathers
Probably Pennsylvania, circa 1880-1900
Exotic bird with long tail feathers
Probably Pennsylvania, circa 1880-1900
Softwood, wire legs, original painted decoration, on a modern museum base, 6 x 14 x 2 inches
In a fine state of original preservation
This boldly carved and oversized bird carving has a dynamic and unusual form with unusually long tail feathers, and vibrant original painted decoration in a superb state of preservation. It belongs to a well established tradition of painted bird painted bird carvings made in southern eastern Pennsylvania during the last decades of the nineteenth century, see Richard S. and Rosemarie B. Machmer in Just For Nice, Carving and Whittling Magic of Southeastern Pennsylvania (Reading, Pennsylvania: Berks County Historical Society, 1991).
MAJOR TIMOTHY CHANDLER (1762-1848)
Federal Painted Tall-Case Clock
Concord, New Hampshire, circa 1810
MAJOR TIMOTHY CHANDLER (1762-1848)
Federal Painted Tall-Case Clock
Concord, New Hampshire, circa 1810
Birch, white pine, brass works, painted iron face, original brass finials, with original red paint, 92 x 20 x 9 ½ inches
Saddle board stamped twice: “T.CHANDLER.”
With its rare original paint and handsome form, this is the finest known examples of a red-painted country Federal tall clock with original works by Major Timothy Chandler, one of the most celebrated New Hampshire clockmakers. It was formerly in the collection of Charles S. Parsons, Jr., a noted scholar of New Hampshire decorative arts, best known for the book The Dunlaps & Their Furniture. In 1976 Parsons described this clock as: “Figure 17… in its original red paint. Although it does not carry quarter columns in the waist, the size of the door adds an attractive appearance of pleasing proportions. The details of construction also indicate an experienced cabinetmaker who added a scrolled skirt and delicate fretwork.”
Provenance:
Collection of Charles S. Parsons, Jr.
Published:
Charles S. Parsons, Jr. New Hampshire Clocks & Clockmakers (Exeter, NH, 1976), pp. 22-23.
DR. SAMUEL A. SHUTE (1803-1836)
Isaac Orr and Mary Johnson Orr
Corinth, Vermont, circa 1834
DR. SAMUEL A. SHUTE (1803-1836)
Isaac Orr and Mary Johnson Orr
Corinth, Vermont, circa 1834
Each, watercolor and pencil on paper, 27 x 23 inches, mounted to museum standards in reproduction veneered frames
This pair of portraits depicting Isaac Orr (1804-1873) and his wife, Mary Johnson Orr (1808-1870) of Corinth, Vermont rank among the most powerful and highly stylized known examples by Dr. Samuel A. Shute. Painted two years before his untimely death at age 33, these extraordinary portraits are notably flamboyant and freely painted in a style unique to Samuel Shute. They were part of a commission that also included a smaller watercolor portrait of their daughter, Atlantis Orr (1831-1860), 17 x 14 inches, inscribed on back: “April, 1834, Atlantis Orr 2 years 7 months” now in a private collection, illustrated in A Sampler of Recent Acquisitions II (David A. Schorsch, New York, 1992).
Watercolor portraits by Samuel A. Shute are rare when compared to the body of work done together with or individually painted by his wife, Ruth W. Shute (1803-1882). An unusual and distinguishing characteristic of Samuel Shute’s most highly stylized portraits are stark white-painted faces exemplified in the portrait of Mary Johnson Orr and “Woman with two canaries” in Jean Lipman and Tom Armstrong, Eds., American Folk Painters of Three Centuries (New York, 1980), p. 165. Additional watercolor portraits by Samuel A. Shute include “Dr. and Mrs. Charles Chandler” of 1829 in Lipman and Armstrong, p. 167; “Gentleman wearing a striped waistcoat and Woman wearing a bonnet with pink ribbons” in Stacy C. Hollander, Ed., American Radiance, The Ralph Esmerian gift to The American Folk Art Museum, p. 54, plate 25a-b, and “Lady with a colored belt” in Marna Anderson, A Loving Likeness, American Folk Portraits of The Nineteenth Century (Princeton, NJ, 1992), p. 38.
Provenance:
Found in St. Johnsbury, VT; Collection of Stephen Corrigan and Douglas Jackman, Rockingham, VT; Walters-Benisek, Northampton, MA; Private collection; Stephen Score, Boston, MA; David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles, Woodbury, CT; Private collection.
Queen Anne painted armchair
New York Region, circa 1740
Queen Anne painted armchair
New York Region, circa 1740
Maple, old or original brown paint, original split-seat, 49 x 26 ½ x 17 inches
In a fine state of preservation; area of rewoven repair to original splint seat
This is a highly imaginative interpretation of a “Dutch” style armchair with dramatic throne-like proportions and elegantly executed details. Disc-turned finials with baluster-shaped stiles flank the arched crest. The whimsical champhered-edged splat incorporates the extremely rare feature of a pierced heart above a fylfot. The rollover arms of fine profile are elegantly champhered. The chair retains its original split seat, on stylized trumpet turned legs ending in ball-like pad frontal feet, ball-and-reel turned frontal stretcher, cylindrical turned rear legs. A related rush-seated armchair of similar proportions and turnings with a variant heart-pierced splat design is illustrated in an advertisement for Williams Antiques, Old Greenwich, Connecticut in The Magazine Antiques, May 1950, p. 333.
Provenance:
A pioneer Connecticut Americana collection; Lincoln and Jean Sander, Redding, CT; John Keith Russell, South Salem, NY; David A. Schorsch, Greenwich, CT, 1985; Private collection.
Literature:
David A. Schorsch, “Living with antiques, A collection of American folk art in the Midwest,” in The Magazine Antiques, October 1990, p.784, pl. XIII.
WILLIAM MATTHEW PRIOR (1806-1873)
Red haired little girl in a white dress
Possibly Portland, Maine, dated 1832
WILLIAM MATTHEW PRIOR (1806-1873)
Red haired little girl in a white dress
Possibly Portland, Maine, dated 1832
Oil on artist board, 22 x 19 inches
Inscribed in ink on verso: “W.M. Prior / 1832.”
Cleaned and re-varnished, in a reproduction veneered frame
This portrait of a red-haired little girl in a white dress wearing a coral necklace with heart-shaped pendant is signed and dated by William Matthew Prior (1806-1873), one of the most prominent and influential American folk painters of the nineteenth century. Beginning early in his career Prior cleverly adapted his portrait painting style to respond to the taste and budget of his clientele, that ranged from simple and inexpensive “flat” likenesses to highly polished “shaded” portraits in a nearly academic mode. The dramatic clouds in the background of this portrait anticipate the skies of landscapes that Prior painted in his later years
Provenance:
Collection of Marjorie Wyman, St. Louis, MO; Private collection.
Diminutive country Chippendale chest of drawers
Rhode Island or Massachusetts, circa 1780
Diminutive country Chippendale chest of drawers
Rhode Island or Massachusetts, circa 1780
Maple, chestnut, white pine, with original hardware, 25 ½ x 30 x 14 ¾ inches
This is a finely miniaturized version of a classic New England tall chest, with split top drawers and bracket feet, and mellow color. The use of wooden-spring “Quaker” drawer locks and chestnut drawer linings are indicative of early case furniture made in Rhode Island and parts of southeastern Massachusetts. The original pierced Chippendale brasses of a rare design add an element of sophistication to this beautifully proportioned little gem.
Slide-lid box with school-girl painted decoration
Western Massachusetts, dated July 4, 1831
Slide-lid box with school-girl painted decoration
Western Massachusetts, dated July 4, 1831
Watercolor and ink on maple with original resin-based finish, replaced bone escutcheon, 3 1/2 x 11 x 7 3/8 inches
Inscribed in ink with verse, “White” and “Green” and “July 4, 1831.” With a later ink inscription on underside: “Mrs. Belle B. Gibbs.”
In a fine state of preservation with original painted decoration
Executed in transparent watercolor and ink on a dovetailed maple box with original resin based finish having a warm golden brown patina. This box is remarkable for the clarity and vibrancy of its well preserved landscape decoration painted from life and print sources. The scenes of local New England landscapes include: mountains, red-roofed Federal houses, outbuildings, fences, gardens, and row boat. The vignettes taken from print sources depict pastoral scenes with stone thatched roof cottages, fences, trees, and a castle ruin. The front of the box with a diamond-shaped bone escutcheon and steel lock, is flanked by a poetic verse in tiny block lettering above the names of the artists “White” and Green” and the date “July 4, 1831” in ornamental calligraphic lettering. The underside of the lid is inscribed in script: “This work is trifling, yet my friend, Perhaps to you ’twill sometimes End / A memory of those days that’s past, When joy, and pleasure fleeted past.” It has been suggested that this box may honor President James Monroe who died on July 4 1831. Monroe was popular in his day, overwhelmingly elected president in 1816 and 1820, during a period of increased nationalism after the War of 1812 known as the “Era of Good Feelings” between 1815 and 1825.
Charles F. Montgomery observed that “A little before 1800, ornamental painting became a part of the curriculum in girls’ schools in the United States; and as early as 1812 this was extended to include the painting of tables and work boxes. In Reminiscences of a Nonagenarian, the author writing of Newburyport, comments that in 1812 “Miss Mary Ann Colman was a good teacher of water color painting; the fruit and flower pieces executed at her school were natural and well done. She also taught painting on wood; several work boxes and work-stands, painted under her instruction, are still to be seen in the residences of some of our older citizens.” (American Furniture, The Federal Period…, p. 462.) Dean A. Fales, Jr., noted that “fond parents often obtained from cabinetmakers boxes or tables on which their daughters could demonstrate their newly acquired proficiencies.” (American Painted Furniture…, p. 177). For references to this genre see Charles F. Montgomery, American Furniture, The Federal Period in the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum (New York, 1969), figs 478-481; Dean A. Fales, Jr., American Painted Furniture 1660-1880 (New York, 1972), figs 284-286, 290-293; C. Kurt Dewhurst, Betty MacDowell and Marsha MacDowell, Artists in Aprons, Folk Art by American Women, (New York, 1979), figs 58-59; Nina Fletcher Little, Neat and Tidy: Boxes and Their Contents Used in Early American Households (New York, 1980), fig 70 and pl. 20; Cynthia V. A. Schaffner and Susan Klein, American Painted Furniture (New York, 1997), figs 1.37-1.43, and Stacy C. Hollander, Ed., American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York, 2001), figs 248 and 250.
Provenance:
Owned by Isabella B. Gibbs (1826-1902), a music teacher from Russell, Massachusetts, a town near Springfield; Nathan Liverant & Son, Colchester, CT.