The 2008 year was another interesting one for miniature portrait collectors.
Although, very much a niche area of collecting, it seems to be of interest to a surprising number of people. I get three or four emails a week from visitors asking about miniatures and do try to answer them all. Many of the emails are asking about decorative or fake miniatures. However, that is to be expected, as genuine miniatures are very much in a minority, as a proportion of the total in existence.
The 2008 acquisitions to this collection should appear here as a slide-show, if I have got the linkage to work! The slide-show may take up to a minute to appear. If it does, the miniatures will then appear in an approximate chronological order of when they were painted.
As has been mentioned elsewhere, this collection has set out to indicate that it is possible for an ordinary collector to assemble a collection of international interest and merit, even on a limited budget. The target average budget cost for purchasing is $500 and naturally there is a wide range. The most expensive miniature portrait in 2008 cost $2000 and the cheapest one cost about $50. Thus to come in at an average cost of just under $400 for 2008, compared to the budget average limit of $500 was pleasing.
Buying for the collection was a little more restrained in 2008, than in 2007, as indicated by the following table of miniatures purchased.
Origin ..................... 2008
American ................. 33
British ...................... 18
European ..................07
Total ......................... 58
Total cost ......... $22,500
Average cost ......... $388
This compares to 90 miniatures in 2007, which had an average cost of $435. For more details on 2007, see Annual Review for 2007
My favourite "top ten" acquisitions, but not necessarily in order of importance are:
Michael Rosse- portrait of King William III, see View
Walter Ferris Biggs - portrait of Luna Alston de Gallegos, see View
William Douglas - portraits of his children, see View
Jeanne Maricot - portrait of a lady, see View
Daniel and Maria Louise Wagner - portrait of a lady, see View
Charles Fraser- portrait of Mary Branford Shubrick, see View
Dorothea Kellner - portraits of General and Mrs von Cramon, see View
Henry Bone - portrait of Sir Anthony Carlisle, see View
Mervia Carpenter - self portrait, see View
William John Thomson - portrait of Charlotte Knox Trotter, see View
It is quite hard to make such a selection, as it leaves out miniatures acquired during the year by artists such as; Nathaniel Rogers, Joseph Wood, Anson Dickinson, John Wood Dodge, and of sitters such as; Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany, the Root family, John Tweed, and the 4th Earl of Egremont.
As 2008, has been such a disastrous year for investments in equities and houses, it is relevant to consider the investment implications of miniature portraits, although investment gains are not the main purpose of collecting these miniatures.
The main difference between an investment and a collection, is that an investment is for sale, but a collection is not for sale. Thus these miniatures are defined as a collection, not as an investment.
Nevertheless, estimated values do give an indication as to whether money has been spent wisely. Also, perhaps to encourage other people contemplating the collecting of miniatures, to realise that they can be worth more than they cost, provided one is careful.
As noted above, in 2008, 58 miniatures were purchased for about $22,500. Obviously, one can only be sure of selling values by going to the market and allowing for all selling costs.
Dealer experts will have their own opinion and judgement on the net market value of the 58 miniatures acquired this year, but a considered guestimate is for a combined net auction value, after selling fees at a specialist auction, of around $50,000. Thus on average, they are probably worth around two and a half times their cost.
The reasons for a margin over cost are threefold; luck, knowledge, and research, mainly the latter.
Research is very time consuming, but learning the background to the sitter in a miniature and building up its history, adds enormously to its interest and hence its value.
2009 Additions and Comments
Hopefully, visitors will feel that my 2008 comments have added to general knowledge on a fascinating subject.
I will open a new section for 2009 comments and so anyone interested in following any comments and additions during 2009, should link to the home page instead of this page.
Friday
Saturday
December, Additions to the collection
There have been three additions to the collection at the end of the 2008 year.One each from America, Britain, and Europe.
The earliest is an American miniature of a young man, named A Leache aged 17. It was painted in 1825 by Antonio Meucci, an artist born in Italy, but who was working in the United States between 1818 and 1827.
For more about it see Meucci, Antonio - portrait of J Leache
The unsigned British miniature portrait is of Fanny Goschen. She was a member of a very wealthy British family.
Her eldest brother was Viscount George Joachim Goschen, Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Lord of the Admiralty.For more about her and her family, see Unknown - portrait of Fanny Goschen
The third miniature is an important portrait of Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany. The artist is so far only known by their initials. The miniature is interesting in that the Crown Prince is in full dress uniform, but he is holding a cigarette in his right hand.
This is one of only a couple of miniatures I have ever seen with a sitter holding a cigarette and it is most unusual in such a formal portrait.
He was the son of the Kaiser in World War I and commanded the 5th Army until November 1916, a two-year period which included the battle of attrition known as the Verdun Offensive.From April 1916 onward he tried in vain to convince the supreme command that the Verdun offensive no longer made any sense, but the campaign continued until September 2nd of that year.
During World War I he was belittled as the "Clown Prince" by the British soldiers; that nickname was adopted by the American forces in 1917.
For more about the Crown Prince and the miniature, see Artist "J T A" - portrait of Crown Prince Willhelm of Germany
Tuesday
December - The market - fake and genuine miniatures
As a little test, albeit unscientific, I recently did a search on eBay in the Art category, using the two words; "ivory" and "miniature", just to see what proportion were fakes! Also what proportion of the genuine miniatures were worth bidding on for the average collector.
I was surprised when the proportion of fakes was even higher than I expected. I had expected it to be about 50:50. The eBay search brought up 338 items, of which about 40% were "red herrings" i.e. caught in the net in error! That left 196 ivory miniatures. Of these only, 37 or 19%, were genuine and the majority, 159 or 81%, were decorative fakes!
The 37 genuine items included some of poor quality and some with ridiculously high prices. None of the 37 were signed by the artist, although several were attributed to artists. None of the 37 had identified sitters. There were only one or two that could possibly be recommended as worth bidding on.
Fake miniatures
There has been the usual mix of fake and genuine miniatures appearing in the market place. Most fakes are obvious, but several fakes were dangerous ones in my opinion. The most dangerous fakes are where the seller, provides a misleading description.
Regular visitors will know that there are many easily detectable fakes, such as those with piano key frames. Showing here are three that are less obvious and where the seller made claims as to authenticity which I believe cannot be substantiated.
The first one was described as; "Titled on reverse, "Miss Bover" - Original Miniature Portrait Painting on Ivory in Watercolor and body color. Signed J. Hoppner 1790. - In the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, there is a portrait on ivory of the Princess of Wales with a very similar frame, composition and signature. That portrait, dated 1787, is attributed to John Hoppner, based on the signature. - You may view that painting online, by visiting the website of the Philadelphia Museum of art and searching their collection for John Hoppner."
It was offered for sale with an opening price of $1,195 and a Buy It Now price of $2000. However, both this miniature and the one referred to in the Philadelphia Museum of Art are 19C fakes. The catalog of the Philadelphia Museum illustrates over 400 miniatures in its collection, but there is a sprinkling of fake miniatures in their collection. Whether the Museum has subsequently had their collection reassessed, I do not know, but it shows that even Museums can make mistakes. This often happens when an item is gifted to a museum by a donor who believes in good faith that an item is genuine.
There are many things wrong with the miniature, but the main point is that Hoppner did not paint miniatures. Daphne Foskett was the acknowledged expert on British miniatures, but she did not even list him in her dictionary. Also the colors and frame are all wrong for the time.
So remember, just because a similar example appears in a museum, does not necessarily mean either of them are genuine. To be fair to the seller of this item, when I emailed them to tell them it was a fake, they withdrew it from sale.
The second miniature is also a fake, but the seller took no notice of my email telling them it is a fake. I think that shows a dishonest seller.
It was described as; "Giovanna Garzoni 1600 - 1670 - 17th Century (Italian) A simply wonderfully executed and very very rare 17th Century miniature painting of an aristocratic lady in formal dress. Signed by the artist G (giovanna) Garzoni and dated 1650, this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase a major find. It is inscribed verso Duchess de D******** but I can not make the last part of the name out. I have rarely seen a miniture portrait painting of this quality and feel safe in saying it will make a superb investment for the winning bidder."
There was also a lot more in the eBay description about Garzoni, all giving the impression the miniature is genuine.
My email pointed out that it appeared to be on ivory, which was not used in 1670 for miniatures, also the colors are all wrong for the period, as is the frame. It must have been copied from an engraving in the 19C. As I write this the bid price is up to $338, which is about all it is worth. [Later - this fake finally sold for $1525.] The seller has a number of other fakes for sale, with misleading descriptions, although not quite as bad, see Items for sale so be warned.
The actual third miniature is not an actual fake as such, but the sitter has been given a fake identification. The miniature is French, not American.
It was offered by Early American Auctions and described as; "Painting on Ivory of a Young Patrick Henry - c. 1770, 18th Century, Oil Painted on Ivory, Miniature Portrait of a Gentleman, Choice Extremely Fine. Unsigned, 2.75" diameter, housed in a period round gilt frame, and quite handsome. This image looks like a young Patrick Henry of Virginia, with light-green eyes, wearing a purple jacket, fancy vest and ascot. PROVENANCE: Ex: Freeman Auction Gallery, From the collection of D. Virginia Armentrout of Ambler, Pennsylvania."
This is a case where the vendor is making a misleading statement in my opinion. The starting price is $1 (yes, $1) with an estimate of $6000 - $8000! The auction has not yet taken place, but I hope no one is fooled by the claim. [Later, the miniature sold for around $6000 inclusive of the buyer's premium, which was far too high for an unknown sitter by an unknown artist. I think it was worth under $500.]
Puzzling, is another item sold at auction. I will refrain from saying they are fakes, but this pair of miniatures has me a little worried.
They sold for GBP317 and were described as: "Fine pair of Georgian period portrait miniatures. Circa 1780. In a shield shaped fitted easel stand with a family crest to the top. The miniatures are possibly of husband and wife but there are no details at all with the portraits. The lady is signed with initials 'TP' or possibly 'JP'. Each portrait measures 1 & 5/8ths" high. The easel frame is slightly later in date, probably 1830's and was originally velvet but the plush has now worn down to the material underneath, the back is still in excellent condition with the original pink silk and the stand is working fine. Overall height is 5 & 1/4" high. The miniatures are in excellent condition."
My concern is that the stand looks very modern and the actual crest looks like those modern pewter reproductions ones sees for sale on family history sites. Thus I wonder if the miniatures are also new, as they look rather odd for 18C miniatures. I think this seller is honest, but I hope they have not been fooled themselves.
Modern fake miniatures are rare. I have been surprised none have appeared on the market from China, as they seem an obvious target for modern fakers. I may be mistaken and it may be genuine, but my reason for posting it here, is in case there is anyone who may be starting to make fake shields and offer them for sale. Thus if any similar items appear, please let me know.
Genuine Miniatures
Genuine miniatures seem to require less comment. Their quality is obvious and the experts can pick them out, even when the auction house does not recognise the artist.
Although this was not the case with the first item. It was offered by Alex Cooper Auctions and has impeccable provenance, being illustrated in a book and was described as; "Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827). Quarter-length portrait of General Jonathan Sellman, oval watercolor, 1 5/8 x 1 3/8 in., mounted in a gold pendant with chain. Reference: Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale, by Charles Coleman Sellers, 1952, pgs. 192 & 261."
The estimate was for a hammer price of $25,000 - $35,000 and it sold exactly at the mid point for $30,000.
The second two miniatures were offered by Eldreds, but they obviously did not know who the artists were, as the pre sale estimate for the two was only $200 - $300. The description said only; "Two miniature portraits - One of a lady, 1 3/4" x 1 3/8", the other of a gentleman, 1 1/4" x 1". Unsigned."
However they achieved a combined hammer price of $1300 which was still cheap, as the man is by a famous British artist named Jeremiah Meyer.
I could not pick the artist for the lady, but she looks to be a genuine 18C item, although in a modern American frame. [Later, a kind visitor tells me the lady "is by Louis Sicardi, a beautiful miniature, although it seems to have seen better days".]
David Rago Auctions offered two other miniatures with a combined pre-sale estimate of $600 - $800. They were described only as; "Miniature watercolor on ivory - Two pieces: young woman wearing a gray dress holding a baby in a lace cap, ca. 1840, together with a miniature on ivory of a child with a red necklace. Larger (sight): 2" x 3 1/2".
They sold after spirited bidding for $1900 plus buyer's commission as the bidders had picked the one on the left as being by Mrs Moses B Russell. She is also known as Clarissa Peters.
However, it is not one of her best miniatures, being of a child among clouds, probably deceased, and it is rather dull. I do not know the other artist, both frames are modern.
An interesting miniature was this one of a man wearing a wig sold by Kaminski Auctions for a hammer price of $700. It was described only as; "18th Century American miniature portrait on ivory of a gentleman, mounted in a solid rose gold pin/pendant, fitted in a leather case."
However, I could not pick the artist. I ruled out Robert Fulton, although it is a little similar to his American miniatures. I thought it might possibly be by John Ramage, but was not confident enough to bid. I do think whoever picked the artist got a bargain.
Another miniature, I think was cheap, given the sitter, was this miniature of Mark Twain, sold by Davis Rago Auctions for a hammer price of $2800.
It was described as: "G.C. Richter portrait miniature of Mark Twain. After 1904 portrait by Edoardo Gelli, with 14k pendant frame, indistinctly marked, probably Carter & Gough, 2 3/4" x 2 3/8" below bail. (Note: This pendant was probably by descent through the Clemens family. "I have had many portraits painted, though each one I vowed would be the last; and as I don't believe any one's word should be broken in at least 10 years, I guess you really will be the last on to do it." Mark Twain to portrait painter James Carroll Beckwith c. 1890 at the age of 60. In 1904, at the age of 74, Twain sat for his final portrait with notable Italian pinter Edoardo Gelli. That painting was exhibited at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and currently is in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum. It is most likely that this miniature was commissioned for a member of the Clemens family before the 1st World War."
Although Twain is quoted as sitting for many portraits, that was for large portraits. Miniature portraits of him are rare. For more about miniature portraits of him, including one in this collection thought to be of him, see; Wilmot, Alta Eliza - portrait of Mark Twain
While on the subject of Mark Twain, one of his quotes suits me fine. It is: "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow" Mark Twain
However, the above examples show some bargains can still be found, by those willing to study hard and not skip their homework!
I was surprised when the proportion of fakes was even higher than I expected. I had expected it to be about 50:50. The eBay search brought up 338 items, of which about 40% were "red herrings" i.e. caught in the net in error! That left 196 ivory miniatures. Of these only, 37 or 19%, were genuine and the majority, 159 or 81%, were decorative fakes!
The 37 genuine items included some of poor quality and some with ridiculously high prices. None of the 37 were signed by the artist, although several were attributed to artists. None of the 37 had identified sitters. There were only one or two that could possibly be recommended as worth bidding on.
Fake miniatures
There has been the usual mix of fake and genuine miniatures appearing in the market place. Most fakes are obvious, but several fakes were dangerous ones in my opinion. The most dangerous fakes are where the seller, provides a misleading description.Regular visitors will know that there are many easily detectable fakes, such as those with piano key frames. Showing here are three that are less obvious and where the seller made claims as to authenticity which I believe cannot be substantiated.
The first one was described as; "Titled on reverse, "Miss Bover" - Original Miniature Portrait Painting on Ivory in Watercolor and body color. Signed J. Hoppner 1790. - In the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, there is a portrait on ivory of the Princess of Wales with a very similar frame, composition and signature. That portrait, dated 1787, is attributed to John Hoppner, based on the signature. - You may view that painting online, by visiting the website of the Philadelphia Museum of art and searching their collection for John Hoppner."
It was offered for sale with an opening price of $1,195 and a Buy It Now price of $2000. However, both this miniature and the one referred to in the Philadelphia Museum of Art are 19C fakes. The catalog of the Philadelphia Museum illustrates over 400 miniatures in its collection, but there is a sprinkling of fake miniatures in their collection. Whether the Museum has subsequently had their collection reassessed, I do not know, but it shows that even Museums can make mistakes. This often happens when an item is gifted to a museum by a donor who believes in good faith that an item is genuine.
There are many things wrong with the miniature, but the main point is that Hoppner did not paint miniatures. Daphne Foskett was the acknowledged expert on British miniatures, but she did not even list him in her dictionary. Also the colors and frame are all wrong for the time.
So remember, just because a similar example appears in a museum, does not necessarily mean either of them are genuine. To be fair to the seller of this item, when I emailed them to tell them it was a fake, they withdrew it from sale.The second miniature is also a fake, but the seller took no notice of my email telling them it is a fake. I think that shows a dishonest seller.
It was described as; "Giovanna Garzoni 1600 - 1670 - 17th Century (Italian) A simply wonderfully executed and very very rare 17th Century miniature painting of an aristocratic lady in formal dress. Signed by the artist G (giovanna) Garzoni and dated 1650, this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase a major find. It is inscribed verso Duchess de D******** but I can not make the last part of the name out. I have rarely seen a miniture portrait painting of this quality and feel safe in saying it will make a superb investment for the winning bidder."
There was also a lot more in the eBay description about Garzoni, all giving the impression the miniature is genuine.
My email pointed out that it appeared to be on ivory, which was not used in 1670 for miniatures, also the colors are all wrong for the period, as is the frame. It must have been copied from an engraving in the 19C. As I write this the bid price is up to $338, which is about all it is worth. [Later - this fake finally sold for $1525.] The seller has a number of other fakes for sale, with misleading descriptions, although not quite as bad, see Items for sale so be warned.
The actual third miniature is not an actual fake as such, but the sitter has been given a fake identification. The miniature is French, not American.It was offered by Early American Auctions and described as; "Painting on Ivory of a Young Patrick Henry - c. 1770, 18th Century, Oil Painted on Ivory, Miniature Portrait of a Gentleman, Choice Extremely Fine. Unsigned, 2.75" diameter, housed in a period round gilt frame, and quite handsome. This image looks like a young Patrick Henry of Virginia, with light-green eyes, wearing a purple jacket, fancy vest and ascot. PROVENANCE: Ex: Freeman Auction Gallery, From the collection of D. Virginia Armentrout of Ambler, Pennsylvania."
This is a case where the vendor is making a misleading statement in my opinion. The starting price is $1 (yes, $1) with an estimate of $6000 - $8000! The auction has not yet taken place, but I hope no one is fooled by the claim. [Later, the miniature sold for around $6000 inclusive of the buyer's premium, which was far too high for an unknown sitter by an unknown artist. I think it was worth under $500.]
Puzzling, is another item sold at auction. I will refrain from saying they are fakes, but this pair of miniatures has me a little worried.They sold for GBP317 and were described as: "Fine pair of Georgian period portrait miniatures. Circa 1780. In a shield shaped fitted easel stand with a family crest to the top. The miniatures are possibly of husband and wife but there are no details at all with the portraits. The lady is signed with initials 'TP' or possibly 'JP'. Each portrait measures 1 & 5/8ths" high. The easel frame is slightly later in date, probably 1830's and was originally velvet but the plush has now worn down to the material underneath, the back is still in excellent condition with the original pink silk and the stand is working fine. Overall height is 5 & 1/4" high. The miniatures are in excellent condition."
My concern is that the stand looks very modern and the actual crest looks like those modern pewter reproductions ones sees for sale on family history sites. Thus I wonder if the miniatures are also new, as they look rather odd for 18C miniatures. I think this seller is honest, but I hope they have not been fooled themselves.
Modern fake miniatures are rare. I have been surprised none have appeared on the market from China, as they seem an obvious target for modern fakers. I may be mistaken and it may be genuine, but my reason for posting it here, is in case there is anyone who may be starting to make fake shields and offer them for sale. Thus if any similar items appear, please let me know.
Genuine Miniatures
Genuine miniatures seem to require less comment. Their quality is obvious and the experts can pick them out, even when the auction house does not recognise the artist.Although this was not the case with the first item. It was offered by Alex Cooper Auctions and has impeccable provenance, being illustrated in a book and was described as; "Charles Willson Peale (American, 1741-1827). Quarter-length portrait of General Jonathan Sellman, oval watercolor, 1 5/8 x 1 3/8 in., mounted in a gold pendant with chain. Reference: Portraits and Miniatures by Charles Willson Peale, by Charles Coleman Sellers, 1952, pgs. 192 & 261."
The estimate was for a hammer price of $25,000 - $35,000 and it sold exactly at the mid point for $30,000.
The second two miniatures were offered by Eldreds, but they obviously did not know who the artists were, as the pre sale estimate for the two was only $200 - $300. The description said only; "Two miniature portraits - One of a lady, 1 3/4" x 1 3/8", the other of a gentleman, 1 1/4" x 1". Unsigned."However they achieved a combined hammer price of $1300 which was still cheap, as the man is by a famous British artist named Jeremiah Meyer.
I could not pick the artist for the lady, but she looks to be a genuine 18C item, although in a modern American frame. [Later, a kind visitor tells me the lady "is by Louis Sicardi, a beautiful miniature, although it seems to have seen better days".]
David Rago Auctions offered two other miniatures with a combined pre-sale estimate of $600 - $800. They were described only as; "Miniature watercolor on ivory - Two pieces: young woman wearing a gray dress holding a baby in a lace cap, ca. 1840, together with a miniature on ivory of a child with a red necklace. Larger (sight): 2" x 3 1/2".They sold after spirited bidding for $1900 plus buyer's commission as the bidders had picked the one on the left as being by Mrs Moses B Russell. She is also known as Clarissa Peters.
However, it is not one of her best miniatures, being of a child among clouds, probably deceased, and it is rather dull. I do not know the other artist, both frames are modern.
An interesting miniature was this one of a man wearing a wig sold by Kaminski Auctions for a hammer price of $700. It was described only as; "18th Century American miniature portrait on ivory of a gentleman, mounted in a solid rose gold pin/pendant, fitted in a leather case."However, I could not pick the artist. I ruled out Robert Fulton, although it is a little similar to his American miniatures. I thought it might possibly be by John Ramage, but was not confident enough to bid. I do think whoever picked the artist got a bargain.
Another miniature, I think was cheap, given the sitter, was this miniature of Mark Twain, sold by Davis Rago Auctions for a hammer price of $2800.It was described as: "G.C. Richter portrait miniature of Mark Twain. After 1904 portrait by Edoardo Gelli, with 14k pendant frame, indistinctly marked, probably Carter & Gough, 2 3/4" x 2 3/8" below bail. (Note: This pendant was probably by descent through the Clemens family. "I have had many portraits painted, though each one I vowed would be the last; and as I don't believe any one's word should be broken in at least 10 years, I guess you really will be the last on to do it." Mark Twain to portrait painter James Carroll Beckwith c. 1890 at the age of 60. In 1904, at the age of 74, Twain sat for his final portrait with notable Italian pinter Edoardo Gelli. That painting was exhibited at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition and currently is in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum. It is most likely that this miniature was commissioned for a member of the Clemens family before the 1st World War."
Although Twain is quoted as sitting for many portraits, that was for large portraits. Miniature portraits of him are rare. For more about miniature portraits of him, including one in this collection thought to be of him, see; Wilmot, Alta Eliza - portrait of Mark Twain
While on the subject of Mark Twain, one of his quotes suits me fine. It is: "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow" Mark Twain
However, the above examples show some bargains can still be found, by those willing to study hard and not skip their homework!
Monday
November - more from the market, fake and genuine
Fakes at auction
I recently mentioned two fake miniatures of George Washington offered at auction by a well known Dallas auction house, which were claimed to be genuine. See George Washington and the 2008 Financial Crisis - part 4
They also re-offered at auction as genuine, another miniature (showing left) with a high estimate $15,000 - $20,000, claimed to be; WALTER ROBERTSON (Irish/American, 1750-1801) Charles Robertson (the artist's brother), late 18th century Watercolor on ivory (5.1 x 3.8 cm)
However, I do not believe it has anything to do with either of the Robertson's, instead being by unknown artist of very mediocre ability.
Fortunately, both the "Washington" miniatures and the "Robertson" miniature appear not to have sold, which is a relief.
However, there were 14 bids on another fake (showing right) which sold for $7000, compared to an estimate of $15,000-$750,000 (sic!!). It offered by a different auction house based in Poughkeepsie NY and was described as; "18th C. oil on ivory portrait of Timothy Pickering sgd. G. Stuart.Pickering was one of original signers of Declaration of Independance and the first Post Master General of U.S."
Items like this concern me and show the need for "Buyer Beware". The description appears to be carefully written so there can be no "comeback", but is intended to make bidders believe it is a genuine original miniature from the 18C.
The auction small print reads; "Every item is sold "as is, where is". Neither the Auctioneer nor the Seller makes any warranties or representations of any kind or nature with respect to said property. All sales are final. Catalog descriptions are for simple identification purposes only. No representations are made as to authenticity, age, origin or value. Buyer relies solely on his/her own judgment when bidding."
However, the style, size, shape, and frame are all wrong for an 18C original. At best it is a late 19C copy of a portrait of Pickering and worth $300.
Thus the bidder who paid $7000 plus commission, say $8000 in total, is well out of pocket.
He/she will believe they have an original and no doubt some years in the future it will be innocently re-offered for sale as genuine by another family member, but it will still be a fake.
This is probably what happened with the George Washington and Robertson fakes mentioned above. Likely bought a number of years ago as "genuine" investments for very high prices. The vendor is no doubt now puzzled as to why they cannot show a profit on sale, nor even recoup their investment.
Genuine miniatures at auction
Normally, I do not comment on miniatures sold in Britain or Europe as there are so many of them and they are well documented in the specialist catalogues issued by the major auction houses.
However, one most interesting miniature sold on eBay for GBP250 was a miniature of an unknown lady in white, signed "Biffin 1818".
Sarah Biffin (1784-1850) was an remarkable miniature painter who was born without arms and legs, 1784-1850.
It is amazing to see the detail in the miniature portraits by this talented lady who taught herself to write, sew, and paint using only her mouth to steady the brush.
Recently sold by Doyle's were several American miniatures, with mixed hammer prices.
One of an unknown man against a green background and signed "Hudson 1817" for William Hudson sold for only $500, against an estimate of $1000 - $1500.
An attractive miniature attributed to James Reid Lambdin (1807-1889) being a portrait of Polly Stuart Webb Vincent in watercolor and gouache on ivory sold for $950, against an estimate of $800 - $1200.
The highest price was for an unknown man against a sky background. It was unattributed but sold for $2250, against an estimate of $400 - $600. I cannot pick the artist, although it may be by Anson Dickinson. Expert opinion would be welcome.
Unfortunately, I bid unsuccessfully on the last of the four which at $1200, sold above what I could afford, as 25% buyer's commission plus shipping needed to be added to the hammer price. The miniature is by John Wood Dodge.
I was keen on buying it as the sitter Mr W M Eastman, is the husband of Mrs Eliza M Eastman, showing here, who is already part of this collection, see Dodge, John Wood - portrait of Mrs E M Eastman Both miniatures being signed by Dodge and both dated Sept 30, 1836.
I had hoped to be able to reunite the husband and wife to share a future together, but alas it was not to be the case.
I recently mentioned two fake miniatures of George Washington offered at auction by a well known Dallas auction house, which were claimed to be genuine. See George Washington and the 2008 Financial Crisis - part 4They also re-offered at auction as genuine, another miniature (showing left) with a high estimate $15,000 - $20,000, claimed to be; WALTER ROBERTSON (Irish/American, 1750-1801) Charles Robertson (the artist's brother), late 18th century Watercolor on ivory (5.1 x 3.8 cm)
However, I do not believe it has anything to do with either of the Robertson's, instead being by unknown artist of very mediocre ability.
Fortunately, both the "Washington" miniatures and the "Robertson" miniature appear not to have sold, which is a relief.
However, there were 14 bids on another fake (showing right) which sold for $7000, compared to an estimate of $15,000-$750,000 (sic!!). It offered by a different auction house based in Poughkeepsie NY and was described as; "18th C. oil on ivory portrait of Timothy Pickering sgd. G. Stuart.Pickering was one of original signers of Declaration of Independance and the first Post Master General of U.S."
Items like this concern me and show the need for "Buyer Beware". The description appears to be carefully written so there can be no "comeback", but is intended to make bidders believe it is a genuine original miniature from the 18C.
The auction small print reads; "Every item is sold "as is, where is". Neither the Auctioneer nor the Seller makes any warranties or representations of any kind or nature with respect to said property. All sales are final. Catalog descriptions are for simple identification purposes only. No representations are made as to authenticity, age, origin or value. Buyer relies solely on his/her own judgment when bidding."
However, the style, size, shape, and frame are all wrong for an 18C original. At best it is a late 19C copy of a portrait of Pickering and worth $300.
Thus the bidder who paid $7000 plus commission, say $8000 in total, is well out of pocket.
He/she will believe they have an original and no doubt some years in the future it will be innocently re-offered for sale as genuine by another family member, but it will still be a fake.
This is probably what happened with the George Washington and Robertson fakes mentioned above. Likely bought a number of years ago as "genuine" investments for very high prices. The vendor is no doubt now puzzled as to why they cannot show a profit on sale, nor even recoup their investment.
Genuine miniatures at auction
Normally, I do not comment on miniatures sold in Britain or Europe as there are so many of them and they are well documented in the specialist catalogues issued by the major auction houses.However, one most interesting miniature sold on eBay for GBP250 was a miniature of an unknown lady in white, signed "Biffin 1818".
Sarah Biffin (1784-1850) was an remarkable miniature painter who was born without arms and legs, 1784-1850.
It is amazing to see the detail in the miniature portraits by this talented lady who taught herself to write, sew, and paint using only her mouth to steady the brush.
Recently sold by Doyle's were several American miniatures, with mixed hammer prices.One of an unknown man against a green background and signed "Hudson 1817" for William Hudson sold for only $500, against an estimate of $1000 - $1500.
An attractive miniature attributed to James Reid Lambdin (1807-1889) being a portrait of Polly Stuart Webb Vincent in watercolor and gouache on ivory sold for $950, against an estimate of $800 - $1200.
The highest price was for an unknown man against a sky background. It was unattributed but sold for $2250, against an estimate of $400 - $600. I cannot pick the artist, although it may be by Anson Dickinson. Expert opinion would be welcome.
Unfortunately, I bid unsuccessfully on the last of the four which at $1200, sold above what I could afford, as 25% buyer's commission plus shipping needed to be added to the hammer price. The miniature is by John Wood Dodge.I was keen on buying it as the sitter Mr W M Eastman, is the husband of Mrs Eliza M Eastman, showing here, who is already part of this collection, see Dodge, John Wood - portrait of Mrs E M Eastman Both miniatures being signed by Dodge and both dated Sept 30, 1836.
I had hoped to be able to reunite the husband and wife to share a future together, but alas it was not to be the case.
Two Additions
An American Addition and a British Addition
The first addition is rather special.
This American miniature portrait on ivory dating from 1820 is special on several counts.
Firstly, it was painted by an early 19C female artist in the United States, at a time when female artists were very much in the minority.
Secondly it is clearly identified as a self portrait.
In the United States, the Goodridge sisters are the only other pre 1880 female miniature painters I am aware of, who have recorded examples of self-portraits.
And thirdly, it has now been reunited with another self portrait by the same artist which was acquired five years ago and can be seen in the combined image.
This seems an amazing coincidence, but the similarities can be clearly seen and both portraits carry full inscriptions.
The second self portrait, dating from 1838, even contains a sachet the artist has included of her hair, which must be almost unique.
I have commented elsewhere that self-portraits are to me, one of the most interesting types of miniature portraits, as they give a view into the character of the artist.
As one can imagine, it was quite an exciting moment to reunite the two self portraits, which were painted about 18 years apart.
The artist and sitter is Meriva Carpenter (28 April 1802 - 24 July, 1887).
More about the two portraits, including the inscriptions, can be seen at Carpenter, Meriva - portrait of self and at Carpenter, Meriva - portrait of self where there are also miniature portrait images of her parents
The second miniature portrait is of an unknown British lady by M Bryant, an apparently unrecorded, but talented artist. The rear of the frame is dated March 1908.
More about the portrait can be seen at Bryant, M - portrait of a lady
The first addition is rather special.This American miniature portrait on ivory dating from 1820 is special on several counts.
Firstly, it was painted by an early 19C female artist in the United States, at a time when female artists were very much in the minority.
Secondly it is clearly identified as a self portrait.In the United States, the Goodridge sisters are the only other pre 1880 female miniature painters I am aware of, who have recorded examples of self-portraits.
And thirdly, it has now been reunited with another self portrait by the same artist which was acquired five years ago and can be seen in the combined image.
This seems an amazing coincidence, but the similarities can be clearly seen and both portraits carry full inscriptions.
The second self portrait, dating from 1838, even contains a sachet the artist has included of her hair, which must be almost unique.
I have commented elsewhere that self-portraits are to me, one of the most interesting types of miniature portraits, as they give a view into the character of the artist.
As one can imagine, it was quite an exciting moment to reunite the two self portraits, which were painted about 18 years apart.
The artist and sitter is Meriva Carpenter (28 April 1802 - 24 July, 1887).
More about the two portraits, including the inscriptions, can be seen at Carpenter, Meriva - portrait of self and at Carpenter, Meriva - portrait of self where there are also miniature portrait images of her parents
The second miniature portrait is of an unknown British lady by M Bryant, an apparently unrecorded, but talented artist. The rear of the frame is dated March 1908.
More about the portrait can be seen at Bryant, M - portrait of a lady
November - "Blog following" and the market place
Blog Following
Regular visitors may notice an extra widget on the right hand side of the Home page titled Followers. This is a new Blogger feature which apparently makes it easier for potential regular readers to keep in touch with blog updates. I am not yet familiar with it, but for those who are interested, here is the Blogger section which explains it.
When commenting in the previous post about George Washington miniatures, I mentioned the genuine miniature of him which sold for a hammer price of $260,000, or say about $300,000 including buyer's commission.
A number of other interesting miniatures have recently sold in America for much lesser prices. They include a pair sold by Cowans Auction for $1500 which were painted by Carl Weindel and described as "Pair of Identified Miniatures by Carl Weinedel, Pennsylvania, ca 1814, watercolor on paper, one signed. Sitters are identified in writing on verso as John C. Lessig (a War of 1812 soldier) and Eliza Dentzler, Mrs. John C. Lessig; each 3.25" high x 2.50" wide. Accompanying the miniatures is the Lessig Family provenance, images and a brief history of the sitters from the family bible.
Carl Weinedel(1795-1845) was known for his portraits, most often in miniature. He was born in Germany and immigrated to the U.S. about 1821. Advertisements for him appeared in Richmond Va., but in 1834 he was in NYC until his death in 1845."
An unusual auction offering was a pair of Japanese miniature portraits sold by Burchard Galleries for $500. Knotty Pine Auctions sold a typical James Sanford Ellsworth miniature for $2200.
Apart from the George Washington miniature, Skinners sold a number of other miniatures by a range of artists, as well as a number which were unattributed.
The more interesting included this portrait miniature of Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart, who was the widow of Martha Washington's son, John Parke Custus by her first marriage to Daniel Parke Custus.
This miniature is a good example of an instance where the importance of the sitter outweighed the crack that can be seen on the left hand side and also the lack of an attribution to a specific artist. It sold for $6000.
Skinners other sales included a British miniature of two children by John Goddard for $1400; a portrait miniature of a Young Woman, attributed to Clarissa Peters Russell (American, 1809-1854) for $1,100; a portrait miniature of a gentleman, attributed to William Verstille, (American, 1757-1803) for $1200; and a portrait miniature of a young man attributed to Mary Way (New London Connecticut, 1769-1833) for $2100.
The Russell and the Way sold for well below their pre-sale estimates, probably as the sale date of November 2, was in the middle of the financial crisis.
Several other unattributed miniatures sold cheaply at Skinners, although the one showing on left hand, of Horace Trowbridge Wildman, September 29, 1829, done when he was 21 years old, sold for $1200 at its top estimate. To me it looks as if it is by Nathaniel Rogers, which explain the greater interest.
A most unusual miniature was sold by a dealer for GBP850. It is only the second British miniature portrait painted prior to 1850 I have seen painted on a porcelain plaque. The other example being of Mrs Samuel Keys (wearing a pink bonnet) by Michael Keen which is in this collection, see Kean, Michael - portrait of Mrs Samuel Keys
Very appealing, it was described as "William Corden the elder (British 1797-1867); a superbly painted portrait miniature of Harriet Bainbrigge; enamel on a J Rose & Co, Coalport porcelain plaque; inscribed to the reverse: Harriet Bainbrigge / Married to Lieut Coll Rbt Dale Dev(on) 1811 / Painted by Wm Corden Oct 1822”; incised Coalport marks; in a glazed, period gilt composition frame; 14 x 12cm sight size."
Regular visitors may notice an extra widget on the right hand side of the Home page titled Followers. This is a new Blogger feature which apparently makes it easier for potential regular readers to keep in touch with blog updates. I am not yet familiar with it, but for those who are interested, here is the Blogger section which explains it.
What is Following?
Do you have a favorite blog and want to let the author and readers know that you are a fan? Well now you can do that and more with the Blogger Following feature! You can even keep track of the blogs you follow via your Reading List on the Blogger dashboard.
How do I become a Follower of a blog?
There are several ways to become a follower of a blog. One of the easiest ways is to visit a blog that has added the Following widget and click on the "Follow this Blog" link under the "Followers" widget:
You'll then see a popup window with the options to either follow publicly or anonymously:
Select how you'd like to follow the blog, then click the orange "Follow" button. It is that simple, you are now a follower of the blog! If you elected to follow the blog publicly, your profile picture will be displayed on the blog with a link to your Blogger profile (Note: The widget may not show all followers of the blog. If this is the case all followers will be linked from the widget). When you become a follower of a blog, the blog will also be added to your Reading List on your Blogger dashboard. Additionally, you can become a follower of any blog or URL (even if the blog doesn't have the Followers widget) by adding the blog to your Reading List on the dashboard.
The Market Place
When commenting in the previous post about George Washington miniatures, I mentioned the genuine miniature of him which sold for a hammer price of $260,000, or say about $300,000 including buyer's commission.A number of other interesting miniatures have recently sold in America for much lesser prices. They include a pair sold by Cowans Auction for $1500 which were painted by Carl Weindel and described as "Pair of Identified Miniatures by Carl Weinedel, Pennsylvania, ca 1814, watercolor on paper, one signed. Sitters are identified in writing on verso as John C. Lessig (a War of 1812 soldier) and Eliza Dentzler, Mrs. John C. Lessig; each 3.25" high x 2.50" wide. Accompanying the miniatures is the Lessig Family provenance, images and a brief history of the sitters from the family bible.
Carl Weinedel(1795-1845) was known for his portraits, most often in miniature. He was born in Germany and immigrated to the U.S. about 1821. Advertisements for him appeared in Richmond Va., but in 1834 he was in NYC until his death in 1845."
An unusual auction offering was a pair of Japanese miniature portraits sold by Burchard Galleries for $500. Knotty Pine Auctions sold a typical James Sanford Ellsworth miniature for $2200.Apart from the George Washington miniature, Skinners sold a number of other miniatures by a range of artists, as well as a number which were unattributed.
The more interesting included this portrait miniature of Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart, who was the widow of Martha Washington's son, John Parke Custus by her first marriage to Daniel Parke Custus.
This miniature is a good example of an instance where the importance of the sitter outweighed the crack that can be seen on the left hand side and also the lack of an attribution to a specific artist. It sold for $6000.
Skinners other sales included a British miniature of two children by John Goddard for $1400; a portrait miniature of a Young Woman, attributed to Clarissa Peters Russell (American, 1809-1854) for $1,100; a portrait miniature of a gentleman, attributed to William Verstille, (American, 1757-1803) for $1200; and a portrait miniature of a young man attributed to Mary Way (New London Connecticut, 1769-1833) for $2100.The Russell and the Way sold for well below their pre-sale estimates, probably as the sale date of November 2, was in the middle of the financial crisis.
Several other unattributed miniatures sold cheaply at Skinners, although the one showing on left hand, of Horace Trowbridge Wildman, September 29, 1829, done when he was 21 years old, sold for $1200 at its top estimate. To me it looks as if it is by Nathaniel Rogers, which explain the greater interest.A most unusual miniature was sold by a dealer for GBP850. It is only the second British miniature portrait painted prior to 1850 I have seen painted on a porcelain plaque. The other example being of Mrs Samuel Keys (wearing a pink bonnet) by Michael Keen which is in this collection, see Kean, Michael - portrait of Mrs Samuel Keys
Very appealing, it was described as "William Corden the elder (British 1797-1867); a superbly painted portrait miniature of Harriet Bainbrigge; enamel on a J Rose & Co, Coalport porcelain plaque; inscribed to the reverse: Harriet Bainbrigge / Married to Lieut Coll Rbt Dale Dev(on) 1811 / Painted by Wm Corden Oct 1822”; incised Coalport marks; in a glazed, period gilt composition frame; 14 x 12cm sight size."
Friday
Miniatures of George Washington - fake and genuine.
George Washington - More Miniature Portraits
Regularly I seem to need to comment on fake miniature portraits of George Washington.
Normally they are fakes, and here are several different miniatures of George Washington offered for sale at auction recently.
Readers are invited to pause here for a moment, determine which one you think is genuine, and estimate how much it sold for!
Top Right
Already commented on last month is the one at the top right, but it is interesting to compare it with the others.
For my previous detailed comments, see The 2008 Financial Crisis and the Art Market - part 3
There I mentioned it was described by the vendor as; "A Fabulous American Miniature Oil Portrait Of General George Washington, done in the manner of Gilbert Stuart. This is actually a mirror image of the portrait that you see on the Dollar Bill. It was done about 1780-1800, and is in good overall condition. There is a mark in the paint on the left side, just off his shoulder, and the Ivory has a Hairline, hence the old paper backing to strengthen it."
And; "This is one of the finest miniatures of Washington known. It is unframed, and ready for your period frame. It measures about 3" x 4". This is guaranteed to be an old period portrait of George Washington, the paper backing is an old land deed."
Rather than being painted in 1780 - 1800 as claimed, it is a fake which most likely dates from around 1900 - 1920. With old documents attached to the rear to give a false idea of its age. After 25 bids it sold for $565, which is a bit over the top, but not too bad.
Top Left
The top left one is for sale by Green Valley Auctions of Mt Crawford Va. on November 15, together with another Washington portrait and they have a combined estimate of $400-$600.
The lot is described as; "GEORGE WASHINGTON MINIATURE PORTRAIT, on ivory, an oval image of a young Washington, illegible signature along the right edge, secured in a metal liner. Along with a plaster bas-relief profile sculpture of Washington signed Noble, and inscribed on frame reverse "To Mr. & Mrs. F.B. Washington, With kindest regards of the sculpture, W. Clark Noble 1935". 19th and 20th centuries. 3 1/2" x 2 3/4" and 9 1/2" x 9 3/4" "
I think this is quite a fair description. There is no claim of great age, nor an attribution. Thus it is a normal "Buyer Beware" situation. [Later, this actually sold for $550, which is not too bad.]
Middle Right
The lower right miniature is being offered for auction by Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas on November 20. This is the second time they have offered it as genuine.
It has an estimate of $15,000 - $20,000 and is described as " WALTER ROBERTSON (Irish/American, 1750-1801) George Washington, late 18th century Watercolor on ivory 3-1/2 x 2-3/4 inches (8.9 x 7.0 cm) signed center right: Stuart.
Robertson was a well-known miniaturist in Dublin before emigrating to New York in 1793. Gilbert Stuart and Robertson, who had become great friends in Dublin, agreed that Robertson, in efforts to help his career, would copy Stuart's finished portraits. This miniature is a slightly different version than Stuart had previously painted. Robertson depicts Washington with a more vivid expression, lighter background, elaborate texture in his coat and enhanced color in his vest.
In my opinion this is a fake and the description is misleading. I hope that no bidders are fooled by the description. It is worth no more than $500 as a maximum. [Later, this appeared to be unsold, so buyers obviously realised it was wrong.]
Middle Left
Also offered by Heritage Auctions on November 20, being the second time they have offered it at auction as genuine, is this miniature described as; WALTER ROBERTSON (Irish/American, 1750-1801) George Washington, late 18th century Watercolor on ivory 6 x 5 inches (15.2 x 12.7 cm) Signed lower left: W. Robertson
In this portrait, Robertson memorializes George Washington as a general. Rather than drawing his inspiration for this portrait of Washington from Gilbert Stuart's full-length portrait of the man in civilian dress, Robertson based this likeness upon Charles Wilson Peale's (1741-1827) likeness of Washington in formal dress as the leader of the Continental troops.
It is offered at an opening bid of $30,000 and an estimate of $60,000 - $80,000. Unfortunately, it is another fake which was previously offered for sale some months ago. Thus I hope no bidders rely on the auction description. [Later, this appeared to be unsold, so buyers obviously realised it was wrong.]
Bottom Left
A visitor to this site sent me images of this pair of Martha and George Washington miniatures, asking for my comments as they were intending to sell the pair. The owner said they appeared to be signed "J Rimmige".
I was able to tell the owner they were early 20C decorative copies, with the signature aimed at a casual buyer who might think they were by John Ramage. I told the owner that I thought on eBay the pair might sell for $300-$500.
I then saw a week or so later that they had sold on eBay for $293.87, so was reassured to find that the market place had agreed with my estimate!
Bottom Right
The bottom right miniature was sold by Skinners Auctions, of Boston on November 2. The reverse of the miniature is also shown here. It had an estimate of $20,000 - $30,000 and had a very full description, which reads as; "Portrait Miniature of George Washington, Robert Field, (American, born in England c. 1769-1819), signed and dated "RF 1801" l.r. Watercolor on ivory, c. 1801, oval bust-length portrait, 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 in., encased in oval gilt brass locket, the reverse with a woven lock of George Washington's hair overlaid with "GW" cipher in gilt foil, further housed in an oval red leather hinged case. Condition: Very good.
Note: Robert Field, a portrait painter, miniature painter and engraver enjoyed success in his time, but fell into relative and undeserving obscurity following his early death in 1819, according to Field scholar Harry Piers. Born in England in 1769, Field spent time in Nova Scotia, and throughout the American northeast, painting all manner of important local and national figures: judges, generals, merchants, and politicians. In all he painted hundreds of portraits and was one of the four most highly sought American miniaturists in his time. It is no wonder, that being the case, that Martha Washington herself commissioned Field in 1800 to paint a group of miniature as mementoes for friends and family, meant to commemorate the revered General and President on the one-year anniversary of his death.
As Piers tells us, two groups of miniatures of George Washington were produced by Field at Martha's request in late 1800, the first group showing him in civilian dress, the second as general in full uniform. While the first group is comprised of at least six distinct examples given to friends and confidants, the second as far as is known consists of only two (including the present lot), which went to the two daughters of Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart and her second husband David Stuart. Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart was the widow of Martha Washington's only son from her first marriage, John Parke Custis. The present lot has been passed through the family since its completion.
An 1882 mention exists that puts Robert Field at Mount Vernon in 1798, and though the dated miniatures are all inscribed either 1800 or 1801, the chance exists, according to that author, that the appearance of Washington in the present lot is based at least in part on a life study by Field himself ("Pictures of Washington: Some Original Portraits of Our First President," New York Times, March 19, 1882). However, Piers thinks it is more likely that, for his miniatures of Washington, Field used existing originals to create a composite portrait: "one of the [Gilbert] Stuart paintings of 1795 in the Vaughan type, for the portraits in civilian dress; and for those in uniform, Field's miniature rendering of the same original was the basis for the head, while one of Walter Robertson's miniatures of 1794àwas the guide for the coat and the composition as a whole" (Piers, p. 158). By contemporary accounts, the Field miniatures were hailed as more "agreeable" likenesses than the Vaughan type Stuarts "by improving the expression, thus freeing it from the original's fault - an unnecessarily severe countenance." (Piers, p. 160) And regarding the overall nature of the present lot, in Piers's opinion, "the uniform, clouded background, and general composition are improved renderings of one of the miniatures by Walter Robinson" (Piers, p. 166).
Field framed and presented his miniatures relatively consistently, according to Piers, who of course had seen many of them. To wit, they are "tastefully mounted in plain, narrow, oval gold cases with an immovable suspension rings and the back of the case often contains a plaited lock of the sitters hair, sometimes ornamented with à a gold monogram" (Piers, 146).
Provenance: The present lot was presented by Martha Washington to Sarah "Sally" Stuart, second born of the two daughters of Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart (those two also being step-granddaughters of Martha Washington). From Sally, the miniature was intended to go to William Eugene Webster, Sally's nephew, but Webster was killed in the Civil War and the miniature went instead to Sally's great-niece Rosalie Eugenia Stuart. Rosalie willed the miniature to her son, Daniel, and Daniel willed it to his nephew Robert, the consignor.
Line of Descent: Sarah "Sally" Waite nee Stuart, 1801, to great niece Rosalie Eugenia Stuart, then to son Daniel after 1929, to Robert, his nephew, after 1975."
As was no doubt picked by all readers, this miniature is the only genuine George Washington miniature portrait in the above group.
The last genuine George Washington miniature offered for sale at auction, which was an enamel by William Russell Birch, sold about three years ago for a little over $100,000. Another genuine miniature of George Washington by John Ramage was sold in 2001. It holds the record for any miniature portrait at $1,200,000.
Thus, I felt the pre-sale estimate was rather low at $20,000 - $30,000 and expected it to reach about $100,000. In the event it did even better than that and achieved a hammer price of $260,000.
It will be interesting to hear who purchased it. I do not know who won the auction, but would not be surprised if it ended up at the Cincinnati Art Museum, where there is already a genuine miniature of George Washington painted by Walter Robertson. [Three weeks later it was revealed that Yale University Art Library was the purchaser, thus reuniting the portrait with another miniature portrait by Field, one of Martha Washington. Yale paid $303,000 including buyer's commission, so it is still possible CAM interests were the under bidder.]
[Later - for an identical version sold more recently for a similar price, see February - Market place and addition]
The 2008 Financial Crisis - part 4
Based upon that auction price, one could well ask; "What financial crisis?"
With apologies to staunch Republicans and to Emmerson, the cartoonist for my local paper, here is his cartoon on the morning after the election.
One has to retain a sense of humor, despite these adverse times, and so I was also quietly amused by the following reference in the satirical newspaper "Onion".
"Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job - African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least desirable job in the entire country .... As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind."
The End of the Golden Summer
On a more serious note here are some personal thoughts about the financial crisis, which I believe is not likely to markedly improve in the next 12 months and may get worse before it gets better.
I am a "baby boomer" and feel I must share the overall blame for the financial crisis, along with everyone else in the "baby boomer" generation. As a generation we have been too focussed on consumption and instead should have had a more balanced view, with a greater thought for future pressures.
My parents were born before the Russian Revolution, lived through World War I, the 1920's General Strike in England, the Great Depression, and World War II. My father had to leave school at age 15 and later fought overseas for six years, where he was unable to prevent my mother being bombed in London.
Thus most of their life was spent facing adversity, but they did it cheerfully as they were looking to to make the world a better place for their children. They were unable to even start saving until after World War II, when they were already in their late 30's. As evidence of their attitude, I even remember my mother saying shortly before she died, that she "had always considered herself as part of the lucky generation".
In contrast, until now baby boomers have not had to face adversity as a generation. Rather than "adversity", "consumption" has increasingly been the magic word since 1950.
Most Western democracies have been influenced by United States consumption via TV and films and thus, by following the leader, their economies have also had a consumption bias.
Great technological advances have been made since world War II, but the Western democracies have been a little too biased towards consumption. For short terms that did not matter, but the imbalance has continually grown until consumption is now at an unsustainable level.
Other Western economies, which are all less economically powerful than the United States, have gradually fallen by the wayside. They have been forced to react to domestic pressures from excess consumption in their own economies and take drastic structural actions at varying times, such as introducing VAT taxes.
The United States has avoided restructuring until now, due to its dominant economic power and, more recently, its ability to borrow from overseas to continue to fund its consumption.
Since before 1900 the United States has regarded itself as the bastion of Capitalism. Ironically, I feel it is a feature in the American economy which is closer to Socialism, which has now acted as the straw that broke the camel's back and so has brought the country to its economic knees.
That Socialistic feature being "affordable housing" encouraged with the best of motives, but in the wrong manner. Housing has been financed on loans based on interest rates that were set too low, for too long, by the Federal Reserve Bank. Many loans are non-recourse, and funded by unlimited, Government backed, mortgage finance.
That combination has led to a housing bubble, with an abdication of risk responsibility by home owners, home builders, developers, financiers, and banks.
With the bursting of the bubble, the crisis has struck hard and we are seeing huge job losses, corporate failures, and tremendous sums of cash thrown at many problems. Now there are calls for more cash for the auto industry, for more stimulus packages, but still with little apparent discussion about long term restructuring.
Thus, as a lone voice, here are some personal thoughts on restructuring. In my mind long term restructuring is now more important than the current crisis, which will run its course no matter what action is taken.
Somewhat ironically, the crisis now provides an opportunity when the whole population is listening and waiting for its leadership to speak. It is therefore timely to gain bi-partisan acceptance for some long term restructuring of the United States economy.
Thus, rather than commenting on the short term measures, where most people are looking, here is a five point long term plan that should be incorporated into a stimulus package.
The points are major. They are aimed avoiding a repeat of the current problems and getting a better balance in the United States economy for future generations.
A Five Point Plan
Point 1 The US Government should announce that from January 1, 2010 Fannie and Freddie will no longer provide government backed mortgage finance, with their existing portfolios being run off over time.
Reason - There is no long term economic reason for government to provide this funding. Under Capitalism the market will find a way to service this market. Traditional banks and other lenders will assess the risks, then increase their home mortgage lending. They will charge sufficient for the risk. Non-recourse loans will tend to disappear. The market will become much more fragmented and less risky.
Point 2 The Government should institute an energy levy of say, $20 per barrel of oil, both locally produced and imported, and an equivalent tax calculation for natural gas.
Reason - To provide funding for energy research and investment, and to encourage the population to use more efficient use of energy, whether for heating, or for more fuel efficient means of transport, cars, planes, buses, trains, or feet. Adding $20 to the current $60 per barrel, this would still be some $65 less than the peak price of $147 reached earlier this year. While that peak is still fresh in consumer's minds now is the ideal time to reinforce it.
Point 3 The Government should institute a 10% sales tax across the board on everything except financial transactions as many countries have with VAT or similar taxes. The VAT should be made overall fiscally neutral, by increasing benefits or lowering taxes for "95%" of the population.
Reason - The tax would help discourage wasteful consumption. Net savers would benefit and lavish spenders would be penalised. Such a tax is much simpler and more equitable if it applies to everything. In addition, much of the underground economy and illegal immigrants would be unable to avoid paying such a tax. Also, foreign tourists who visit the country would start paying a federal tax for the transport and other systems they use. Thus the tax would generate new sources of revenue.
Point 4 The auto industry and any other distressed industries should be encouraged by government to adopt the same strategy as was proposed at one stage for distressed banks i.e. each be divided into good bank/bad bank, or here into good auto company/bad auto company.
Reason - Parts of GM, Ford, and Chrysler must be profitable. If so, these would be put into the "good auto" companies and continue to trade. Being profitable, they would attract investors and allow new car buyers to have appropriate new vehicle warranties. The "bad auto" companies would be run as liquidations until their operations were completely closed down. The process has to be seen to be fair to other car manufacturers.
Point 5 - The Government should commence a "United States Sovereign Fund" for investments and to help provide for future welfare requirements for the ageing population. In the meantime, the fund would invest nationally and internationally, on commercial terms, in bonds, equities, and major infrastructure requirements, for example in nuclear power plants.
Reason - Welfare costs will need to be met for many people in the future. Funds released from the run down of Fannie and Freddie should be used as part of the fund, as would TARP assets, and other assets such as the AIG stake. It would also manage the energy tax receipts from Point 1.
Conclusion
I do not envy Barack Obama his task. Today I watched his first press conference since the election result and did feel he handled it well.
Given the various components of the crisis, including; jobs, credit, equities, autos, wars, and the huge budget deficit he has little room to move, and few assets to offer.
As he is a student of history, he may well do to repeat the words of Sir Winston Churchill in Britain's darkest hours of World War II; "All I can offer you is blood, tears, toil, and sweat".
Regularly I seem to need to comment on fake miniature portraits of George Washington.Normally they are fakes, and here are several different miniatures of George Washington offered for sale at auction recently.
Readers are invited to pause here for a moment, determine which one you think is genuine, and estimate how much it sold for!Top Right
Already commented on last month is the one at the top right, but it is interesting to compare it with the others.
For my previous detailed comments, see The 2008 Financial Crisis and the Art Market - part 3
There I mentioned it was described by the vendor as; "A Fabulous American Miniature Oil Portrait Of General George Washington, done in the manner of Gilbert Stuart. This is actually a mirror image of the portrait that you see on the Dollar Bill. It was done about 1780-1800, and is in good overall condition. There is a mark in the paint on the left side, just off his shoulder, and the Ivory has a Hairline, hence the old paper backing to strengthen it."
And; "This is one of the finest miniatures of Washington known. It is unframed, and ready for your period frame. It measures about 3" x 4". This is guaranteed to be an old period portrait of George Washington, the paper backing is an old land deed."
Rather than being painted in 1780 - 1800 as claimed, it is a fake which most likely dates from around 1900 - 1920. With old documents attached to the rear to give a false idea of its age. After 25 bids it sold for $565, which is a bit over the top, but not too bad.
Top Left
The top left one is for sale by Green Valley Auctions of Mt Crawford Va. on November 15, together with another Washington portrait and they have a combined estimate of $400-$600.
The lot is described as; "GEORGE WASHINGTON MINIATURE PORTRAIT, on ivory, an oval image of a young Washington, illegible signature along the right edge, secured in a metal liner. Along with a plaster bas-relief profile sculpture of Washington signed Noble, and inscribed on frame reverse "To Mr. & Mrs. F.B. Washington, With kindest regards of the sculpture, W. Clark Noble 1935". 19th and 20th centuries. 3 1/2" x 2 3/4" and 9 1/2" x 9 3/4" "
I think this is quite a fair description. There is no claim of great age, nor an attribution. Thus it is a normal "Buyer Beware" situation. [Later, this actually sold for $550, which is not too bad.]
Middle Right
The lower right miniature is being offered for auction by Heritage Auctions of Dallas, Texas on November 20. This is the second time they have offered it as genuine.
It has an estimate of $15,000 - $20,000 and is described as " WALTER ROBERTSON (Irish/American, 1750-1801) George Washington, late 18th century Watercolor on ivory 3-1/2 x 2-3/4 inches (8.9 x 7.0 cm) signed center right: Stuart.
Robertson was a well-known miniaturist in Dublin before emigrating to New York in 1793. Gilbert Stuart and Robertson, who had become great friends in Dublin, agreed that Robertson, in efforts to help his career, would copy Stuart's finished portraits. This miniature is a slightly different version than Stuart had previously painted. Robertson depicts Washington with a more vivid expression, lighter background, elaborate texture in his coat and enhanced color in his vest.
In my opinion this is a fake and the description is misleading. I hope that no bidders are fooled by the description. It is worth no more than $500 as a maximum. [Later, this appeared to be unsold, so buyers obviously realised it was wrong.]
Middle Left
Also offered by Heritage Auctions on November 20, being the second time they have offered it at auction as genuine, is this miniature described as; WALTER ROBERTSON (Irish/American, 1750-1801) George Washington, late 18th century Watercolor on ivory 6 x 5 inches (15.2 x 12.7 cm) Signed lower left: W. Robertson
In this portrait, Robertson memorializes George Washington as a general. Rather than drawing his inspiration for this portrait of Washington from Gilbert Stuart's full-length portrait of the man in civilian dress, Robertson based this likeness upon Charles Wilson Peale's (1741-1827) likeness of Washington in formal dress as the leader of the Continental troops.
It is offered at an opening bid of $30,000 and an estimate of $60,000 - $80,000. Unfortunately, it is another fake which was previously offered for sale some months ago. Thus I hope no bidders rely on the auction description. [Later, this appeared to be unsold, so buyers obviously realised it was wrong.]
Bottom Left
A visitor to this site sent me images of this pair of Martha and George Washington miniatures, asking for my comments as they were intending to sell the pair. The owner said they appeared to be signed "J Rimmige".
I was able to tell the owner they were early 20C decorative copies, with the signature aimed at a casual buyer who might think they were by John Ramage. I told the owner that I thought on eBay the pair might sell for $300-$500.
I then saw a week or so later that they had sold on eBay for $293.87, so was reassured to find that the market place had agreed with my estimate!
Bottom Right
The bottom right miniature was sold by Skinners Auctions, of Boston on November 2. The reverse of the miniature is also shown here. It had an estimate of $20,000 - $30,000 and had a very full description, which reads as; "Portrait Miniature of George Washington, Robert Field, (American, born in England c. 1769-1819), signed and dated "RF 1801" l.r. Watercolor on ivory, c. 1801, oval bust-length portrait, 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 in., encased in oval gilt brass locket, the reverse with a woven lock of George Washington's hair overlaid with "GW" cipher in gilt foil, further housed in an oval red leather hinged case. Condition: Very good.Note: Robert Field, a portrait painter, miniature painter and engraver enjoyed success in his time, but fell into relative and undeserving obscurity following his early death in 1819, according to Field scholar Harry Piers. Born in England in 1769, Field spent time in Nova Scotia, and throughout the American northeast, painting all manner of important local and national figures: judges, generals, merchants, and politicians. In all he painted hundreds of portraits and was one of the four most highly sought American miniaturists in his time. It is no wonder, that being the case, that Martha Washington herself commissioned Field in 1800 to paint a group of miniature as mementoes for friends and family, meant to commemorate the revered General and President on the one-year anniversary of his death.
As Piers tells us, two groups of miniatures of George Washington were produced by Field at Martha's request in late 1800, the first group showing him in civilian dress, the second as general in full uniform. While the first group is comprised of at least six distinct examples given to friends and confidants, the second as far as is known consists of only two (including the present lot), which went to the two daughters of Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart and her second husband David Stuart. Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart was the widow of Martha Washington's only son from her first marriage, John Parke Custis. The present lot has been passed through the family since its completion.
An 1882 mention exists that puts Robert Field at Mount Vernon in 1798, and though the dated miniatures are all inscribed either 1800 or 1801, the chance exists, according to that author, that the appearance of Washington in the present lot is based at least in part on a life study by Field himself ("Pictures of Washington: Some Original Portraits of Our First President," New York Times, March 19, 1882). However, Piers thinks it is more likely that, for his miniatures of Washington, Field used existing originals to create a composite portrait: "one of the [Gilbert] Stuart paintings of 1795 in the Vaughan type, for the portraits in civilian dress; and for those in uniform, Field's miniature rendering of the same original was the basis for the head, while one of Walter Robertson's miniatures of 1794àwas the guide for the coat and the composition as a whole" (Piers, p. 158). By contemporary accounts, the Field miniatures were hailed as more "agreeable" likenesses than the Vaughan type Stuarts "by improving the expression, thus freeing it from the original's fault - an unnecessarily severe countenance." (Piers, p. 160) And regarding the overall nature of the present lot, in Piers's opinion, "the uniform, clouded background, and general composition are improved renderings of one of the miniatures by Walter Robinson" (Piers, p. 166).
Field framed and presented his miniatures relatively consistently, according to Piers, who of course had seen many of them. To wit, they are "tastefully mounted in plain, narrow, oval gold cases with an immovable suspension rings and the back of the case often contains a plaited lock of the sitters hair, sometimes ornamented with à a gold monogram" (Piers, 146).
Provenance: The present lot was presented by Martha Washington to Sarah "Sally" Stuart, second born of the two daughters of Eleanor Calvert Custis Stuart (those two also being step-granddaughters of Martha Washington). From Sally, the miniature was intended to go to William Eugene Webster, Sally's nephew, but Webster was killed in the Civil War and the miniature went instead to Sally's great-niece Rosalie Eugenia Stuart. Rosalie willed the miniature to her son, Daniel, and Daniel willed it to his nephew Robert, the consignor.
Line of Descent: Sarah "Sally" Waite nee Stuart, 1801, to great niece Rosalie Eugenia Stuart, then to son Daniel after 1929, to Robert, his nephew, after 1975."
As was no doubt picked by all readers, this miniature is the only genuine George Washington miniature portrait in the above group.
The last genuine George Washington miniature offered for sale at auction, which was an enamel by William Russell Birch, sold about three years ago for a little over $100,000. Another genuine miniature of George Washington by John Ramage was sold in 2001. It holds the record for any miniature portrait at $1,200,000.
Thus, I felt the pre-sale estimate was rather low at $20,000 - $30,000 and expected it to reach about $100,000. In the event it did even better than that and achieved a hammer price of $260,000.
It will be interesting to hear who purchased it. I do not know who won the auction, but would not be surprised if it ended up at the Cincinnati Art Museum, where there is already a genuine miniature of George Washington painted by Walter Robertson. [Three weeks later it was revealed that Yale University Art Library was the purchaser, thus reuniting the portrait with another miniature portrait by Field, one of Martha Washington. Yale paid $303,000 including buyer's commission, so it is still possible CAM interests were the under bidder.]
[Later - for an identical version sold more recently for a similar price, see February - Market place and addition]
The 2008 Financial Crisis - part 4
Based upon that auction price, one could well ask; "What financial crisis?"With apologies to staunch Republicans and to Emmerson, the cartoonist for my local paper, here is his cartoon on the morning after the election.
One has to retain a sense of humor, despite these adverse times, and so I was also quietly amused by the following reference in the satirical newspaper "Onion".
"Black Man Given Nation's Worst Job - African-American man Barack Obama, 47, was given the least desirable job in the entire country .... As part of his duties, the black man will have to spend four to eight years cleaning up the messes other people left behind."
The End of the Golden Summer
On a more serious note here are some personal thoughts about the financial crisis, which I believe is not likely to markedly improve in the next 12 months and may get worse before it gets better.
I am a "baby boomer" and feel I must share the overall blame for the financial crisis, along with everyone else in the "baby boomer" generation. As a generation we have been too focussed on consumption and instead should have had a more balanced view, with a greater thought for future pressures.
My parents were born before the Russian Revolution, lived through World War I, the 1920's General Strike in England, the Great Depression, and World War II. My father had to leave school at age 15 and later fought overseas for six years, where he was unable to prevent my mother being bombed in London.
Thus most of their life was spent facing adversity, but they did it cheerfully as they were looking to to make the world a better place for their children. They were unable to even start saving until after World War II, when they were already in their late 30's. As evidence of their attitude, I even remember my mother saying shortly before she died, that she "had always considered herself as part of the lucky generation".
In contrast, until now baby boomers have not had to face adversity as a generation. Rather than "adversity", "consumption" has increasingly been the magic word since 1950.
Most Western democracies have been influenced by United States consumption via TV and films and thus, by following the leader, their economies have also had a consumption bias.
Great technological advances have been made since world War II, but the Western democracies have been a little too biased towards consumption. For short terms that did not matter, but the imbalance has continually grown until consumption is now at an unsustainable level.
Other Western economies, which are all less economically powerful than the United States, have gradually fallen by the wayside. They have been forced to react to domestic pressures from excess consumption in their own economies and take drastic structural actions at varying times, such as introducing VAT taxes.
The United States has avoided restructuring until now, due to its dominant economic power and, more recently, its ability to borrow from overseas to continue to fund its consumption.
Since before 1900 the United States has regarded itself as the bastion of Capitalism. Ironically, I feel it is a feature in the American economy which is closer to Socialism, which has now acted as the straw that broke the camel's back and so has brought the country to its economic knees.
That Socialistic feature being "affordable housing" encouraged with the best of motives, but in the wrong manner. Housing has been financed on loans based on interest rates that were set too low, for too long, by the Federal Reserve Bank. Many loans are non-recourse, and funded by unlimited, Government backed, mortgage finance.
That combination has led to a housing bubble, with an abdication of risk responsibility by home owners, home builders, developers, financiers, and banks.
With the bursting of the bubble, the crisis has struck hard and we are seeing huge job losses, corporate failures, and tremendous sums of cash thrown at many problems. Now there are calls for more cash for the auto industry, for more stimulus packages, but still with little apparent discussion about long term restructuring.
Thus, as a lone voice, here are some personal thoughts on restructuring. In my mind long term restructuring is now more important than the current crisis, which will run its course no matter what action is taken.
Somewhat ironically, the crisis now provides an opportunity when the whole population is listening and waiting for its leadership to speak. It is therefore timely to gain bi-partisan acceptance for some long term restructuring of the United States economy.
Thus, rather than commenting on the short term measures, where most people are looking, here is a five point long term plan that should be incorporated into a stimulus package.
The points are major. They are aimed avoiding a repeat of the current problems and getting a better balance in the United States economy for future generations.
A Five Point Plan
Point 1 The US Government should announce that from January 1, 2010 Fannie and Freddie will no longer provide government backed mortgage finance, with their existing portfolios being run off over time.
Reason - There is no long term economic reason for government to provide this funding. Under Capitalism the market will find a way to service this market. Traditional banks and other lenders will assess the risks, then increase their home mortgage lending. They will charge sufficient for the risk. Non-recourse loans will tend to disappear. The market will become much more fragmented and less risky.
Point 2 The Government should institute an energy levy of say, $20 per barrel of oil, both locally produced and imported, and an equivalent tax calculation for natural gas.
Reason - To provide funding for energy research and investment, and to encourage the population to use more efficient use of energy, whether for heating, or for more fuel efficient means of transport, cars, planes, buses, trains, or feet. Adding $20 to the current $60 per barrel, this would still be some $65 less than the peak price of $147 reached earlier this year. While that peak is still fresh in consumer's minds now is the ideal time to reinforce it.
Point 3 The Government should institute a 10% sales tax across the board on everything except financial transactions as many countries have with VAT or similar taxes. The VAT should be made overall fiscally neutral, by increasing benefits or lowering taxes for "95%" of the population.
Reason - The tax would help discourage wasteful consumption. Net savers would benefit and lavish spenders would be penalised. Such a tax is much simpler and more equitable if it applies to everything. In addition, much of the underground economy and illegal immigrants would be unable to avoid paying such a tax. Also, foreign tourists who visit the country would start paying a federal tax for the transport and other systems they use. Thus the tax would generate new sources of revenue.
Point 4 The auto industry and any other distressed industries should be encouraged by government to adopt the same strategy as was proposed at one stage for distressed banks i.e. each be divided into good bank/bad bank, or here into good auto company/bad auto company.
Reason - Parts of GM, Ford, and Chrysler must be profitable. If so, these would be put into the "good auto" companies and continue to trade. Being profitable, they would attract investors and allow new car buyers to have appropriate new vehicle warranties. The "bad auto" companies would be run as liquidations until their operations were completely closed down. The process has to be seen to be fair to other car manufacturers.
Point 5 - The Government should commence a "United States Sovereign Fund" for investments and to help provide for future welfare requirements for the ageing population. In the meantime, the fund would invest nationally and internationally, on commercial terms, in bonds, equities, and major infrastructure requirements, for example in nuclear power plants.
Reason - Welfare costs will need to be met for many people in the future. Funds released from the run down of Fannie and Freddie should be used as part of the fund, as would TARP assets, and other assets such as the AIG stake. It would also manage the energy tax receipts from Point 1.
Conclusion
I do not envy Barack Obama his task. Today I watched his first press conference since the election result and did feel he handled it well.
Given the various components of the crisis, including; jobs, credit, equities, autos, wars, and the huge budget deficit he has little room to move, and few assets to offer.
As he is a student of history, he may well do to repeat the words of Sir Winston Churchill in Britain's darkest hours of World War II; "All I can offer you is blood, tears, toil, and sweat".
Wednesday
November - Art of Mourning
For some time I have been meaning to write a little about mourning portraits and add several mourning items which have been in a drawer for some time.
However, I have come recently across an excellent website devoted to the subject on Mourning Art which covers the subject far better than I can. It contains a lot of related material including some miniature portraits.
Thus visitors are recommended to visit: Mourning Jewellery (jewelery) resource, sentimental, memorial ...
I have also included the website as a permanent Gallery Link on my home page as Art of Mourning.
Complementing that website are several items from this collection which now appear here.
The first one is 40mm high and is engraved on the reverse "E Noble" and "R N" on the pedestal on the front.
Secondly, is another mourning piece, 40mm in diameter, again with a lady by a funerary urn.
The hair-back includes gold initials "A B". The angel at the top on the front is carrying a banner reading "L'amitie".
Thirdly, is a tiny mourning miniature, only 25mm high. It is of a girl with an open cage and a bird. The reverse is engraved "M H Aged 14", probably her age at her death.
From the old attachments at the side, it was probably originally a finger ring, but has been converted into a pendant.
It is most likely British, but may be American in origin, as there are similar examples on page 91 of the book "Love and Loss" by Robin Jaffee Frank and the frame has a somewhat similar scalloped interior edge to miniature portraits by John Ramage and William Verstille.
After some helpful comments from a kind visitor, and as the girl seems to have died aged 14, a tentative interpretation of the symboism may be possible.
In that, perhaps the bird and the open cage are intended to imply that death is releasing the girl's soul from her earthly constraints and troubles, perhaps even from a fatal illness, and thus allowing her soul to soar to reach and enjoy the endless freedom of heaven.
Fourthly, is a separated backing in an unrelated German brass frame, which originally would have come from the reverse of a miniature portrait.
It is 50mm high and shows a lady sitting by a funerary urn.
Fifthly, is a horn and silver snuff box, 60mm high, with a classical lady tending a fire on a pedestal.
The tablet to the right being inscribed "Honor et Amacitia" and "N H".
Painted by Johann Adamek (1776-1840) an Austrian artist, is a miniature portrait of an unknown man with a most unusual rear panel.
On a blue ground, and next to a pedestal with some red and black paint loss at the bottom, there is a figure in relief made of what appears to be solid gold.
The gold figure is either carved or cast, but I am not sure which. I have never seen another similar example.
Subsequently a kind visitor has suggested that the figure was cut from a thin gold sheet and repouseed (i.e. punched from the back to raise the front). They doubt it was cast; perhaps it could have been something stamped from a mold, but given the age of this, it was probably all done by hand.
Originating from Germany, is a round miniature portrait, probably coming from the top of a box, of a mourning scene by an unknown German artist.
The lady is leaning on a tombstone and an anchor, which suggests her lover has been lost at sea.
There is an inscription in German on the tombstone that is indistinct, but appears to read "Wie iel.lsh/werf ...../ivis .or./wv kring/Thrane m/fliessen.ob/16 dec 1815".
It has been suggested that the latter part may actually read "Wo keine Traenen fliessen", which translates as "where no tears are shed".
Another form of mourning miniature which is quite uncommon, is an actual post-mortem portrait of the deceased.
Here is a post-mortem miniature of a young child laying in her bed. It would have been painted immediately after the child died.
It is by a French artist, Jean Decourcelle (1791-1857) and is dated 1822. The reverse shows the artist's trade label.
Another format for mourning miniatures, was to show the deceased with clouds around their heads, i.e. as having ascended to heaven.
There are several of this nature in the collection and I have sorted out some examples.
Most of them are by unknown artists.
The group of four are by a French artist and imply the wife and three children have all died. That may have occurred during the cholera epidemic of the 19C when thousands died from the disease.
The girl in black is a slightly different format of mourning portrait and she may be mourning a parent. It is probably French.
She is standing in a churchyard, next to an urn on a pedestal. Although it is hard to see in the photo here, she is holding a dying flower and when looked at closely, petals can be seen falling from the flower towards the ground.
The baby in the oval frame is probably by John Carlin, an American artist.
The girl in the oval frame with a blue background is believed to be Lucy Armstrong of Portsmouth, NH.
The man is signed by the French artist "Pouell".
136, 212, 561, 721, 964, 1011, 1108, 1359.
407, 751, 637, 944, 995.
However, I have come recently across an excellent website devoted to the subject on Mourning Art which covers the subject far better than I can. It contains a lot of related material including some miniature portraits.
Thus visitors are recommended to visit: Mourning Jewellery (jewelery) resource, sentimental, memorial ...
I have also included the website as a permanent Gallery Link on my home page as Art of Mourning.
Complementing that website are several items from this collection which now appear here.The first one is 40mm high and is engraved on the reverse "E Noble" and "R N" on the pedestal on the front.
Secondly, is another mourning piece, 40mm in diameter, again with a lady by a funerary urn.
The hair-back includes gold initials "A B". The angel at the top on the front is carrying a banner reading "L'amitie".
Thirdly, is a tiny mourning miniature, only 25mm high. It is of a girl with an open cage and a bird. The reverse is engraved "M H Aged 14", probably her age at her death.
From the old attachments at the side, it was probably originally a finger ring, but has been converted into a pendant.
It is most likely British, but may be American in origin, as there are similar examples on page 91 of the book "Love and Loss" by Robin Jaffee Frank and the frame has a somewhat similar scalloped interior edge to miniature portraits by John Ramage and William Verstille.
After some helpful comments from a kind visitor, and as the girl seems to have died aged 14, a tentative interpretation of the symboism may be possible.
In that, perhaps the bird and the open cage are intended to imply that death is releasing the girl's soul from her earthly constraints and troubles, perhaps even from a fatal illness, and thus allowing her soul to soar to reach and enjoy the endless freedom of heaven.
Fourthly, is a separated backing in an unrelated German brass frame, which originally would have come from the reverse of a miniature portrait.
It is 50mm high and shows a lady sitting by a funerary urn.
Fifthly, is a horn and silver snuff box, 60mm high, with a classical lady tending a fire on a pedestal.
The tablet to the right being inscribed "Honor et Amacitia" and "N H".
Painted by Johann Adamek (1776-1840) an Austrian artist, is a miniature portrait of an unknown man with a most unusual rear panel.
On a blue ground, and next to a pedestal with some red and black paint loss at the bottom, there is a figure in relief made of what appears to be solid gold.
The gold figure is either carved or cast, but I am not sure which. I have never seen another similar example.
Subsequently a kind visitor has suggested that the figure was cut from a thin gold sheet and repouseed (i.e. punched from the back to raise the front). They doubt it was cast; perhaps it could have been something stamped from a mold, but given the age of this, it was probably all done by hand.
Originating from Germany, is a round miniature portrait, probably coming from the top of a box, of a mourning scene by an unknown German artist.
The lady is leaning on a tombstone and an anchor, which suggests her lover has been lost at sea.
There is an inscription in German on the tombstone that is indistinct, but appears to read "Wie iel.lsh/werf ...../ivis .or./wv kring/Thrane m/fliessen.ob/16 dec 1815".
It has been suggested that the latter part may actually read "Wo keine Traenen fliessen", which translates as "where no tears are shed".
Another form of mourning miniature which is quite uncommon, is an actual post-mortem portrait of the deceased.
Here is a post-mortem miniature of a young child laying in her bed. It would have been painted immediately after the child died.
It is by a French artist, Jean Decourcelle (1791-1857) and is dated 1822. The reverse shows the artist's trade label.
Another format for mourning miniatures, was to show the deceased with clouds around their heads, i.e. as having ascended to heaven.
There are several of this nature in the collection and I have sorted out some examples.
Most of them are by unknown artists.
The group of four are by a French artist and imply the wife and three children have all died. That may have occurred during the cholera epidemic of the 19C when thousands died from the disease.
The girl in black is a slightly different format of mourning portrait and she may be mourning a parent. It is probably French.
She is standing in a churchyard, next to an urn on a pedestal. Although it is hard to see in the photo here, she is holding a dying flower and when looked at closely, petals can be seen falling from the flower towards the ground.
The baby in the oval frame is probably by John Carlin, an American artist.
The girl in the oval frame with a blue background is believed to be Lucy Armstrong of Portsmouth, NH.The man is signed by the French artist "Pouell".
136, 212, 561, 721, 964, 1011, 1108, 1359.
407, 751, 637, 944, 995.
Thursday
October - A Spanish miniature portrait collection
This is just a brief note to welcome a Spanish miniature portrait collector, who has decided to display a collection on the Internet.
The site does not currently have an English translation, but the message from the owner reads; "Te envio mi página WEB, donde escribo un artículo sobre uno de nuestros miniaturistas españoles. Lo escribo en lengua catalana, una de las lenguas oficiales del estado español."
This translates as; "I am sending you my web page, where I have written an article on one of our Spanish miniaturists. It is written in the Catalan language, one of the official languages of the Spanish state."
The website is only just starting up, but progress can be seen at http://colecciondeminiaturas.blogspot.com/ or via the permanent Gallery Link Una colección española which I have included on this page and my home page.
The first item is about the Catalan artist: Luís Vermell, painter of portraits in miniature
As an experiment, I have linked this item via a special Automatic translator which gives an idea of the content. To get the translation, you need to chose Catalan-English in the top box, general in the middle, and copy and paste the URL, http://colecciondeminiaturas.blogspot.com/ into the bottom box.
Even so, it is hard to get a clear translation into English from Catalan on the Internet without human intervention, but a reasonable idea of the content can be obtained by using this free automatic Catalan-English language translation service on the Internet. Thus those visitors wishing to translate the descriptions from Catalan into English should use Automatic translator
As most people know other automatic translations can be made by copying and pasting to a site such as Yahoo! Babel Fish - Text Translation and Web Page Translation
Thus, if desired, the BabelFish website can be used to translate my website into other languages.
I had been hoping that other collectors would display their collections, so that we can link them together and provide a better and better resource. Thus this new collection is very welcome and even more collections will be welcomed.
The site does not currently have an English translation, but the message from the owner reads; "Te envio mi página WEB, donde escribo un artículo sobre uno de nuestros miniaturistas españoles. Lo escribo en lengua catalana, una de las lenguas oficiales del estado español."
This translates as; "I am sending you my web page, where I have written an article on one of our Spanish miniaturists. It is written in the Catalan language, one of the official languages of the Spanish state."
The website is only just starting up, but progress can be seen at http://colecciondeminiaturas.blogspot.com/ or via the permanent Gallery Link Una colección española which I have included on this page and my home page.
The first item is about the Catalan artist: Luís Vermell, painter of portraits in miniature
As an experiment, I have linked this item via a special Automatic translator which gives an idea of the content. To get the translation, you need to chose Catalan-English in the top box, general in the middle, and copy and paste the URL, http://colecciondeminiaturas.blogspot.com/ into the bottom box.
Even so, it is hard to get a clear translation into English from Catalan on the Internet without human intervention, but a reasonable idea of the content can be obtained by using this free automatic Catalan-English language translation service on the Internet. Thus those visitors wishing to translate the descriptions from Catalan into English should use Automatic translator
As most people know other automatic translations can be made by copying and pasting to a site such as Yahoo! Babel Fish - Text Translation and Web Page Translation
Thus, if desired, the BabelFish website can be used to translate my website into other languages.
I had been hoping that other collectors would display their collections, so that we can link them together and provide a better and better resource. Thus this new collection is very welcome and even more collections will be welcomed.
More from the Market
The Market for Miniatures
Included in recent sales of miniature portraits which have caught my eye over the past month, are several which I believe are decorative copies.
Some were advertised as if they were genuine, although I question their genuineness.
The first was offered by the auctioneers Grogan & Co and was described as; "GEORGE FREEMAN (American, 1789-1868) PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF LORD CORNWALLIS after John Singleton Copley; 4.5 x 4 inches." It was signed "G Freeman".
The estimate was $1500 - $2000, but it sold for a hammer price of only $1000, a sign that the buyers did not believe it was by Freeman.
Unfortunately, at the same auction, the bidders got carried away with this miniature of John Paul Jones, as it sold for a hammer price of $4750, compared to a pre-sale estimate of $1000 - $1500.
The auctioneers, Grogan & Co described it as: "SARAH GOODRICH (American, 1788-1853) FRAMED PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF JOHN PAUL JONES 3.75 x 3.5 inches."
The miniature was signed; "Sarah Goodrich", presumably to make the original purchaser think it was by Sarah Goodridge.
However, I believe both the "Freeman" and "Goodrich" miniatures are decorative examples probably painted around 1910, long after the deaths of both George Freeman and Sarah Goodridge.
Given the false use of the signatures of the artists, it would actually be more correct to call these miniatures fakes, rather than decorative copies.
Apart from my own doubts about the authenticity of the two portraits, it was significant to me that there were no Internet bidders.
There are a number of Internet collectors I am sure would have bid if the miniatures had been genuine!
However, in contrast Grogan & Co did auction a genuine miniature portrait by Laura Coombs Hills, whose miniatures command high prices.
Several of them were sold last year.
This one was described as;
"LAURA COOMBS HILLS (American, 1859-1952) PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF CHARLOTTE SPAULDING ALBRIGHT (1879-1939) watercolor; signed Laura Hills, l.r.;"
"together with TWO PHOTOGRAPHS and a BEADED HEADDRESS, photos show Mrs. Albright wearing the headdress portrait: 3.5 x 2.5 inches; framed: 11 x 10 inches."
The estimate was $4000 to $6000 and the hammer price was $8000.
Another decorative copy, or more precisely a fake, recently offered by a different vendor was this miniature portrait of George Washington.
It was described by the vendor as; "A Fabulous American Miniature Oil Portrait Of General George Washington, done in the manner of Gilbert Stuart."
And; "This is actually a mirror image of the portrait that you see on the Dollar Bill. It was done about 1780-1800, and is in good overall condition. There is a mark in the paint on the left side, just off his shoulder, and the Ivory has a Hairline, hence the old paper backing to strengthen it."
And; "This is one of the finest miniatures of Washington known. It is unframed, and ready for your period frame. It measures about 3" x 4". This is guaranteed to be an old period portrait of George Washington, the paper backing is an old land deed."
Rather than being painted in 1780 - 1800 as claimed, it is a fake which most likely dates from around 1900 - 1920. With old documents attached to the rear to give a false idea of its age.
After 25 bids it sold for $565, which is a bit over the top, but not too badly so compared to an identical miniature offered earlier this year.
Previous visitors to this website will recollect I wrote about an identical fake miniature of Washington earlier this year in April.
It was claimed to be of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale and was offered with a "Buy It Now" price of $1,450,000! Needless to say it did not sell.
It is reproduced here for comparison (they are both the same size) and my previous comments can be seen at April - Fakes and decorative miniatures
Another interesting portrait, which appears to be a copy, although I am not certain of that, is the pastel portrait below of a girl and a bird.
After 18 bids it sold for $2247.
The vendor described it as;
"Here is a very nice pastel portrait of a young girl holding a bird that I picked up at a sale a while ago. It is signed and dated 1760. I think the signature is T.S. Cobley. The painting and paper are in very nice condition. The back of the paper is very aged with some darker brown spotting. It is very fragile and delicate. I carefully removed it to take the photos because it was difficult to get good photos through the glass. The nice old frame looks original. The measurements are 10.5 by 14 inches."
The vendor sounds to be genuine, but the signature actually reads J S Copley for John Singleton Copley, a very famous American artist and miniaturist who did use pastels.
As I say, I think it is a copy, but would welcome expert opinion.
Also of interest to me, so much so that I bid, but unsuccessfully, was this miniature 19th century portrait of Sir Fitzroy Kelly (1796-1880), an English judge.
It is by Thomas John Gullick who was active 1851-1854 and was also an art critic and author.
In 1834 Kelly was made a king's counsel. He was solicitor-general in 1845 (when he was knighted), and again in 1852. In 1858-1859 he was attorney-general in Lord Derby's second administration. In 1866 he was raised to the bench as chief baron of the exchequer and made a member of the Privy Council.
I regret having not bid higher, as he featured for the defence in a celebrated murder case in the 19C, where he gained the nickname "Apple Pips Kelly".
For the details, see History The murder of Sarah HART 1845
Included in recent sales of miniature portraits which have caught my eye over the past month, are several which I believe are decorative copies.Some were advertised as if they were genuine, although I question their genuineness.
The first was offered by the auctioneers Grogan & Co and was described as; "GEORGE FREEMAN (American, 1789-1868) PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF LORD CORNWALLIS after John Singleton Copley; 4.5 x 4 inches." It was signed "G Freeman".
The estimate was $1500 - $2000, but it sold for a hammer price of only $1000, a sign that the buyers did not believe it was by Freeman.
Unfortunately, at the same auction, the bidders got carried away with this miniature of John Paul Jones, as it sold for a hammer price of $4750, compared to a pre-sale estimate of $1000 - $1500.The auctioneers, Grogan & Co described it as: "SARAH GOODRICH (American, 1788-1853) FRAMED PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF JOHN PAUL JONES 3.75 x 3.5 inches."
The miniature was signed; "Sarah Goodrich", presumably to make the original purchaser think it was by Sarah Goodridge.
However, I believe both the "Freeman" and "Goodrich" miniatures are decorative examples probably painted around 1910, long after the deaths of both George Freeman and Sarah Goodridge.
Given the false use of the signatures of the artists, it would actually be more correct to call these miniatures fakes, rather than decorative copies.
Apart from my own doubts about the authenticity of the two portraits, it was significant to me that there were no Internet bidders.
There are a number of Internet collectors I am sure would have bid if the miniatures had been genuine!However, in contrast Grogan & Co did auction a genuine miniature portrait by Laura Coombs Hills, whose miniatures command high prices.
Several of them were sold last year.
This one was described as;
"LAURA COOMBS HILLS (American, 1859-1952) PORTRAIT MINIATURE OF CHARLOTTE SPAULDING ALBRIGHT (1879-1939) watercolor; signed Laura Hills, l.r.;"
"together with TWO PHOTOGRAPHS and a BEADED HEADDRESS, photos show Mrs. Albright wearing the headdress portrait: 3.5 x 2.5 inches; framed: 11 x 10 inches."
The estimate was $4000 to $6000 and the hammer price was $8000.
Another decorative copy, or more precisely a fake, recently offered by a different vendor was this miniature portrait of George Washington.
It was described by the vendor as; "A Fabulous American Miniature Oil Portrait Of General George Washington, done in the manner of Gilbert Stuart."
And; "This is actually a mirror image of the portrait that you see on the Dollar Bill. It was done about 1780-1800, and is in good overall condition. There is a mark in the paint on the left side, just off his shoulder, and the Ivory has a Hairline, hence the old paper backing to strengthen it."And; "This is one of the finest miniatures of Washington known. It is unframed, and ready for your period frame. It measures about 3" x 4". This is guaranteed to be an old period portrait of George Washington, the paper backing is an old land deed."
Rather than being painted in 1780 - 1800 as claimed, it is a fake which most likely dates from around 1900 - 1920. With old documents attached to the rear to give a false idea of its age.After 25 bids it sold for $565, which is a bit over the top, but not too badly so compared to an identical miniature offered earlier this year.
Previous visitors to this website will recollect I wrote about an identical fake miniature of Washington earlier this year in April.
It was claimed to be of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale and was offered with a "Buy It Now" price of $1,450,000! Needless to say it did not sell.
It is reproduced here for comparison (they are both the same size) and my previous comments can be seen at April - Fakes and decorative miniatures
Another interesting portrait, which appears to be a copy, although I am not certain of that, is the pastel portrait below of a girl and a bird.After 18 bids it sold for $2247.
The vendor described it as;
"Here is a very nice pastel portrait of a young girl holding a bird that I picked up at a sale a while ago. It is signed and dated 1760. I think the signature is T.S. Cobley. The painting and paper are in very nice condition. The back of the paper is very aged with some darker brown spotting. It is very fragile and delicate. I carefully removed it to take the photos because it was difficult to get good photos through the glass. The nice old frame looks original. The measurements are 10.5 by 14 inches."
The vendor sounds to be genuine, but the signature actually reads J S Copley for John Singleton Copley, a very famous American artist and miniaturist who did use pastels.
As I say, I think it is a copy, but would welcome expert opinion.
Also of interest to me, so much so that I bid, but unsuccessfully, was this miniature 19th century portrait of Sir Fitzroy Kelly (1796-1880), an English judge.It is by Thomas John Gullick who was active 1851-1854 and was also an art critic and author.
In 1834 Kelly was made a king's counsel. He was solicitor-general in 1845 (when he was knighted), and again in 1852. In 1858-1859 he was attorney-general in Lord Derby's second administration. In 1866 he was raised to the bench as chief baron of the exchequer and made a member of the Privy Council.
I regret having not bid higher, as he featured for the defence in a celebrated murder case in the 19C, where he gained the nickname "Apple Pips Kelly".
For the details, see History The murder of Sarah HART 1845
Wednesday
The Market for Miniatures
The Market for Miniatures.Interesting miniature portraits, especially those with an American connection, that have caught my eye in the last month or so, include;
A rare miniature offered by Neal Auctions sold for a hammer price of $1200, against an estimate of $400-$600.
It was described as;
"Jean Baptiste Emile Wiltz (American/New Orleans, 1812-1891), "Portrait of a Louisiana Gentleman", miniature set in a gold brooch, signed and dated "1840" center right, sight 1 3/4 in. x 1 1/2 in".
Wiltz is not mentioned in Blattel.
Recently sold for GBP403 was this miniature of an unknown lady with brunette hair worn in ringlets, a pearl necklace around her neck, wearing a pink and white dress and with ribbons at the shoulders. It is by the American born, British artist William John Thomson (1771-1845).It is signed and dated Aug 1827 on the reverse. Such dating is very helpful in documenting the history of fashion and dating unsigned miniatures.
For more about William John Thomson and examples in this collection of other miniatures by him, see Thomson, William John - portrait of Charlotte Knox Trotter
Included in auction sales were these two attractive watercolor portraits by Alta Elizabeth Wilmot (American, 1852-1930).They were good buying as they both sold below estimate. The portrait of a young peasant girl; watercolor; 9" x 7"; signed and dated 1890 lower left, sold for a hammer price of $275, compared to the estimate of $500 to $1000.
The portrait of a young girl reading in the library; watercolor; 14" x 10"; signed lower left, sold for $600, compared to an estimate of $1000 to $2000.
There are a couple of miniature portraits by Alta Wilmot in this collection, one being of Mark Twain.
In the late 19C and early 20C there developed in India, a market for miniature pictures of prominent Indian temples, palaces, and other important buildings.They were primarily painted by local craftsmen for the tourist trade and required quite a degree of skill. Thousands must have been painted, but they usually fetch good prices.
This group of nice miniatures sold for GBP686.
This Artists and Ancestors collection has for some time, included a nice framed group of Indian miniatures, although I must confess that it has not yet been added to the website. I will try and add them later this month or next month.
Another cheap buy for someone was this interesting pair of portraits which shows how miniature portraits could be copied in oil or vice versa.In this instance I would think the oil was copied from the miniature. However, there are subtle differences so they may possibly each be originals.
Pook and Pook sold the pair for a hammer price of $1100, compared an estimate of $2000 to $3000.
They were described as both being by Edward Dalton Marchant (American, 1806-1887), "two portraits, one oil on canvas and one watercolor on ivory, of a Philadelphia silver merchant Eli Wescot Bailey, 27'' x 22'' and 2'' x 1 1/2''".Primitive miniatures can still attract high prices.
Pook and Pook also sold this miniature by Justus Dalee (American, 1793-1878), a watercolor and pencil miniature profile portrait of a woman, 3'' x 2 1/2''. Provenance: Richards Family, Glens Falls, NY.
The hammer price of $2400 was close to the top estimate, as the pre-auction range was $1500 to $2500.
This was above the price that several Da Lee miniatures have sold recently.
An interesting item sold at auction in Germany by Auction Team Brekker, for a hammer price of Eur450, against an estimate of Eur 550 - Eur 750 was this wooden paint box described as;"Photo Coloration Set, c. 1900 Wooden case. With 4 bottles of "Photominiature Bourgeois Aine, Paris" and "Photo-Miniature Lefranc & Cie., Paris", colors, paint brushes, palette and accessories for photos as well as flat and domed glass plates. Decorative sample photo in the lid! - Extraordinary collector's item and exhibition piece!"
It is only the second example I have ever seen.The other example, which is similar and by the same maker, although not identical and seeming to be a little larger, being part of this collection.
For more information about the process, which involved reverse painting of a photographic image floated onto the back of a clear convex glass, see Miniatures and the Photograph
Perhaps as result of the financial crisis, a rare group of three miniatures by John Wood Dodge were offered for sale with a reserve of Eur 2100, but there were no buyers.
The three miniatures were in identical frames and appear to be of the same family. They were inscribed; "PAINTED BY JOHN W. DODGE MINIATURE PAINTER N° 485 PEARL ST NEW YORK APRIL 1834."Normally there would have been a lot of interest in such a group.
The vendor was in France and so the trio may represent a family group who returned home to live in France after 1834. Again, the signature and date is helpful for dating costume.
An uncommon miniature which sold very cheaply for $86, was this engraving by Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Memin (1770-1852) of Captain Samuel Morris.There is a very comprehensive 450 page catalogue of St Memin's work by Ellen G Miles and this engraving is included in that catalogue.
Morris is well documented as; "Samuel Morris (June 24, 1734 – July 7, 1812) was an American soldier in the American Revolutionary War. The grandson of Anthony Morris (II), he was born in Philadelphia. He often served in the legislature. He married Rebecca Wistar, daughter of Caspar Wistar (the elder). He was elected "governor" in 1776 of the social club known as "The State in Schuylkill," and re-elected annually until his death. He was also a founder and president for many years of the "Gloucester fox-hunting club." When the first troop of Philadelphia city cavalry was organized, no fewer than twenty-two members of the club were enrolled in its ranks, and Morris was elected its captain. The troop served through the campaign of 1776-77 as George Washington's bodyguard, and took an active part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, in which latter engagement Samuel's brother, Anthony, ensign of the troop, was killed. On temporarily relieving the command from duty in January, 1777, Washington returned his "most sincere thanks to the captain," and added that, although the troop was "composed of gentlemen of fortune," its members had "shown a noble example of discipline and subordination." For thus taking part in the Revolution, Captain Morris was disowned by the Quakers, but he continued until his death to wear the dress and use the language of that sect, worshiping with them regularly. Morris died in Philadelphia, July 7, 1812."
To be continued in Part 3
September - A Likely Fake and the Identity of the Real Dr Frankenstein
There has been little of note in the market place recently, although some items are worthy of comment. Two of them being potentially very controversial!
One a likely fake, the other identifying the original Dr Frankenstein who was the inspiration for Mary Shelley's famous 19C novel!
Likely fake sells for $43,000
A miniature portrait claimed to be of Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745-1816) was sold at auction by Raynors' Historical Collectible Auctions on Sep 17 2008 for a hammer price of $37,000, about $43,000 inclusive of buyer's commission. This compared to a pre-sale estimated hammer price of $50,000-$75,000. See 31: MINIATURE PORTRAIT ON IVORY OF THE FIRST AMERICAN B
The miniature was given an apparently impeccable pedigree and has been featured in a number of books and exhibitions, as shown in this following auction description;
"A direct descendant of a prominent Colonial New York Jewish family, he was chosen in 1768 to lead Congregation Shearith Israel of N.Y. City, to present-day the oldest and the very first formed (in 1654) Jewish congregation in America. As the "Hazzan" (Cantor) of that venerable congregation he conducted and led all public services and was the first to preach in English in a synagogue. An ardent Revolutionary patriot, he refused to offer prayers for King George III or to fly the British flag over the temple when the British defeated General Washington in N.Y. August 1776. Seixas fled N.Y. for Philadelphia where his significant exertions helped establish their noted Congr. Mickve Israel; upon its opening he invoked the blessings of God on the American Congress and Gen'l Washington. At war's end he returned to N.Y. and his congregation, subsequently invited to attend Washington's inauguration as President. This extremely important, historical and rare miniature portrait of Seixas painted on ivory (3 x 3 ½); mounted in its gilt finished, delicate brass frame which is inset in a larger wood outer panel (5 x 6 overall). Condition very fine. Portrait is widely known and is illustrated and described in numerous respected works on American Judaism and been displayed in prominent museum exhibitions. A fine color illustration of it is seen in the prestigious catalog of the exhibition by the "BETH HATEFUTSOTH MUSEUM OF THE JEWISH DIASPORA" in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1986-87 "IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF COLUMBUS; JEWS IN AMERICA 1654-1880."Also well illustrated and described in the notable exhibition and catalog of "FACING THE NEW WORLD; JEWISH PORTRAITS IN COLONIAL AND FEDERAL AMERICA" held 1997-98 by the Jewish Museum of New York. The portrait is prominently featured as the full page frontispiece in the 2004 published "REMNANTS OF ISRAEL; A PORTRAIT OF AMERICA'S FIRST JEWISH CONGREGATION, SHEARITH ISRAEL" by Rabbi Marc D. Angel, N.Y. and again illustrated in the text of that same work. It is also to be seen in "THE SEIXAS-KURSHEEDTS AND THE LIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN JEWRY" by K. Lebow pub. by A.J.H.S., 2001; and more recently illustrated and described in the widely reviewed work by Prof. J. D. Sarna, "AMERICAN JUDAISM; A HISTORY," Yale Univ. Press, 2004. (Color photostats of all works mentioned accompany painting). For past two years this miniature portrait has been illustrated by the American Jewish Historical Society on their website in their "Database of Early American Jewish Portraits". There is much more to the biography of Gershom Mendes Seixas. Painting was acquired originally in 1960 as a gift from a direct descendant of Seixas to the noted Jewish-American historian Maxwell Whiteman (author of the classic reference "History of Jews of Philadelphia") pub. by J. P. S. 1957; also "Isaac Leeser and the Jews of Philadelphia" pub. by A.J.H.S. 1959 and numerous monographs and articles on Judaism. Painting was subsequently acquired directly from Mr. Whiteman in 1991 by present owner. An immensely significant American Judaic rarity."
However, I doubt it is genuine. Although, to doubt the authenticity of this miniature, I feel as if I am commenting on the Emperor's new clothes!
I do not like to see anyone misled about a miniature portrait. My doubts about this one were so strong, that I sent the following email to the auctioneers before the date of the sale;
"Can you please advise whether you guarantee that this item is genuine? I believe rectangular miniatures of this size and shape, hairstyle, and with this palette coloring date to around 1820. The artist looks as if it may be Anson Dickinson (1779-1852) who was active around 1820. Miniatures were not painted in this manner in the 18C and so the sitter is much too young to be Seixas. It seems more likely a much later copy or perhaps more likely is the son or grandson of Seixas."
Perhaps predictably, there was no reply from the auctioneers.
I now hope that any reader of my comments here, who knows the purchaser of the miniature, will contact them to advise them of these reservations, so that they are at least aware of the reservations and can investigate them further if they so desire. For example, they could approach major museums or experts on American miniature portraits.
While I do cannot claim to be 100% certain it is a fake, I guess my certainty is around 99.9% that it was not painted in the 18C and so is not an original portrait of Seixas.
The sitter looks to be around 30 years of age and hence to be Seixas, the miniature would need to date to 1775. That does not compute with me. The shape, style, clothes, and colors are all wrong for a miniature said to be pre 1820.
Showing here is another monochrome portrait of Seixas which may be genuine. There is a similar general appearance, but a vital dating difference is with the white collar. In the color image, the points of his collar stick up against his neck. This feature dates to 1820. The monochrome image does not have this and thus fits with 18C dress.
Similarly, the coat worn in the color image is from around 1820, whereas the gown in the monochrome is 18C in style.
Thus in my opinion the miniature in the color image dates from 1820. It is either a fake or probably more likely a genuine portrait from 1820 of an unidentified man who has much later been claimed to be Seixas.
Anson Dickinson is a possible artist, although I am not entirely confident that it was him. Both he and his brother, Daniel Dickinson were working in New York around that time. However, it may be by a different artist altogether.
Possibly it is an 1820's copy of a 1775 portrait, but if I had been buying the miniature at the auction, I would want to see the original before I accepted that possible explanation.
If it is proved to be an 1820's copy, or an 1820 portrait of an unknown man, the value would most likely be less than $2000 to a specialist collectors of American miniature.
Given the auction description above, it seems the miniature has been accepted for over twenty years. However, that does not mean it cannot be challenged now.
In a comment earlier this year, I commented on rectangular portraits given dates that were too early for the artist they were attributed to. See The Case of Walter Robertson, Copies, Attributions, and RRR
On a number of occasions I have also commented on fakes of George Washington miniatures offered at auction in the past, for example see April - Fakes and decorative miniatures.
In response to those comments on both the claimed Walter Robertson's and the fake George Washington's, I received supporting comments from acknowledged experts in the field of American miniature portraits and anticipate they will again agree with the bulk of the comments expressed here.
Even so, I would be interested in opinions from other collectors about this claimed Seixas item.
The Original Dr Frankenstein
There is an old adage; "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones".
Thus I am conscious that in making the above comments about the Seixas miniature and making a claim that this miniature portrait represents an image of the doctor who was the inspiration for Dr Frankenstein, risks many brickbats being thrown my way!
However, the identity of the artist, the sitter, and the date is without question in this instance.
The portrait has recently been acquired for this collection and I am still in the process of researching the item.
Interested visitors can review my efforts at Bone, Henry - portrait of Sir Anthony Carlisle and make their own assessment as to the accuracy of the research and the conclusions drawn there.
The "miniature" is a large, 200mm x 170mm, and important work by the famous British enameller Henry Bone (1755-1834).
There is a full description of Sir Anthony Carlisle (1768-1842) at Bone, Henry - portrait of Sir Anthony Carlisle . Suffice to say, Carlisle was a most remarkable man from the late 18C and early 19C.
His main career was as a surgeon, including being Surgeon Extraordinary to King George IV.
However, and although for the most part, he is only recognised in obscure references, he was also;
- involved in the earliest photographic experiments which took place prior to 1800,
- he discovered electrolysis in 1800,
- he determined that bats navigated by hearing 100 years before science accepted this,
- he supported the introduction of laws to prevent child labor,
- he attempted to fly,
- and he was also the model for Dr Frankenstein!
Carlisle was in attendance at the birth of Mary Godwin Shelley and was a friend of her father. Carlisle experimented with the effects of electric current on the bodies of executed convicts to make their limbs and heads move. He was an excellent story teller and his gruesome experiments were discussed at fashionable dinner parties where he was a guest.
From all that I believe he deserves a proper biography, but such a project is beyond my ability. However, I do hope some author can pick up my threads and use them to write a proper biography of Sir Anthony Carlisle.
James H Gillespie pair
There is also more certainty about the artist in this pair of James H Gillespie miniatures which sold recently at auction for $1275.
This seems a solid price for a pair of English profile miniatures, even though he did also later work in America.
In my opinion, this pair perhaps more likely relates to his British period.
As can be seen, the printed label reads; "Likeness drawn in one minute by J. H. Gillespie Profile Painter".
Thus it was not a long process and enabled him to make a large number of miniatures in several different styles, his later profile's tending to be colored and with a light background.
There are example of his later work in this collection. For example, see Gillespie, J H - portraits of Alexander H Niven and a member of the Biddle family
One a likely fake, the other identifying the original Dr Frankenstein who was the inspiration for Mary Shelley's famous 19C novel!
Likely fake sells for $43,000
A miniature portrait claimed to be of Gershom Mendes Seixas (1745-1816) was sold at auction by Raynors' Historical Collectible Auctions on Sep 17 2008 for a hammer price of $37,000, about $43,000 inclusive of buyer's commission. This compared to a pre-sale estimated hammer price of $50,000-$75,000. See 31: MINIATURE PORTRAIT ON IVORY OF THE FIRST AMERICAN BThe miniature was given an apparently impeccable pedigree and has been featured in a number of books and exhibitions, as shown in this following auction description;
"A direct descendant of a prominent Colonial New York Jewish family, he was chosen in 1768 to lead Congregation Shearith Israel of N.Y. City, to present-day the oldest and the very first formed (in 1654) Jewish congregation in America. As the "Hazzan" (Cantor) of that venerable congregation he conducted and led all public services and was the first to preach in English in a synagogue. An ardent Revolutionary patriot, he refused to offer prayers for King George III or to fly the British flag over the temple when the British defeated General Washington in N.Y. August 1776. Seixas fled N.Y. for Philadelphia where his significant exertions helped establish their noted Congr. Mickve Israel; upon its opening he invoked the blessings of God on the American Congress and Gen'l Washington. At war's end he returned to N.Y. and his congregation, subsequently invited to attend Washington's inauguration as President. This extremely important, historical and rare miniature portrait of Seixas painted on ivory (3 x 3 ½); mounted in its gilt finished, delicate brass frame which is inset in a larger wood outer panel (5 x 6 overall). Condition very fine. Portrait is widely known and is illustrated and described in numerous respected works on American Judaism and been displayed in prominent museum exhibitions. A fine color illustration of it is seen in the prestigious catalog of the exhibition by the "BETH HATEFUTSOTH MUSEUM OF THE JEWISH DIASPORA" in Tel Aviv, Israel in 1986-87 "IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF COLUMBUS; JEWS IN AMERICA 1654-1880."Also well illustrated and described in the notable exhibition and catalog of "FACING THE NEW WORLD; JEWISH PORTRAITS IN COLONIAL AND FEDERAL AMERICA" held 1997-98 by the Jewish Museum of New York. The portrait is prominently featured as the full page frontispiece in the 2004 published "REMNANTS OF ISRAEL; A PORTRAIT OF AMERICA'S FIRST JEWISH CONGREGATION, SHEARITH ISRAEL" by Rabbi Marc D. Angel, N.Y. and again illustrated in the text of that same work. It is also to be seen in "THE SEIXAS-KURSHEEDTS AND THE LIVES OF EARLY AMERICAN JEWRY" by K. Lebow pub. by A.J.H.S., 2001; and more recently illustrated and described in the widely reviewed work by Prof. J. D. Sarna, "AMERICAN JUDAISM; A HISTORY," Yale Univ. Press, 2004. (Color photostats of all works mentioned accompany painting). For past two years this miniature portrait has been illustrated by the American Jewish Historical Society on their website in their "Database of Early American Jewish Portraits". There is much more to the biography of Gershom Mendes Seixas. Painting was acquired originally in 1960 as a gift from a direct descendant of Seixas to the noted Jewish-American historian Maxwell Whiteman (author of the classic reference "History of Jews of Philadelphia") pub. by J. P. S. 1957; also "Isaac Leeser and the Jews of Philadelphia" pub. by A.J.H.S. 1959 and numerous monographs and articles on Judaism. Painting was subsequently acquired directly from Mr. Whiteman in 1991 by present owner. An immensely significant American Judaic rarity."
However, I doubt it is genuine. Although, to doubt the authenticity of this miniature, I feel as if I am commenting on the Emperor's new clothes!
I do not like to see anyone misled about a miniature portrait. My doubts about this one were so strong, that I sent the following email to the auctioneers before the date of the sale;
"Can you please advise whether you guarantee that this item is genuine? I believe rectangular miniatures of this size and shape, hairstyle, and with this palette coloring date to around 1820. The artist looks as if it may be Anson Dickinson (1779-1852) who was active around 1820. Miniatures were not painted in this manner in the 18C and so the sitter is much too young to be Seixas. It seems more likely a much later copy or perhaps more likely is the son or grandson of Seixas."
Perhaps predictably, there was no reply from the auctioneers.
I now hope that any reader of my comments here, who knows the purchaser of the miniature, will contact them to advise them of these reservations, so that they are at least aware of the reservations and can investigate them further if they so desire. For example, they could approach major museums or experts on American miniature portraits.
While I do cannot claim to be 100% certain it is a fake, I guess my certainty is around 99.9% that it was not painted in the 18C and so is not an original portrait of Seixas.
The sitter looks to be around 30 years of age and hence to be Seixas, the miniature would need to date to 1775. That does not compute with me. The shape, style, clothes, and colors are all wrong for a miniature said to be pre 1820.Showing here is another monochrome portrait of Seixas which may be genuine. There is a similar general appearance, but a vital dating difference is with the white collar. In the color image, the points of his collar stick up against his neck. This feature dates to 1820. The monochrome image does not have this and thus fits with 18C dress.
Similarly, the coat worn in the color image is from around 1820, whereas the gown in the monochrome is 18C in style.
Thus in my opinion the miniature in the color image dates from 1820. It is either a fake or probably more likely a genuine portrait from 1820 of an unidentified man who has much later been claimed to be Seixas.
Anson Dickinson is a possible artist, although I am not entirely confident that it was him. Both he and his brother, Daniel Dickinson were working in New York around that time. However, it may be by a different artist altogether.
Possibly it is an 1820's copy of a 1775 portrait, but if I had been buying the miniature at the auction, I would want to see the original before I accepted that possible explanation.
If it is proved to be an 1820's copy, or an 1820 portrait of an unknown man, the value would most likely be less than $2000 to a specialist collectors of American miniature.
Given the auction description above, it seems the miniature has been accepted for over twenty years. However, that does not mean it cannot be challenged now.
In a comment earlier this year, I commented on rectangular portraits given dates that were too early for the artist they were attributed to. See The Case of Walter Robertson, Copies, Attributions, and RRR
On a number of occasions I have also commented on fakes of George Washington miniatures offered at auction in the past, for example see April - Fakes and decorative miniatures.
In response to those comments on both the claimed Walter Robertson's and the fake George Washington's, I received supporting comments from acknowledged experts in the field of American miniature portraits and anticipate they will again agree with the bulk of the comments expressed here.
Even so, I would be interested in opinions from other collectors about this claimed Seixas item.
The Original Dr Frankenstein
There is an old adage; "people who live in glass houses should not throw stones".Thus I am conscious that in making the above comments about the Seixas miniature and making a claim that this miniature portrait represents an image of the doctor who was the inspiration for Dr Frankenstein, risks many brickbats being thrown my way!
However, the identity of the artist, the sitter, and the date is without question in this instance.
The portrait has recently been acquired for this collection and I am still in the process of researching the item.
Interested visitors can review my efforts at Bone, Henry - portrait of Sir Anthony Carlisle and make their own assessment as to the accuracy of the research and the conclusions drawn there.
The "miniature" is a large, 200mm x 170mm, and important work by the famous British enameller Henry Bone (1755-1834).
There is a full description of Sir Anthony Carlisle (1768-1842) at Bone, Henry - portrait of Sir Anthony Carlisle . Suffice to say, Carlisle was a most remarkable man from the late 18C and early 19C.
His main career was as a surgeon, including being Surgeon Extraordinary to King George IV.
However, and although for the most part, he is only recognised in obscure references, he was also;
- involved in the earliest photographic experiments which took place prior to 1800,
- he discovered electrolysis in 1800,
- he determined that bats navigated by hearing 100 years before science accepted this,
- he supported the introduction of laws to prevent child labor,
- he attempted to fly,
- and he was also the model for Dr Frankenstein!
Carlisle was in attendance at the birth of Mary Godwin Shelley and was a friend of her father. Carlisle experimented with the effects of electric current on the bodies of executed convicts to make their limbs and heads move. He was an excellent story teller and his gruesome experiments were discussed at fashionable dinner parties where he was a guest.
From all that I believe he deserves a proper biography, but such a project is beyond my ability. However, I do hope some author can pick up my threads and use them to write a proper biography of Sir Anthony Carlisle.
James H Gillespie pair
There is also more certainty about the artist in this pair of James H Gillespie miniatures which sold recently at auction for $1275.This seems a solid price for a pair of English profile miniatures, even though he did also later work in America.
In my opinion, this pair perhaps more likely relates to his British period.As can be seen, the printed label reads; "Likeness drawn in one minute by J. H. Gillespie Profile Painter".
Thus it was not a long process and enabled him to make a large number of miniatures in several different styles, his later profile's tending to be colored and with a light background.
There are example of his later work in this collection. For example, see Gillespie, J H - portraits of Alexander H Niven and a member of the Biddle family
Friday
September - New Exhibition in Germany
Tansey CollectionOne of the greatest private collections of miniature portraits in the world is the Tansey Collection at the Bomann Museum, Schlossplatz 7, D 29221 Celle, Germany.
Several excellent catalogues written by Bernd Pappe and Juliane Schmieglitz-Otten, with photographs by Birgitt Schmedding to support this and previous exhibitions have been published.
The earlier catalogues illustrate many of the miniatures in the Tansey collection and are listed in my Bibliography.
The link to the main Tansey Collection is at www.miniaturen-tansey.de where, at the top right of the Tansey home page, there is an option for an English version.
Now, a new exhibition is opening in September 2008, see Miniaturen des Rokoko
The Exhibtion introduction reads as follows:
"Starting at the Bomann Museum from 7 September, 2008 is an exhibition titled "Rococo Miniatures from the Tansey Collection".
Rococo miniatures are an extremely fascinating art. The exhibition presents European-wide examples from probably the most important private miniature collection and includes 177 works from the Tansey Collection.
The Rococo period was an elegant time in which beauty and delicacy were to the fore. The individual miniatures show representations of beautiful ideals, as well as depicting precious dresses and theatrical scenes. Some portraits contain a hidden message for the viewer. The sitters in the miniatures, some coquettish and some flirtatious, are revealed with techniques of masks and veils. Ladies reveal themselves in the midst of of material or dreamed of luxury, or else flee to an imaginary world in which they disguise themselves as shepherdesses, musicians, or as goddesses.
Some of the sitters represent members of royal families. Thus is there is a fascinating panorama of people, who were affected in greater or lesser ways by the late 18C history of Europe. In the miniatures, the Rococo period becomes alive. It is on the one hand the world in which the sitters actually lived, on the other hand however - and primarily - an ideal world, which corresponded to their concepts of desire. The period was painted by the artists with a sense for form which is not to be found in later times.
Now visitors are invited to cast their eyes over these delightful masterpieces."
Thus anyone who is interested in miniature portraits and likely to be in Germany after 7 September should try and get to see the exhibition.
Tuesday
August - Fake miniatures, condition issues, and the market place
Fakes and decorative miniaturesI continue to get emails from visitors asking about decorative miniatures.
Their miniatures often depict familiar sitters from the attached group, who include; Anna Hillmayer, Nannette Kaula, Katharina Botzaris, Lola Montez, Lady Jane Ellenborough, Marie Kronprinzessin von Bayern, and Auguste Strobl. There are also often similar miniatures of Marie Antoinette, Napoleon and many others.
I therefore thought it might be helpful to bring three other key links on the subject from this website together for easy reference.
Thus follow these three links for more information on fakes and decorative miniatures:-
Copy, Fake, and Decorative Miniatures
April - Fakes and decorative miniatures
July Mailbag - Researching sitters and decorative miniatures
Fakes continue to be offered on eBay and shown here are a pair of miniatures, which are quite dangerous fakes and were recently offeredas "Antique Art Lemuel Arnold Nellie Custis by P. Hodgkins".In bold type, the seller claimed "you are bidding on a pair of lovely vintage watercolors that were painted by Patty Hodgkins (1801-1900)".
But in the "small print" there was the comment "Date of Creation: 1900-1949", which is after the death date of 1900 given for Patty Hogkins, so the seller protected their own position in the event of a dispute.
However buyers needed to be careful as there is an old Maine Antique Digest article from 1997 by Rob Hoffman on the Internet, which is still relevant and discusses the origin and history of these "Borghese" fakes, see Borghese Watercolors Not Antique: Maine Antique Digest (Jan '97)
In his article, Rob Hoffman mentioned the following characteristics of the fakes:
"Borghese's folk art watercolors are intriguing in their charm and somewhat-credible flavor but are otherwise relatively easy to identify. Based on examination of several specimens, here are the salient features:
1. Borghese watercolors were painted on a thin matte board, smooth on the front and dimpled on the back. This material shouldn't be mistaken for an antique substance but ought to be examined from the back to be positively identified.
2. The appearance of age was faked in some cases by the use of a light amber wash on the background area of the composition. This produced a mottled and cloud-like appearance that is inconsistent with authentic aging.
3. The choice of colors was usually a little bit wacky. For instance, in the pictured example the woman's dress is rendered with a shade of purple that I've never seen on an authentic antique.
4. Borghese's original frames were modern but antiqued gold-leaf over simple gesso wood moldings."
As Rob also comments: "So, our final advice has an old familiar ring. Always insist on getting a written guarantee on all purchases. If you're buying at auction, read the conditions of sale carefully."
Condition problems with miniature portraits
Another recent question was about condition problems with miniatures. I commented on this last year, but as the reference may be hard to find, here is the link
October 2007 - Miniatures, Condition, and Damage
I tend to think miniature portraits are often unfairly penalised for minor condition problems. Furniture items of similar periods usually have many obvious marks of age and handling, called patina, which "Antiques Roadshow" experts, like to see as evidence of the genuine age of the piece.
The Market Place
Due to the summer break, there have been few items of American miniature portrait interest sold at auction in the past month or so.They included, what I think is an opalotype on glass, probably by John Henry Brown which seemed very cheap at $68.
Brown apparently signed all his miniature portraits on ivory, but rarely signed his opalotypes which were developed on milk glass and then hand colored.
However, Neal's Auctions had several American items with more interesting prices.
Several of the lots they offered at their live auction are shown here.
Perhaps the best buy was a miniature of an old lady in a white bonnet titled, "Portrait of Catherine Worthington Fowler, wife of Reuben Rose Fowler" by the Canadian artist, Lily V Ryan (nee Klein) who was active around 1900, which sold for a hammer price of $275, compared to a $400-$600 estimate.Then in a single lot were two miniature engravings described as; "Attributed to Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Memin (French), two physionotraces portraits of "John August Chevallie (1765-1878)" and "A Gentleman".
These had a hammer price of $1600 compared to an estimate of $400-$600.
Neals Auctions also sold two pairs of portraits.The first pair were of named children in inscribed cases, with one portrait by John Ramsier (American, Kentucky, 1861-1936) and one by T.H. Harrison (American, late 19c/early 20C) which hammered at $1650 compared to an estimate of $1000-$1500.
The second pair of two girls also by John Ramsier sold for $700, compared to an estimate of $600-$900.
The other miniature portrait sale of interest, was by Heritage Auctions.
Their hammer price was $11500 for a miniature portrait identified as; "Lieutenant Arthur Sinclair, U. S. Navy, Born Feb. 29th 1777, Died Feb. 29, 1831, as Commodore", and which had a pre sale estimate of $12,000-$15,000.The description also observed; "It is interesting to note that Sinclair was the great grandfather of the American novelist Upton Sinclair and sired three sons who all served in the United States Navy but resigned their commissions in 1861 to serve in the Confederate States navy".
August - American additions to the collection
During August several American miniature portraits were acquired for the collection. They include two miniatures by important New York artists of the early 19C, Joseph Wood and Nathaniel Rogers, which join other works by these artists already in the collection. There is also one portrait from around 1820-1825 by an unknown artist.
More research is required on these miniatures and the other items acquired with them, but the (regrettably slow) progress can be seen at Draft - Comstock, Stout, and etc portraits
There is also a miniature by William John Thomson, who is often regarded as American as he was born in Savannah, GA although he worked for most of his life in Britain, see Thomson, William John - portrait of Charlotte Knox Trotter
Additionally, there are two miniatures from the early 20C, one being by Anna Margaretta Archambault (12 Feb 1857-1956) a prominent artist who painted miniatures for many of her 99 year life, but whose works do not often appear on the market. The other 20C miniature is by an unknown artist.
Joseph Wood
After much reflection both this miniature by Joseph Wood (1778-1830) and another one below by Nathaniel Rogers, have both been determined as being portraits of Eleutheros Dana Comstock.
Eleutheros settled in NYC around 1810, which fits with Joseph Wood who established himself as a miniature painter in New York in 1801. Wood was in partnership with John Wesley Jarvis from 1803, when Edward Greene Malbone visited their studio and instructed them both in various aspects of miniature painting. The Malbone influence means that sometimes, Wood's work is mistaken for that of Malbone.
The Wood/Jarvis partnership broke up in 1809 and in 1811, Wood took on Nathaniel Rogers as an apprentice. Wood then left NYC for Philadelphia in 1813.
Given the apparent age of Eleutheros Dana Comstock in the miniature, at around age 20, it would seem that the miniature was a later work by Wood and painted around 1810-1813 before he left NYC.
Johnson comments on Wood's work of this period; "In Wood's mature work the backgrounds, like Malbone's are light and shaded by dark hatches or painted to resemble sky. However, Wood's portraits are more strongly defined than Malbone's, showing stronger contrasts and deeper shadows, with dark outlines around the eyes. Gum arabic is used liberally.... The hair is brilliantly and airily rendered, often in the coup de vent style popular at the time. Heads are usually smaller than Malbone, and the subject is often placed off centre or low on the ivory. Like Malbone's, Wood's subjects are self-assured; their presentations, however, are more varied and offer fuller characterisations."
Another point points to a date of around 1810/1813 for this miniature is the red leather case, which appears to be original, but is really still too large for the miniature and has a fitted brass bezel.
In 1812 the United States declared war on Britain after a period of crippling trade embargoes, and hence it would have been difficult to import oval gold and glass backed cases imported from Britain and which were often used before 1812.
Thus the few artists active at this time, would have had to make up cases of lower standards than would previously have been acceptable to their clients. It was not until after the end of the war, and closer to 1820 that European cases were more readily available.
As mentioned elsewhere, see Case study - The Embargo Act of 1807 and 19C miniature portrait cases it is probable that the difficulty of obtaining European cases between 1808 and 1815, led to the more or less complete divergence of American and British case styles after 1805.
The United States persisting with oval miniatures for a much longer period and developing a distinctly locally made style with carved, foliate borders.
Within this Artists and Ancestors collection, there are three other miniatures which have been tentatively attributed to Joseph Wood, although experts on the subject may disagree with some of them.
The miniature of an unknown lady shown here is in a case of poor quality, which suggests it dates from around 1810-1813. For more details, see Wood, Joseph - portrait of a lady
The miniature of the man in a wig and a blue coat, if there is agreement to an attribution to Wood, would seem to be an earlier work by Wood, as the proportions and tones are more similar to the 1805 miniature of James Stuart, fig 275 in the Manney Collection. See also Wood, Joseph - portrait of a man and Wood, Joseph - portrait of a man
That of the lady in the white dress and the other man, have proportions which are similar to that of the Comstock miniature by Wood and thus seem likely to be miniatures by Wood dating from around 1810. They seem to also fit within Johnson's comments on the mature style of Joseph Wood.
Eleutheros Dana Comstock by Nathaniel Rogers
Attaching to the reverse of this miniature is a note reading; "Stephen Comstock, brother of Julia Comstock Conger".
However, initially at least, there was more confidence about the artist than the sitter, as the name appears to disagree with other records showing the name of Julia's brother.
The sitter is instead believed to be Eleutheros Dana Comstock whose photograph has been repeated here.
Although unsigned, the artist is clearly Nathaniel Rogers (1787-1844) who as mentioned above, was taken on as an apprentice by Joseph Wood in 1811, shortly before Wood left New York for Philadelphia in 1813.
Rogers quickly became prominent in New York and painted many of the well known and fashionable people of his day. His style is quite distinctive, although there were subtle changes in his approach over the years.
Johnson comments; "Unlike Wood, Rogers employed a palette of clear, lively color. His work of around 1815 was already delicate and sophisticated. The subjects of his highly individualised portraits are presented in a direct and appealing manner."
Inclusive of this latest addition, there are now five miniature portraits by Nathaniel Rogers in this collection. The other miniatures are shown here to enable a comparison of his style.
From the clothing, hairstyles, and casework, it ought to be possible to rank them in approximate date order, but that has not been attempted. However, the rectangular portrait will be the most recent.
As all the sitters have white neckwear, it is taken as a sign they are among the earlier works by Rogers. Until about 1825, Rogers favoured an oval shape, but after that he usually painted in a rectangular format.
Unknown
Another Comstock miniature of a young man is well painted in somewhat of a primitive style by an unknown artist.
It dates from around 1820-1825. The casework is a finely crafted example of the very best type of American case which appeared after about 1820.
Sadly, there seems to be no available information about the early 19C case-makers who developed this style, but they were very talented metal workers.
The gold chain looped through the bale would have been worn around the neck and so shows how miniatures such as this were worn.
The wearing of miniatures continued much longer in America, than in Britain, where there was a move to rectangular "cabinet miniatures", to be displayed in, or on, cabinets by around 1820.
Anna Margaretta Archambault and an unknown artist.
The first miniature portrait is in a carved ivory frame, and is of Adaline H Wignall (sometimes Adeline Wignall) (15 Apr 1828-27 May 1873), mother of Charles F Wignall (28 Dec 1856->1910) and the first wife of James Charles Wignall (12 Dec 1829-14 Jun 1900) who she had married in Philadelphia on 13 May 1855.
The miniature is dated 1912 and was painted by Anna Margaretta Archambault (12 Feb 1857-1956), (aka A. Margaretta Archambault) a well known miniature portrait painter in the revival period.
Anna Archambault was the 1908 founder of the Philadelphia School of Miniature Painting and was also secretary of the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters.
Anna Archambault was awarded the Miniature Painters Medal of Honor in 1922 and the Emily Drayton Taylor Gold Medal in 1939. She exhibited for many years at the annual PAFA exhibitions, even as late as 1945.
For more about the miniature, see Archambault, Anna M - portrait of Adaline Hall Wignall
The second 20C miniature also dates to around 1912, but unfortunately neither the artist, nor the sitter are known.
However, it does give a good idea of the fashions of that period and also the very great wealth that was being amassed by some sections of the American population by the end of the 19C.
For more about it see Unknown - portrait of a lady with feathers
More research is required on these miniatures and the other items acquired with them, but the (regrettably slow) progress can be seen at Draft - Comstock, Stout, and etc portraits
There is also a miniature by William John Thomson, who is often regarded as American as he was born in Savannah, GA although he worked for most of his life in Britain, see Thomson, William John - portrait of Charlotte Knox TrotterAdditionally, there are two miniatures from the early 20C, one being by Anna Margaretta Archambault (12 Feb 1857-1956) a prominent artist who painted miniatures for many of her 99 year life, but whose works do not often appear on the market. The other 20C miniature is by an unknown artist.
Joseph Wood
After much reflection both this miniature by Joseph Wood (1778-1830) and another one below by Nathaniel Rogers, have both been determined as being portraits of Eleutheros Dana Comstock.
Eleutheros settled in NYC around 1810, which fits with Joseph Wood who established himself as a miniature painter in New York in 1801. Wood was in partnership with John Wesley Jarvis from 1803, when Edward Greene Malbone visited their studio and instructed them both in various aspects of miniature painting. The Malbone influence means that sometimes, Wood's work is mistaken for that of Malbone.
The Wood/Jarvis partnership broke up in 1809 and in 1811, Wood took on Nathaniel Rogers as an apprentice. Wood then left NYC for Philadelphia in 1813.Given the apparent age of Eleutheros Dana Comstock in the miniature, at around age 20, it would seem that the miniature was a later work by Wood and painted around 1810-1813 before he left NYC.
Johnson comments on Wood's work of this period; "In Wood's mature work the backgrounds, like Malbone's are light and shaded by dark hatches or painted to resemble sky. However, Wood's portraits are more strongly defined than Malbone's, showing stronger contrasts and deeper shadows, with dark outlines around the eyes. Gum arabic is used liberally.... The hair is brilliantly and airily rendered, often in the coup de vent style popular at the time. Heads are usually smaller than Malbone, and the subject is often placed off centre or low on the ivory. Like Malbone's, Wood's subjects are self-assured; their presentations, however, are more varied and offer fuller characterisations."
Another point points to a date of around 1810/1813 for this miniature is the red leather case, which appears to be original, but is really still too large for the miniature and has a fitted brass bezel.In 1812 the United States declared war on Britain after a period of crippling trade embargoes, and hence it would have been difficult to import oval gold and glass backed cases imported from Britain and which were often used before 1812.
Thus the few artists active at this time, would have had to make up cases of lower standards than would previously have been acceptable to their clients. It was not until after the end of the war, and closer to 1820 that European cases were more readily available.
As mentioned elsewhere, see Case study - The Embargo Act of 1807 and 19C miniature portrait cases it is probable that the difficulty of obtaining European cases between 1808 and 1815, led to the more or less complete divergence of American and British case styles after 1805.
The United States persisting with oval miniatures for a much longer period and developing a distinctly locally made style with carved, foliate borders.Within this Artists and Ancestors collection, there are three other miniatures which have been tentatively attributed to Joseph Wood, although experts on the subject may disagree with some of them.
The miniature of an unknown lady shown here is in a case of poor quality, which suggests it dates from around 1810-1813. For more details, see Wood, Joseph - portrait of a lady
The miniature of the man in a wig and a blue coat, if there is agreement to an attribution to Wood, would seem to be an earlier work by Wood, as the proportions and tones are more similar to the 1805 miniature of James Stuart, fig 275 in the Manney Collection. See also Wood, Joseph - portrait of a man and Wood, Joseph - portrait of a man
That of the lady in the white dress and the other man, have proportions which are similar to that of the Comstock miniature by Wood and thus seem likely to be miniatures by Wood dating from around 1810. They seem to also fit within Johnson's comments on the mature style of Joseph Wood.
Eleutheros Dana Comstock by Nathaniel Rogers
Attaching to the reverse of this miniature is a note reading; "Stephen Comstock, brother of Julia Comstock Conger".However, initially at least, there was more confidence about the artist than the sitter, as the name appears to disagree with other records showing the name of Julia's brother.
The sitter is instead believed to be Eleutheros Dana Comstock whose photograph has been repeated here.
Although unsigned, the artist is clearly Nathaniel Rogers (1787-1844) who as mentioned above, was taken on as an apprentice by Joseph Wood in 1811, shortly before Wood left New York for Philadelphia in 1813.
Rogers quickly became prominent in New York and painted many of the well known and fashionable people of his day. His style is quite distinctive, although there were subtle changes in his approach over the years.
Johnson comments; "Unlike Wood, Rogers employed a palette of clear, lively color. His work of around 1815 was already delicate and sophisticated. The subjects of his highly individualised portraits are presented in a direct and appealing manner."
Inclusive of this latest addition, there are now five miniature portraits by Nathaniel Rogers in this collection. The other miniatures are shown here to enable a comparison of his style.From the clothing, hairstyles, and casework, it ought to be possible to rank them in approximate date order, but that has not been attempted. However, the rectangular portrait will be the most recent.
As all the sitters have white neckwear, it is taken as a sign they are among the earlier works by Rogers. Until about 1825, Rogers favoured an oval shape, but after that he usually painted in a rectangular format.
Unknown
Another Comstock miniature of a young man is well painted in somewhat of a primitive style by an unknown artist.It dates from around 1820-1825. The casework is a finely crafted example of the very best type of American case which appeared after about 1820.
Sadly, there seems to be no available information about the early 19C case-makers who developed this style, but they were very talented metal workers.
The gold chain looped through the bale would have been worn around the neck and so shows how miniatures such as this were worn.
The wearing of miniatures continued much longer in America, than in Britain, where there was a move to rectangular "cabinet miniatures", to be displayed in, or on, cabinets by around 1820.
Anna Margaretta Archambault and an unknown artist.
The first miniature portrait is in a carved ivory frame, and is of Adaline H Wignall (sometimes Adeline Wignall) (15 Apr 1828-27 May 1873), mother of Charles F Wignall (28 Dec 1856->1910) and the first wife of James Charles Wignall (12 Dec 1829-14 Jun 1900) who she had married in Philadelphia on 13 May 1855.The miniature is dated 1912 and was painted by Anna Margaretta Archambault (12 Feb 1857-1956), (aka A. Margaretta Archambault) a well known miniature portrait painter in the revival period.
Anna Archambault was the 1908 founder of the Philadelphia School of Miniature Painting and was also secretary of the Pennsylvania Society of Miniature Painters.
Anna Archambault was awarded the Miniature Painters Medal of Honor in 1922 and the Emily Drayton Taylor Gold Medal in 1939. She exhibited for many years at the annual PAFA exhibitions, even as late as 1945.
For more about the miniature, see Archambault, Anna M - portrait of Adaline Hall Wignall
The second 20C miniature also dates to around 1912, but unfortunately neither the artist, nor the sitter are known.However, it does give a good idea of the fashions of that period and also the very great wealth that was being amassed by some sections of the American population by the end of the 19C.
For more about it see Unknown - portrait of a lady with feathers
Saturday
Case study - The Embargo Act of 1807 and 19C miniature portrait cases
A Case Study of a Case Study
Please forgive the pun, but I could not resist it! The 1807 Embargo Act probably sounds an unlikely topic for a study or discussion about miniature portrait cases, but it is hoped the following essay will demonstrate the connection.
Readers might like to imagine themselves as an American importer of miniature portrait cases and other luxuries from Britain, and consider how they might have reacted to the events of 1806-1815.
Early Cases
John Ramage is one early American miniature painter recorded as having imported cases from Britain to house the miniature portraits he painted. An example in this Artists & Ancestors collection, of a case he imported to New York from Britain in the late 18C appears here.
Other miniature painters such as Walter Robertson, entering the United States in the late 18C and first years of the 19C would have brought ivory blanks, paints, glasses, and cases with them. There were also some local case-makers, who had brought their case making skills with them to America, but probably needed some imported components, such as glasses.
Between 1780 and 1805, some cases used in America are so similar to those used in Britain, to indicate there must have been many cases imported from Britain by wholesale art suppliers. However, from around 1806 there is a much greater divergence of case styles between America and Britain and it is interesting to speculate on the reasons for this.
The Trade Wars
It seems the "trade wars" of the early 19C were the prime cause.
The stakes in the trade wars were substantially raised on 21 November 1806 when Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree banning British vessels from "Fortress Europe".
In retaliation for this British ships maintained a blockade of all European ports controlled by the French.
American merchant ships were caught in the middle of this when Britain used the blockade to prevent supplies from reaching Napoleon.
The effect was that American merchants, who as neutrals had for years effectively been assisting Napoleon by carrying out a lucrative carrying trade between French colonies and France itself, now found themselves in a position whereby if they continued to try to do so, then no matter what they did they would be seized by either the British or the French.
As a result, the French seized around 500 American ships and crews, and the British seized around 1000 American ships and crews.
The Non-Importation Act
However, even seven months before the Berlin Decree, the Non-Importation Act, had been passed by the United States Congress on April 18, 1806.
This act forbade the importation of certain British goods in an attempt to coerce Great Britain to suspend its impressment of American sailors and to safeguard American sovereignty and neutrality on the high seas.
This was the first attempt of President Thomas Jefferson's administration to respond economically, instead of militarily, to the British actions.
The background was that non-importation agreements had been believed to have been beneficial in the struggle of the colonies with England at the time of the Revolution.
It seemed to Jefferson that it was not unreasonable to suppose that a well-sustained refusal to traffic in English goods, would put a stop to the expected damage from a the ruling by British admiralty courts. This ruing threatened to cut off the lucrative American trading involvement in commerce between Europe and the West Indies.
President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison, leaders of the Democratic-Republican party, pushed for the measure despite objections from the Federalist Party.
With the Non-Importation Act as his weapon, the Jefferson was therefore confident that he could force a settlement of all outstanding differences with Britain. The American commissioners sent to Britain were instructed to insist upon three demands in the proposed treaty:
1. Restoration of trade with enemies' colonies.
2. Indemnity for captures made since the Essex decision.
3. Express repudiation of the right of impressment.
In return for these concessions, the commissioners might hold out the possible repeal of the Non-Importation Act! However, only confirmed optimists could believe that the mistress of the seas, flushed with the 1805 victory of Trafalgar, would consent to yield these points for so slight a compensation.
From the British point of View, what was at stake was nothing less than the commercial supremacy of Great Britain. The astounding growth of Napoleon's empire was a standing menace to British trade.
The overthrow of Prussia in the fall of 1806 left Napoleon in control of Central Europe and in a position to invade England. In November 1806, a fortnight after the battle of Jena, Napoleon entered Berlin and there issued the famous decree which was his answer to the British blockade of the French channel ports.
Accordingly, the British Government was prepared to ignore the United States and deal Napoleon blow for blow. An order-in-council of January 7, 1807, asserted the right of retaliation and declared that; "No vessel shall be permitted to trade from one port to another, both which ports shall belong to, or be in possession of France or her allies."
Thus under those circumstances Britain was unwilling to agree to any proposal whereby American ships could continue to assist Napoleon by transporting his supplies.
(The attempts to preserve American neutrality at this time, seem to have interesting parallels with similar attempts in pre-1917 World War I and in pre-1941 World War II. It is therefore interesting to speculate what might have happened to the United States and its place in World History, if Napoleon had not been defeated at Waterloo in 1815.)
The Embargo Act
The Non-Importation Act was then suspended, but quickly replaced when the US Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807, which imposed more trade restrictions with Britain, as well as with France.
Unlike the previous Non-Importation Act, this new Embargo Act was aimed at American shippers and their vessels. While the intentions of the act may have been noble, in reality, the Embargo Act of 1807 meant to hurt the British and the French ended in failure.
The cartoon shows trade represented as a snake caught between the two laws, saying; "What's the matter tail? - I can't get out".
The new law required, among other things, that:
1. American vessels were prohibited from landing in any foreign port unless specifically authorized by the president himself, who, at the time, was Jefferson.
2. Trading vessels were now required to post a bond of guarantee equal to the value of both the ship and its cargo, in order to insure compliance with the law.
Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin was against the entire notion, foreseeing (correctly, as it turned out) the nightmare of trying to enforce such a policy, not to mention the public's reaction.
The worst feature of the experiment was its ineffectiveness, which was also recognised in Britain.
When the American Pinkney approached Canning with the proposal of a quid pro quo — the United States to rescind the embargo, if England were to revoke her orders-in-council — he was told with biting sarcasm by Canning that;
"If it were possible to make any sacrifice for the repeal of the embargo without appearing to deprecate it as a measure of hostility, he would gladly have facilitated its removal as a measure of inconvenient restriction upon the American people."
For more background, see Grizzard: Construction of UVA: 1996: Jefferson and His Colleagues ...
The Economic Impact
Jefferson's attempt at "peaceful coercion" resulted in economic disaster for American merchants. Northern shipping interests declared the act disastrous, and southern planters suffered substantial losses. Previously, such citizens were valued clients for miniature painters, but do doubt having miniatures painted seemed unimportant in the face of such crippling losses.
As an indication of the impact of the Act, it is estimated in "Dictionary of American History", by By Michael Martin, Leonard Gelber, Leo Lieberman, on page 200, that United States exports fell from $108,000,000 in 1807, to $22,000,000 in 1808, while imports declined from $138,000,000 to $57,000,000 in the same period.
The authors also estimated that during the embargo 55,000 sailors and 100,000 laborers were thown out of work in the United States. Customs revenues fell from $16m to virtually nothing.
Merchants, sea captains, and sailors were also dismayed to find themselves without income and to see their ships rotting at the wharves.
It is hard to read the speech bubbles of this Cruikshank cartoon of 1808, but three speech bubbles appear to read; "My family is starving", "My warehouses are full", and "The goods are spoiling". (Double click on the image to see it better.)
Napoleon is hiding behind the chair and his speech bubble says to Jefferson; "You shall be King hereafter".
Part of Jefferson's bubble comments re the English; "...if we continue the Experiment for fifteen or twenty years, we may begin them to feel the good effects..."
The cartoon is titled; "The Happy Effects of that Grand System of Shutting Ports Against the English!!"
The voting on the Embargo was far from unanimous, and this map shows how the various states voted.
On January 8, 1808, within weeks of the first embargo act being law, a second one was passed. The prohibition was extended to inland waters and land commerce to halt the skyrocketing trade with Canada which had been seen as a way to avoid the embargo.
A loophole had been discovered in the first act, namely that coasting vessels, and fishing and whaling boats had not been required to post bonds guaranteeing that they would not sail for foreign ports.
The new embargo act now required that all U.S. ships post a bond of twice the value of the ship and cargo. Failure to do so would:
1. Lead to the forfeiture of said ship and cargo
2. Result in "permanent and absolute" refusal in permission to use credit in regard to custom duties
3. Render the oath of the ship's owner and/or captain inadmissible before any customs officer.
With their harbors for the most part unusable in the winter anyway, New England and the north ports of the mid-Atlantic states, paid little notice to the earlier embargo acts.
That was to change with the spring, and the passing of yet another embargo act.
While protests up and down the American seaboard sprang to life, merchants and shippers simply ignored the laws. On the Canadian border, especially in the area of upstate New York and Vermont, the embargo laws were openly flouted, but things began to bite in 1808.
With the coming of the spring thaw in 1808, the effects of the previous acts were immediately felt throughout the coastal states; none more so than in New England with economic downturn devolving into a depression, and with spiralling unemployment.
These graphs from "War and welfare: Britain, France, and the United States 1807–14" a paper by Kevin H. O’Rourke, OUP 2007, show that the United States was far more adversely impacted by the trade embargoes, than were Britain or France. Britain was little affected, but even Napoleon found that he lost more than he gained from his Berlin Decree of 1806. (The graphs also show the later even greater adverse impact of "Mr Madison's War" of 1812-1814 on American trade.)
That artists were affected by reduced business is recorded at Early American Paintings where there is the comment: "(Thomas) Sully left New York for Philadelphia in 1808 because the Embargo Act of December 1807, which prohibited United States trade with other countries, greatly hurt the domestic economy and affected even his portrait commissions."
The Continuing Saga
By March 1808, an increasingly frustrated Jefferson was resolved to enforce the embargo to the letter. Thus on March 12, 1808, Congress passed, and Jefferson signed into law, still another embargo act. This one:
1. Prohibited, for the first time, the export of any goods, either by land or by sea.
2. Subjected violators to a fine of $10,000, plus forfeiture of goods, for each offense.
3. Granted the President broad discretionary authority to enforce, deny, or grant exceptions to the embargo.
4. Authorized port authorities to seize cargoes without a warrant, and/or to bring to trial any shipper or merchant who was thought to have merely contemplated violating the embargo.
Still the embargo was ignored, violated, and flouted; still the protests continued and continued to grow; and so it was that the Jefferson administration requested and Congress rendered yet another embargo act. On April 25, 1808, Congress passed a proposal that once the wars of Europe were over and the President declared the country sufficiently safe, he would have the power to revoke the act. On March 1, 1809, Jefferson did just that.
However, that was not the end of the matter. The Embargo Act was repealed three days before Jefferson left office, being replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act on March 1, 1809, which lifted all embargoes except for those on Britain and France.
The Non-Intercourse Act also required the forfeiting of British and French ships; "And if any ship or vessel sailing under the flag of Great Britain or France, ... shall arrive either with or without a cargo, within the limits of the United States or of the territories thereof, such ship or vessel, together with the cargo, if any, which may be found on board, shall be forfeited, and may he seized and condemned in any court of the United States or the territories thereof, having competent jurisdiction.
The move was very unpopular and showing here is a memorial from the citizens of the state of Delaware to the U.S. Congress dated February 2, 1809. It expresses their opposition to the embargo act of 1807 banning trade with Britain and France, and requests that it be repealed.
The Non-Intercourse Act was just as ineffective as the Embargo Act itself and was replaced again the following year with Macon's Bill Number 2, lifting the remaining embargoes.
The Macon Bill stated that if either Britain or France agreed to observe the neutrality of the United States, the US would resume trading with that country and continue the embargo on the other.
The French soon agreed to American demands. However, their agreement was more of desperation, as the French Navy had been crushed by Nelson at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar and the French were no longer a dominant naval force in the Atlantic.
The entire series of American trade embargo laws was ridiculed in the press as Dambargo, Mob-Rage, Go-bar-'em or O-grab-me (embargo spelled backward).
There was even this cartoon ridiculing the Act as a snapping turtle, dubbed Ograbme, grabbing at American shipping.
In Rhode Island, as an example, the embargo devastated shipping-related industries, wrecked existing markets, and caused an increase in opposition to the Democratic-Republican Party.
Smuggling was widely endorsed by the public, which viewed the embargo as a violation of their rights. Public outcry continued, helping the Federalists regain control of the state government in 1808-09.
Impact on Seamen and Others
During all this the British retaliated to the embargo by continuing to seize American ships, to prevent them supplying Napoleon. Between 1803-1812 British captains pressed over 10,000 American citizens to man the now British owned ships.
However, with the benefit of hindsight, it seems probable that many of the American crews so affected were not too concerned about what flag flew at the masthead and readily accepted the change of owner. At least they still had paid work, unlike their 55,000 compatriot American seamen put out of work by Jefferson and the embargo. In fact many crews probably welcomed the prospect of continuing employment under a British flag, rather than returning to an American port and the ship being laid up for lack of cargoes.
Obviously, the erstwhile American ship owners who lobbied the "War Hawks" would have had a different perspective and the owners influence later prevailed with the 1812 declaration of war on Britain.
Despite its unpopular nature, the Embargo Act did have some limited, unintended benefits.
It drove capital and labor into New England textile and other manufacturing industries, lessening America's reliance on the British.
Also, iron furnaces sprang up immediately in Western Pennsylvania to supply the needs of the pioneers and cash-in on the high prices one could charge for this metal product.
"Mr Madison's War"
However, the political backlash of the embargoes led to the "War Hawks" being elected to the 1810 Congress.
The "War Hawks", including Henry Clay and John C Calhoun, increased pressure on President Madison.
It was said at his inauguration, James Madison, a small, wizened man, appeared old and worn.
The "War Hawks" pressure on him was to such an extent that on June 1, 1812 Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war.
It was quickly passed despite the Federalist's opposition, and on June 18, 1812 Congress declared "Mr. Madison's War" on Britain.
The outbreak of war brought forth cartoons vilifying the British such as this cartoon titled; "A Scene on the Frontiers as practised by the Humane British and their Worthy Allies".
There were victories for both sides as shown in this cartoon of 1813 titled; "A boxing match, or another bloody nose for John Bull".
There had been an expectation that Britain would quickly capitulate, as it was still at war with Napoleon and it was expected it would not want to fight major wars on two fronts.
However this was not the case and Washington was burned in 1814.
The parties then sought peace, which was agreed at the Treat of Ghent on December 24, 1814. Napoleon was later defeated by the British in June 1815, world peace returned, and from mid 1815 trade could return to normal.
The effect of all this was that, despite much smuggling, trade between the United States on one side of the Atlantic and Britain/France on the other side of the Atlantic had been severely disrupted for the ten years 1806-1815.
Miniature Portrait Cases
No doubt the goods which were successfully smuggled during the ten years between 1806-1815 were items such as liquor and luxuries, but it seems doubtful that components for miniature portrait cases were very high on the list!
Especially when so many shipowners, merchants, and plantation owners, often the customers for miniature painters, were facing severe financial losses from the embargo and the resultant economic depression.
Although it is hard to be positive of the exact year that undated miniatures were painted, in the United States there do seem to be noticeably fewer examples of miniatures painted between 1806 and 1815, no doubt reflecting the prevailing economic conditions.
By around 1815, in Britain the fashion for wearing oval miniature portraits had largely declined and there had been a move to rectangular cabinet miniatures houses in folding red leather cases, with a hinged lid. Thus in Britain there were few oval miniatures after this period and those that were made tended not to have hair-work on the reverse.
In the United States, there was a little more delayed move towards rectangular cabinet miniatures in red leather cases, but still a demand for oval miniatures.
Hence as a result of the trade embargoes, from around 1805 onwards there are indications of a separate American style of case developing, with British oval case types rarely being used in America after that date.
The image here shows the rear of two American miniatures and two British miniatures from around 1805-1810. The British ones are more ornate and have blue Bristol glass inserts, whereas the American ones are simpler with small clear glass inserts on the rear.
Also showing is the front view of the American cases. It is a little hard to see in the images, but both miniatures are held in place by beaded bezels which surround the front glass.
Unlike British miniatures of around 1800, which had a large glass on the rear, the American cases from around 1805 normally have a small rear glass, set into a solid metal background.
They also tend to open from the front, by easing out the bezel, whereas British cases tend to open from the rear, or be held together with tiny pins through the sides.
This is not to say there is a 100% clear division between the two styles, but a general tendency for the styles to part company from around 1805.
Impact on Artists
In an article by Marcia Goldberg, titled "Textured Panels in 19C American Painting" she commented: "At first an engraver and painter of miniatures, John Wesley Jarvis began concentrating on portrait painting around 1804. His response to fluctuations in foreign trade would seem to be more direct than Waldo's, as wood panels are prevalent in his works from 1809 to 1815 but are rare after the war."
Also: "Certainly, artists were affected by the country's financial health. Thomas Sully (1783–1872), commenting on the few entries he had made in his register of paintings (unpublished; in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania) for the year 1807, blamed the embargo for dampening expectations in New York. He returned to Philadelphia and offered to do 30 portraits at reduced prices. William Dunlap (1766–1839) reported in his diary that John Wesley Jarvis was advertising in late 1819 his “lower-priced wares to make an appeal to shrunken pocketbooks” (Dunlap 1965). About the same time, Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872) in Charleston, South Carolina, was reducing his fees and his standard of living."
And "Use of wood supports by these artists might be related to the country's economic cycles as well as to fluctuations in foreign trade. There was a depression in 1808–09 while the embargo was in effect. A major economic downturn occurred after the war in 1815–21, overlapping the banking crisis and business failures of 1819–22. Various tariffs of the 1820s may have indirectly affected the importation of canvas. Another major depression covered the years 1837–43." See JAIC 1993, Volume 32, Number 1, Article 4 (pp. 33 to 42)
These artists were all miniature painters and the lack of of ivory for bases and of cases, together with adverse economic conditions, were probably reasons for these artist to move to large portraits (More for your money, Sir!!) rather than persevering with miniature portraits.
Judging by contemporary prices, miniature casework was often as expensive as the miniature itself and hence cased miniatures would have quickly been regarded as a very expensive luxury.
As a result of all these factors, fewer miniatures were painted during the embargo period.
Embargo Casework
Another apparent effect of the embargoes was that case-work for miniatures painted in America between 1805 and 1815 sometimes showed the dearth of the correct materials.
Showing here are two "exploded" cases of around 1810-1815.
One is by Joseph Wood which has been housed in an oval red leather case, of sufficient depth to show it was originally intended to hold a miniature portrait already housed in an oval gold case. The depth has been minimised by parallel wooden struts hidden behind the backing card (backing card not showing) and some cotton padding. As the ivory is too small for this case, a brass bezel has been made to fit.
Such a case would not have had a glass or brass bezel already made to fit and so they must have been specially made to fit this case. Possibly the bezel was made by Joseph Wood himself, as he had trained as a silversmith.
The glass although convex, is very thin and has a very wavy surface, the sign of an inexperienced glass blower. This is then a further suggestion that the case was assembled locally in New York from available parts, rather than being imported as a complete unit.
The second miniature is by Nathaniel Rogers. In this instance the ivory just fits inside the frame, but the ivory has not been trimmed to the area of the painting, as would be the normal practice when housing a miniature in a proper oval gold case. This again implies cases of the correct size were not available. This one being a "make-do"case with a card bezel. The rear of the case is just a piece of cardboard.
While it is tempting to conclude these two miniatures have been rehoused, I doubt that is the case, as they had been owned by the same family for 200 years until recently acquired for this collection.
However, one other much less likely possibility is that the sitters asked for cheaper cases, as they felt they could not afford proper cases, due to their personal financial losses associated with the embargo. I feel this is an unlikely scenario.
Here are front and rear views of another miniature by Joseph Wood dating to around 1810, where the apparently original case gives the appearance of having been made out of scraps. The rear gold rim shows a join at 2 o'clock and the rear has been made from a flat piece of blue glass.
This seems to further support the concept of the embargo causing difficulties in framing miniature portraits.
If these arguments are accepted, they lead to a very relevant question. Should such miniatures:
1. Be retained in their original "make-do" cases?
2. Be rehoused in more usual period cases of similar date?
3. Be housed in new cases of 1810 design?
My personal opinion is firmly in favor of 1. I think the original "make-do" cases are an integral part of the history of the miniature.
The use of whatever scrap materials was available to the case maker is akin to the patina on old furniture, that furniture collectors are so keen to retain and preserve.
Having researched the subject in this way, I now feel I have other examples of American miniature portraits of this date where the casework shows the adverse impact of the Embargo Act.
This example dates from around 1810-1815. The square ivory blank has the corners cut off so that it will fit inside this French ebonised frame. However even then, the glass had to have a black border painted all the way round, to prevent the edge of the ivory showing from the front.
The ivory shape and the painted black border are hence two signs that the artist did not have a suitable frame to match the shape of the ivory. This situation is unlikely to have occurred in France as most French miniatures are on round ivory bases of a standard size. Thus the artist more likely came across a French frame imported into America that had been unused as a round shape was unfashionable in America.
The miniature is inscribed: "William Sayer by Doyle" but to date, that attribution has not been confirmed.
Value of Embargo Act Items
Such "make-do" cases resulting from the Embargo Act, may even increase the market value of the miniatures.
While not exactly comparable, Cowans Auctions in 2005 sold for $24,150: "A miniature copper tea kettle with Embargo Act decoration. Dovetailed construction with a gooseneck spout, a swivel handle, and a brass finial. The entire surface is covered in engraved decoration, including vines and leaves, oak leaves, a dove, a pointing finger, and Masonic symbols. Encircling the lid is Jefferson and the Embargo. On one side is engraved "Mind your business" and on the other is "Prudence is the best Remedy for hard times"."
Several views of the kettle are shown here. It is only 2.75 inches high, so the value was very high for such a small item.
From an August 2008 Press Release it seems the kettle was later onsold by the purchaser to the Smithsonian, no doubt with an additional profit margin!
Without the Embargo Act connection this miniature kettle might have sold for only $100.
The Development of American Casework
One unfortunate side effect arising from the early lack of American case making skills, is that the firm fitting of component parts together, especially the rear glass, was not given the attention it needed.
Hence many American miniatures from 1805-1840 are missing the rear glass and its beaded bezel.
Although American and British frame types do seem to diverge after 1805, even after 1815 there are occasional 19C examples of miniature cases in both America or Britain which can be hard to categorise as one country or the other.
This is probably from the influence of case-makers moving between countries, or of clients requesting a case similar to one acquired by a relative in another country.
Please forgive the pun, but I could not resist it! The 1807 Embargo Act probably sounds an unlikely topic for a study or discussion about miniature portrait cases, but it is hoped the following essay will demonstrate the connection.
Readers might like to imagine themselves as an American importer of miniature portrait cases and other luxuries from Britain, and consider how they might have reacted to the events of 1806-1815.
Early Cases
John Ramage is one early American miniature painter recorded as having imported cases from Britain to house the miniature portraits he painted. An example in this Artists & Ancestors collection, of a case he imported to New York from Britain in the late 18C appears here.Other miniature painters such as Walter Robertson, entering the United States in the late 18C and first years of the 19C would have brought ivory blanks, paints, glasses, and cases with them. There were also some local case-makers, who had brought their case making skills with them to America, but probably needed some imported components, such as glasses.
Between 1780 and 1805, some cases used in America are so similar to those used in Britain, to indicate there must have been many cases imported from Britain by wholesale art suppliers. However, from around 1806 there is a much greater divergence of case styles between America and Britain and it is interesting to speculate on the reasons for this.
The Trade Wars
It seems the "trade wars" of the early 19C were the prime cause.
The stakes in the trade wars were substantially raised on 21 November 1806 when Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree banning British vessels from "Fortress Europe".In retaliation for this British ships maintained a blockade of all European ports controlled by the French.
American merchant ships were caught in the middle of this when Britain used the blockade to prevent supplies from reaching Napoleon.
The effect was that American merchants, who as neutrals had for years effectively been assisting Napoleon by carrying out a lucrative carrying trade between French colonies and France itself, now found themselves in a position whereby if they continued to try to do so, then no matter what they did they would be seized by either the British or the French.
As a result, the French seized around 500 American ships and crews, and the British seized around 1000 American ships and crews.
The Non-Importation Act
However, even seven months before the Berlin Decree, the Non-Importation Act, had been passed by the United States Congress on April 18, 1806.
This act forbade the importation of certain British goods in an attempt to coerce Great Britain to suspend its impressment of American sailors and to safeguard American sovereignty and neutrality on the high seas.
This was the first attempt of President Thomas Jefferson's administration to respond economically, instead of militarily, to the British actions.The background was that non-importation agreements had been believed to have been beneficial in the struggle of the colonies with England at the time of the Revolution.
It seemed to Jefferson that it was not unreasonable to suppose that a well-sustained refusal to traffic in English goods, would put a stop to the expected damage from a the ruling by British admiralty courts. This ruing threatened to cut off the lucrative American trading involvement in commerce between Europe and the West Indies.
President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison, leaders of the Democratic-Republican party, pushed for the measure despite objections from the Federalist Party.
With the Non-Importation Act as his weapon, the Jefferson was therefore confident that he could force a settlement of all outstanding differences with Britain. The American commissioners sent to Britain were instructed to insist upon three demands in the proposed treaty:
1. Restoration of trade with enemies' colonies.
2. Indemnity for captures made since the Essex decision.
3. Express repudiation of the right of impressment.
In return for these concessions, the commissioners might hold out the possible repeal of the Non-Importation Act! However, only confirmed optimists could believe that the mistress of the seas, flushed with the 1805 victory of Trafalgar, would consent to yield these points for so slight a compensation.
From the British point of View, what was at stake was nothing less than the commercial supremacy of Great Britain. The astounding growth of Napoleon's empire was a standing menace to British trade.
The overthrow of Prussia in the fall of 1806 left Napoleon in control of Central Europe and in a position to invade England. In November 1806, a fortnight after the battle of Jena, Napoleon entered Berlin and there issued the famous decree which was his answer to the British blockade of the French channel ports.
Accordingly, the British Government was prepared to ignore the United States and deal Napoleon blow for blow. An order-in-council of January 7, 1807, asserted the right of retaliation and declared that; "No vessel shall be permitted to trade from one port to another, both which ports shall belong to, or be in possession of France or her allies."
Thus under those circumstances Britain was unwilling to agree to any proposal whereby American ships could continue to assist Napoleon by transporting his supplies.
(The attempts to preserve American neutrality at this time, seem to have interesting parallels with similar attempts in pre-1917 World War I and in pre-1941 World War II. It is therefore interesting to speculate what might have happened to the United States and its place in World History, if Napoleon had not been defeated at Waterloo in 1815.)
The Embargo Act The Non-Importation Act was then suspended, but quickly replaced when the US Congress passed the Embargo Act of 1807, which imposed more trade restrictions with Britain, as well as with France.
Unlike the previous Non-Importation Act, this new Embargo Act was aimed at American shippers and their vessels. While the intentions of the act may have been noble, in reality, the Embargo Act of 1807 meant to hurt the British and the French ended in failure.
The cartoon shows trade represented as a snake caught between the two laws, saying; "What's the matter tail? - I can't get out".
The new law required, among other things, that:
1. American vessels were prohibited from landing in any foreign port unless specifically authorized by the president himself, who, at the time, was Jefferson.
2. Trading vessels were now required to post a bond of guarantee equal to the value of both the ship and its cargo, in order to insure compliance with the law.
Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin was against the entire notion, foreseeing (correctly, as it turned out) the nightmare of trying to enforce such a policy, not to mention the public's reaction.
The worst feature of the experiment was its ineffectiveness, which was also recognised in Britain.
When the American Pinkney approached Canning with the proposal of a quid pro quo — the United States to rescind the embargo, if England were to revoke her orders-in-council — he was told with biting sarcasm by Canning that;
"If it were possible to make any sacrifice for the repeal of the embargo without appearing to deprecate it as a measure of hostility, he would gladly have facilitated its removal as a measure of inconvenient restriction upon the American people."
For more background, see Grizzard: Construction of UVA: 1996: Jefferson and His Colleagues ...
The Economic Impact
Jefferson's attempt at "peaceful coercion" resulted in economic disaster for American merchants. Northern shipping interests declared the act disastrous, and southern planters suffered substantial losses. Previously, such citizens were valued clients for miniature painters, but do doubt having miniatures painted seemed unimportant in the face of such crippling losses.
As an indication of the impact of the Act, it is estimated in "Dictionary of American History", by By Michael Martin, Leonard Gelber, Leo Lieberman, on page 200, that United States exports fell from $108,000,000 in 1807, to $22,000,000 in 1808, while imports declined from $138,000,000 to $57,000,000 in the same period.
The authors also estimated that during the embargo 55,000 sailors and 100,000 laborers were thown out of work in the United States. Customs revenues fell from $16m to virtually nothing.
Merchants, sea captains, and sailors were also dismayed to find themselves without income and to see their ships rotting at the wharves.It is hard to read the speech bubbles of this Cruikshank cartoon of 1808, but three speech bubbles appear to read; "My family is starving", "My warehouses are full", and "The goods are spoiling". (Double click on the image to see it better.)
Napoleon is hiding behind the chair and his speech bubble says to Jefferson; "You shall be King hereafter".
Part of Jefferson's bubble comments re the English; "...if we continue the Experiment for fifteen or twenty years, we may begin them to feel the good effects..."
The cartoon is titled; "The Happy Effects of that Grand System of Shutting Ports Against the English!!"
The voting on the Embargo was far from unanimous, and this map shows how the various states voted.On January 8, 1808, within weeks of the first embargo act being law, a second one was passed. The prohibition was extended to inland waters and land commerce to halt the skyrocketing trade with Canada which had been seen as a way to avoid the embargo.
A loophole had been discovered in the first act, namely that coasting vessels, and fishing and whaling boats had not been required to post bonds guaranteeing that they would not sail for foreign ports.
The new embargo act now required that all U.S. ships post a bond of twice the value of the ship and cargo. Failure to do so would:
1. Lead to the forfeiture of said ship and cargo
2. Result in "permanent and absolute" refusal in permission to use credit in regard to custom duties
3. Render the oath of the ship's owner and/or captain inadmissible before any customs officer.
With their harbors for the most part unusable in the winter anyway, New England and the north ports of the mid-Atlantic states, paid little notice to the earlier embargo acts.
That was to change with the spring, and the passing of yet another embargo act.
While protests up and down the American seaboard sprang to life, merchants and shippers simply ignored the laws. On the Canadian border, especially in the area of upstate New York and Vermont, the embargo laws were openly flouted, but things began to bite in 1808.
With the coming of the spring thaw in 1808, the effects of the previous acts were immediately felt throughout the coastal states; none more so than in New England with economic downturn devolving into a depression, and with spiralling unemployment.These graphs from "War and welfare: Britain, France, and the United States 1807–14" a paper by Kevin H. O’Rourke, OUP 2007, show that the United States was far more adversely impacted by the trade embargoes, than were Britain or France. Britain was little affected, but even Napoleon found that he lost more than he gained from his Berlin Decree of 1806. (The graphs also show the later even greater adverse impact of "Mr Madison's War" of 1812-1814 on American trade.)
That artists were affected by reduced business is recorded at Early American Paintings where there is the comment: "(Thomas) Sully left New York for Philadelphia in 1808 because the Embargo Act of December 1807, which prohibited United States trade with other countries, greatly hurt the domestic economy and affected even his portrait commissions."
The Continuing Saga
By March 1808, an increasingly frustrated Jefferson was resolved to enforce the embargo to the letter. Thus on March 12, 1808, Congress passed, and Jefferson signed into law, still another embargo act. This one:
1. Prohibited, for the first time, the export of any goods, either by land or by sea.
2. Subjected violators to a fine of $10,000, plus forfeiture of goods, for each offense.
3. Granted the President broad discretionary authority to enforce, deny, or grant exceptions to the embargo.
4. Authorized port authorities to seize cargoes without a warrant, and/or to bring to trial any shipper or merchant who was thought to have merely contemplated violating the embargo.
Still the embargo was ignored, violated, and flouted; still the protests continued and continued to grow; and so it was that the Jefferson administration requested and Congress rendered yet another embargo act. On April 25, 1808, Congress passed a proposal that once the wars of Europe were over and the President declared the country sufficiently safe, he would have the power to revoke the act. On March 1, 1809, Jefferson did just that.
However, that was not the end of the matter. The Embargo Act was repealed three days before Jefferson left office, being replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act on March 1, 1809, which lifted all embargoes except for those on Britain and France.The Non-Intercourse Act also required the forfeiting of British and French ships; "And if any ship or vessel sailing under the flag of Great Britain or France, ... shall arrive either with or without a cargo, within the limits of the United States or of the territories thereof, such ship or vessel, together with the cargo, if any, which may be found on board, shall be forfeited, and may he seized and condemned in any court of the United States or the territories thereof, having competent jurisdiction.
The move was very unpopular and showing here is a memorial from the citizens of the state of Delaware to the U.S. Congress dated February 2, 1809. It expresses their opposition to the embargo act of 1807 banning trade with Britain and France, and requests that it be repealed.
The Non-Intercourse Act was just as ineffective as the Embargo Act itself and was replaced again the following year with Macon's Bill Number 2, lifting the remaining embargoes.
The Macon Bill stated that if either Britain or France agreed to observe the neutrality of the United States, the US would resume trading with that country and continue the embargo on the other.
The French soon agreed to American demands. However, their agreement was more of desperation, as the French Navy had been crushed by Nelson at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar and the French were no longer a dominant naval force in the Atlantic.
The entire series of American trade embargo laws was ridiculed in the press as Dambargo, Mob-Rage, Go-bar-'em or O-grab-me (embargo spelled backward).
There was even this cartoon ridiculing the Act as a snapping turtle, dubbed Ograbme, grabbing at American shipping.In Rhode Island, as an example, the embargo devastated shipping-related industries, wrecked existing markets, and caused an increase in opposition to the Democratic-Republican Party.
Smuggling was widely endorsed by the public, which viewed the embargo as a violation of their rights. Public outcry continued, helping the Federalists regain control of the state government in 1808-09.
Impact on Seamen and Others
During all this the British retaliated to the embargo by continuing to seize American ships, to prevent them supplying Napoleon. Between 1803-1812 British captains pressed over 10,000 American citizens to man the now British owned ships.
However, with the benefit of hindsight, it seems probable that many of the American crews so affected were not too concerned about what flag flew at the masthead and readily accepted the change of owner. At least they still had paid work, unlike their 55,000 compatriot American seamen put out of work by Jefferson and the embargo. In fact many crews probably welcomed the prospect of continuing employment under a British flag, rather than returning to an American port and the ship being laid up for lack of cargoes.
Obviously, the erstwhile American ship owners who lobbied the "War Hawks" would have had a different perspective and the owners influence later prevailed with the 1812 declaration of war on Britain.
Despite its unpopular nature, the Embargo Act did have some limited, unintended benefits.It drove capital and labor into New England textile and other manufacturing industries, lessening America's reliance on the British.
Also, iron furnaces sprang up immediately in Western Pennsylvania to supply the needs of the pioneers and cash-in on the high prices one could charge for this metal product.
"Mr Madison's War"
However, the political backlash of the embargoes led to the "War Hawks" being elected to the 1810 Congress.The "War Hawks", including Henry Clay and John C Calhoun, increased pressure on President Madison.
It was said at his inauguration, James Madison, a small, wizened man, appeared old and worn.
The "War Hawks" pressure on him was to such an extent that on June 1, 1812 Madison asked Congress for a declaration of war.
It was quickly passed despite the Federalist's opposition, and on June 18, 1812 Congress declared "Mr. Madison's War" on Britain.The outbreak of war brought forth cartoons vilifying the British such as this cartoon titled; "A Scene on the Frontiers as practised by the Humane British and their Worthy Allies".
There were victories for both sides as shown in this cartoon of 1813 titled; "A boxing match, or another bloody nose for John Bull".
There had been an expectation that Britain would quickly capitulate, as it was still at war with Napoleon and it was expected it would not want to fight major wars on two fronts.
However this was not the case and Washington was burned in 1814.
The parties then sought peace, which was agreed at the Treat of Ghent on December 24, 1814. Napoleon was later defeated by the British in June 1815, world peace returned, and from mid 1815 trade could return to normal.
The effect of all this was that, despite much smuggling, trade between the United States on one side of the Atlantic and Britain/France on the other side of the Atlantic had been severely disrupted for the ten years 1806-1815.
Miniature Portrait Cases
No doubt the goods which were successfully smuggled during the ten years between 1806-1815 were items such as liquor and luxuries, but it seems doubtful that components for miniature portrait cases were very high on the list!
Especially when so many shipowners, merchants, and plantation owners, often the customers for miniature painters, were facing severe financial losses from the embargo and the resultant economic depression.
Although it is hard to be positive of the exact year that undated miniatures were painted, in the United States there do seem to be noticeably fewer examples of miniatures painted between 1806 and 1815, no doubt reflecting the prevailing economic conditions.
By around 1815, in Britain the fashion for wearing oval miniature portraits had largely declined and there had been a move to rectangular cabinet miniatures houses in folding red leather cases, with a hinged lid. Thus in Britain there were few oval miniatures after this period and those that were made tended not to have hair-work on the reverse.
In the United States, there was a little more delayed move towards rectangular cabinet miniatures in red leather cases, but still a demand for oval miniatures.Hence as a result of the trade embargoes, from around 1805 onwards there are indications of a separate American style of case developing, with British oval case types rarely being used in America after that date.
The image here shows the rear of two American miniatures and two British miniatures from around 1805-1810. The British ones are more ornate and have blue Bristol glass inserts, whereas the American ones are simpler with small clear glass inserts on the rear.
Also showing is the front view of the American cases. It is a little hard to see in the images, but both miniatures are held in place by beaded bezels which surround the front glass.
Unlike British miniatures of around 1800, which had a large glass on the rear, the American cases from around 1805 normally have a small rear glass, set into a solid metal background.They also tend to open from the front, by easing out the bezel, whereas British cases tend to open from the rear, or be held together with tiny pins through the sides.
This is not to say there is a 100% clear division between the two styles, but a general tendency for the styles to part company from around 1805.
Impact on Artists
In an article by Marcia Goldberg, titled "Textured Panels in 19C American Painting" she commented: "At first an engraver and painter of miniatures, John Wesley Jarvis began concentrating on portrait painting around 1804. His response to fluctuations in foreign trade would seem to be more direct than Waldo's, as wood panels are prevalent in his works from 1809 to 1815 but are rare after the war."
Also: "Certainly, artists were affected by the country's financial health. Thomas Sully (1783–1872), commenting on the few entries he had made in his register of paintings (unpublished; in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania) for the year 1807, blamed the embargo for dampening expectations in New York. He returned to Philadelphia and offered to do 30 portraits at reduced prices. William Dunlap (1766–1839) reported in his diary that John Wesley Jarvis was advertising in late 1819 his “lower-priced wares to make an appeal to shrunken pocketbooks” (Dunlap 1965). About the same time, Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872) in Charleston, South Carolina, was reducing his fees and his standard of living."
And "Use of wood supports by these artists might be related to the country's economic cycles as well as to fluctuations in foreign trade. There was a depression in 1808–09 while the embargo was in effect. A major economic downturn occurred after the war in 1815–21, overlapping the banking crisis and business failures of 1819–22. Various tariffs of the 1820s may have indirectly affected the importation of canvas. Another major depression covered the years 1837–43." See JAIC 1993, Volume 32, Number 1, Article 4 (pp. 33 to 42)
These artists were all miniature painters and the lack of of ivory for bases and of cases, together with adverse economic conditions, were probably reasons for these artist to move to large portraits (More for your money, Sir!!) rather than persevering with miniature portraits.
Judging by contemporary prices, miniature casework was often as expensive as the miniature itself and hence cased miniatures would have quickly been regarded as a very expensive luxury.
As a result of all these factors, fewer miniatures were painted during the embargo period.
Embargo Casework
Another apparent effect of the embargoes was that case-work for miniatures painted in America between 1805 and 1815 sometimes showed the dearth of the correct materials.Showing here are two "exploded" cases of around 1810-1815.
One is by Joseph Wood which has been housed in an oval red leather case, of sufficient depth to show it was originally intended to hold a miniature portrait already housed in an oval gold case. The depth has been minimised by parallel wooden struts hidden behind the backing card (backing card not showing) and some cotton padding. As the ivory is too small for this case, a brass bezel has been made to fit.
Such a case would not have had a glass or brass bezel already made to fit and so they must have been specially made to fit this case. Possibly the bezel was made by Joseph Wood himself, as he had trained as a silversmith.
The glass although convex, is very thin and has a very wavy surface, the sign of an inexperienced glass blower. This is then a further suggestion that the case was assembled locally in New York from available parts, rather than being imported as a complete unit.
The second miniature is by Nathaniel Rogers. In this instance the ivory just fits inside the frame, but the ivory has not been trimmed to the area of the painting, as would be the normal practice when housing a miniature in a proper oval gold case. This again implies cases of the correct size were not available. This one being a "make-do"case with a card bezel. The rear of the case is just a piece of cardboard.
While it is tempting to conclude these two miniatures have been rehoused, I doubt that is the case, as they had been owned by the same family for 200 years until recently acquired for this collection.However, one other much less likely possibility is that the sitters asked for cheaper cases, as they felt they could not afford proper cases, due to their personal financial losses associated with the embargo. I feel this is an unlikely scenario.
Here are front and rear views of another miniature by Joseph Wood dating to around 1810, where the apparently original case gives the appearance of having been made out of scraps. The rear gold rim shows a join at 2 o'clock and the rear has been made from a flat piece of blue glass.This seems to further support the concept of the embargo causing difficulties in framing miniature portraits.
If these arguments are accepted, they lead to a very relevant question. Should such miniatures:
1. Be retained in their original "make-do" cases?
2. Be rehoused in more usual period cases of similar date?
3. Be housed in new cases of 1810 design?
My personal opinion is firmly in favor of 1. I think the original "make-do" cases are an integral part of the history of the miniature.
The use of whatever scrap materials was available to the case maker is akin to the patina on old furniture, that furniture collectors are so keen to retain and preserve.
Having researched the subject in this way, I now feel I have other examples of American miniature portraits of this date where the casework shows the adverse impact of the Embargo Act.This example dates from around 1810-1815. The square ivory blank has the corners cut off so that it will fit inside this French ebonised frame. However even then, the glass had to have a black border painted all the way round, to prevent the edge of the ivory showing from the front.
The ivory shape and the painted black border are hence two signs that the artist did not have a suitable frame to match the shape of the ivory. This situation is unlikely to have occurred in France as most French miniatures are on round ivory bases of a standard size. Thus the artist more likely came across a French frame imported into America that had been unused as a round shape was unfashionable in America.
The miniature is inscribed: "William Sayer by Doyle" but to date, that attribution has not been confirmed.
Value of Embargo Act Items
Such "make-do" cases resulting from the Embargo Act, may even increase the market value of the miniatures.
While not exactly comparable, Cowans Auctions in 2005 sold for $24,150: "A miniature copper tea kettle with Embargo Act decoration. Dovetailed construction with a gooseneck spout, a swivel handle, and a brass finial. The entire surface is covered in engraved decoration, including vines and leaves, oak leaves, a dove, a pointing finger, and Masonic symbols. Encircling the lid is Jefferson and the Embargo. On one side is engraved "Mind your business" and on the other is "Prudence is the best Remedy for hard times"."
Several views of the kettle are shown here. It is only 2.75 inches high, so the value was very high for such a small item.From an August 2008 Press Release it seems the kettle was later onsold by the purchaser to the Smithsonian, no doubt with an additional profit margin!
Without the Embargo Act connection this miniature kettle might have sold for only $100.
The Development of American Casework
One unfortunate side effect arising from the early lack of American case making skills, is that the firm fitting of component parts together, especially the rear glass, was not given the attention it needed.
Hence many American miniatures from 1805-1840 are missing the rear glass and its beaded bezel.
Although American and British frame types do seem to diverge after 1805, even after 1815 there are occasional 19C examples of miniature cases in both America or Britain which can be hard to categorise as one country or the other.
This is probably from the influence of case-makers moving between countries, or of clients requesting a case similar to one acquired by a relative in another country.
Sunday
August - HD Thielcke and WJ Thomson
I hope some readers may enjoy more of my wanders though history!
This website was started as a means of exhibited the miniatures in the collection. However, as time goes on, the research into the sitters becomes more and more of the focus. I hope that this will not discourage visitors.
There are still some sitters in existing portraits, and artists for that matter, who have not been properly researched. Thus, when prompted by a query from a reader, I try and get my act together on items not previously properly researched.
This month I was kindly corrected over some errors I had on the entry relating to Henry Daniel Thielcke and so I have taken the opportunity to add some research notes to his entry, see Thielcke, Henry Daniel - portrait of an unknown lady
His parents were courtiers to King George III. Thielcke commenced his career by being able to paint people at Court, but for some reason he left London for Scotland, then worked in Canada painting portraits and as a school teacher, before dying in Chicago in 1884. He has a connection to St Petersburg in Russia and his second cousin was a Governor of the Bank of England.
Also, this month a new acquisition by William John Thomson of Charlotte Knox Trotter, has proved another a fascinating wander through history, effectively through "the back of a portrait".
William John Thomson classifies as both an American and British artist, as he was born in Savannah, Georgia, but spent most of his life in Britain.
By a strange quirk, Thielcke and Thomson were both living and competing in Edinburgh, Scotland during the 1820's and most likely met there.
Charlotte Trotter has been revealed through the researching of her portrait, as the daughter of a famous Edinburgh cabinet-maker, William Trotter.
She also has links to the abolition of slavery in Scotland, a 21C Pony Club in Scotland, the execution of a supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie after the Jacobite revolution in 1745, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and an Indian postage stamp from 1990!!
See Thomson, William John - portrait of Charlotte Knox Trotter 1343
This website was started as a means of exhibited the miniatures in the collection. However, as time goes on, the research into the sitters becomes more and more of the focus. I hope that this will not discourage visitors.
There are still some sitters in existing portraits, and artists for that matter, who have not been properly researched. Thus, when prompted by a query from a reader, I try and get my act together on items not previously properly researched.This month I was kindly corrected over some errors I had on the entry relating to Henry Daniel Thielcke and so I have taken the opportunity to add some research notes to his entry, see Thielcke, Henry Daniel - portrait of an unknown lady
His parents were courtiers to King George III. Thielcke commenced his career by being able to paint people at Court, but for some reason he left London for Scotland, then worked in Canada painting portraits and as a school teacher, before dying in Chicago in 1884. He has a connection to St Petersburg in Russia and his second cousin was a Governor of the Bank of England.
Also, this month a new acquisition by William John Thomson of Charlotte Knox Trotter, has proved another a fascinating wander through history, effectively through "the back of a portrait".William John Thomson classifies as both an American and British artist, as he was born in Savannah, Georgia, but spent most of his life in Britain.
By a strange quirk, Thielcke and Thomson were both living and competing in Edinburgh, Scotland during the 1820's and most likely met there.
Charlotte Trotter has been revealed through the researching of her portrait, as the daughter of a famous Edinburgh cabinet-maker, William Trotter.
She also has links to the abolition of slavery in Scotland, a 21C Pony Club in Scotland, the execution of a supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie after the Jacobite revolution in 1745, the founder of the Presbyterian Church, the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and an Indian postage stamp from 1990!!
See Thomson, William John - portrait of Charlotte Knox Trotter 1343
Friday
August - Preview - Comstock, Conger, Starr, and Stout families
Coming in August will be more detail about six 19C miniature portraits and seventeen 19C photographs, all relating to the Comstock, Conger, Starr, and Stout families of New Jersey.
Anyone interested in following my research into the miniatures and photographs, can do so at Draft - Comstock, Stout, and etc portraits
The miniatures and photographs were all acquired for this collection at a live auction in Asheville, NC. They are accompanied by various old hand written notes identifying most of the sitters, and with clues to others.
At the same auction there were several silver items for sale which had also belonged to the Stout family. The silver was bought by other buyers, but photos of the silver items are included below, as they may be of interest to anyone researching the Stout family.
The Stout family members in the portraits are descended from two famous early settlers, Richard Stout (1615-1705) and Penelope van Princis (1622-1712), he being her second husband.
In about 1642 Penelope and her first husband, John Kent, were amongst survivors of a shipwreck off Sandy Nook, 100 miles south of New Amsterdam, their intended destination. The other survivors departed north to seek safety, warning her of hostile Indians, but Penelope remained with her husband who had been badly ill on the voyage and was unable to travel.
Hostile Novesink Indians did indeed soon appear and killed her husband. Penelope was scalped by them, tomahawked, and left for dead. Despite a fractured skull, a hacked shoulder, and a cut across her abdomen exposing her intestines, so that she needed to use her hand to stop them falling out, she crawled to a hollow tree where she ate fungus for several days.
Then two Lenni Lenape Indians found her and took her to their camp, near what is now Middletown, NJ. News of a white woman living with the Indians later reached New Amsterdam and the survivors realising it must be Penelope went and located her.
The image here is of a coin commemorating her rescue. For more of the story, see History of American Women and also a book by Paula E Phillips.
No doubt there will be other interesting stories associated with some of the other family names.
About three-quarters of the sitters are identified, but it will take some time to fit the family members together and see if any unidentified sitters can be named.
More will be written in August, but as a preview, here are the auction descriptions of the items.
Lot 318 - Six miniatures, Conger Stout family:
(1) woman holding child, Rebecca Conger Stout with son Wright, signed "A.M.D. 1865", painted porcelain, 2-1/8 x 1-7/8 in., velvet case with gilt brass bezel,
(2) portrait of Stephen Comstock, watercolor on ivory, 3 x 2-1/2 in, gilt plate frame,
(3) portrait of George Starr, Uncle of Julia Comstock Conger, watercolor on ivory, 2-1/2 x 2 in, gold plate bezel set locket verso with window and hair weaving, gold chain stamped 14K
(4) young gentleman, watercolor on ivory, 3 x 2-3/8 in, painted leather case with gilt brass bezel, (from a note inside, now believed to be Eleutheros Dana Comstock)
(5) double portrait of children, Wright C. Stout and G. Lee Stout, painted porcelain, 2-3/4 x 2-1/8 in
(6) child, Julia C. Stout, painted porcelain, 2-3/4 x 2-1/8 in
All American School, 19C Estates of Ward and Stout Families, Bloomfield, New Jersey
Estimate: $600 - $1,200
Lot 1030 - 17 early photographs, cased images, descendants of Richard Stout (1615-1705) and Penelope Van Princis Stout (1622-1712), Middletown, New Jersey:
Nine daguerreotypes: two one-quarter plate, one of John Wilson Stout, signed on mat "Holmes (Silas A.), 289 Broadway (New York)"; one of boy in uniform, noted as "possibly G. (Gideon) Lee Stout", six one-sixth plate: two of identified gentlemen, each signed "Weston (James P. or Robert), 192 B-Way N.Y."; one of spectacled man, signed "Holmes" (Silas A.); one of lady and two girls, all identified; two of gentlemen, one identified; one-ninth plate of gentleman.
Five ambrotypes: two one-fourth plate, one of spectacled gentleman noted as "G. Lee Stout, or…one of his brothers", tined, signed "C. (Charles) D. (DeForest) Fredericks, 585 Broadway (New York):", metal hinged leather case; one of lady; two one-sixth plate, one of Wright F. Conger, signed "O. (Orrin) C. Benjamin, 274 Broad St. Newark, N.J."; one of lady; one one-ninth plate of gentleman, mother-of-pearl case.
Three ferrotypes, one-sixth plate, lady and two gentlemen, each identified.
All estates of Ward and Stout Families, Bloomfield, New Jersey
Estimate: $600 - $1,200
The silver lots were all purchased by other bidders, but comprised;
Lot 104 - A coin silver oval tureen, urn finial, acanthus handles, stepped pedestal base, gadroon borders, marked "Ball, Black & Co." (New York City, working 1851-1876), inscribed "Rebecca C Stout from her Husband Christmas 1865", opposing side inscribed "Miriam L. Stout from her Grandfather 1920", 61.41 oz, 11-3/4 x 14 x 9 in.
Estates of Ward and Stout Families, Bloomfield, New Jersey
Estimate: $1,500 - $3,000
Lot 429 - A Tiffany sterling mug, round with shaped sides, scroll handle, acanthus and floral decoration, inscribed on base "Rebecca Comstock Stout From Her Grandfather 1888", "7996…5136", date marks for 1869-1891, 7.77 oz.T., 3-3/4 x 4 in.
Estate of the Late Jane W. Conneen, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Estimate: $300 - $600
Lot 445 - A set of Tiffany sterling ice cream forks, Richelieu pattern, 11 pieces, date mark for 1891-1902, inscribed "Stout", 12.08 oz.T., 5-3/4 in.
The Estate of the Late Jane W. Conneen, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Estimate: $200 - $400
Anyone interested in following my research into the miniatures and photographs, can do so at Draft - Comstock, Stout, and etc portraits
The miniatures and photographs were all acquired for this collection at a live auction in Asheville, NC. They are accompanied by various old hand written notes identifying most of the sitters, and with clues to others.
At the same auction there were several silver items for sale which had also belonged to the Stout family. The silver was bought by other buyers, but photos of the silver items are included below, as they may be of interest to anyone researching the Stout family.
The Stout family members in the portraits are descended from two famous early settlers, Richard Stout (1615-1705) and Penelope van Princis (1622-1712), he being her second husband.In about 1642 Penelope and her first husband, John Kent, were amongst survivors of a shipwreck off Sandy Nook, 100 miles south of New Amsterdam, their intended destination. The other survivors departed north to seek safety, warning her of hostile Indians, but Penelope remained with her husband who had been badly ill on the voyage and was unable to travel.
Hostile Novesink Indians did indeed soon appear and killed her husband. Penelope was scalped by them, tomahawked, and left for dead. Despite a fractured skull, a hacked shoulder, and a cut across her abdomen exposing her intestines, so that she needed to use her hand to stop them falling out, she crawled to a hollow tree where she ate fungus for several days.
Then two Lenni Lenape Indians found her and took her to their camp, near what is now Middletown, NJ. News of a white woman living with the Indians later reached New Amsterdam and the survivors realising it must be Penelope went and located her.The image here is of a coin commemorating her rescue. For more of the story, see History of American Women and also a book by Paula E Phillips.
No doubt there will be other interesting stories associated with some of the other family names.
About three-quarters of the sitters are identified, but it will take some time to fit the family members together and see if any unidentified sitters can be named.
More will be written in August, but as a preview, here are the auction descriptions of the items.
Lot 318 - Six miniatures, Conger Stout family:(1) woman holding child, Rebecca Conger Stout with son Wright, signed "A.M.D. 1865", painted porcelain, 2-1/8 x 1-7/8 in., velvet case with gilt brass bezel,
(2) portrait of Stephen Comstock, watercolor on ivory, 3 x 2-1/2 in, gilt plate frame,
(3) portrait of George Starr, Uncle of Julia Comstock Conger, watercolor on ivory, 2-1/2 x 2 in, gold plate bezel set locket verso with window and hair weaving, gold chain stamped 14K
(4) young gentleman, watercolor on ivory, 3 x 2-3/8 in, painted leather case with gilt brass bezel, (from a note inside, now believed to be Eleutheros Dana Comstock)
(5) double portrait of children, Wright C. Stout and G. Lee Stout, painted porcelain, 2-3/4 x 2-1/8 in
(6) child, Julia C. Stout, painted porcelain, 2-3/4 x 2-1/8 in
All American School, 19C Estates of Ward and Stout Families, Bloomfield, New Jersey
Estimate: $600 - $1,200
Lot 1030 - 17 early photographs, cased images, descendants of Richard Stout (1615-1705) and Penelope Van Princis Stout (1622-1712), Middletown, New Jersey:Nine daguerreotypes: two one-quarter plate, one of John Wilson Stout, signed on mat "Holmes (Silas A.), 289 Broadway (New York)"; one of boy in uniform, noted as "possibly G. (Gideon) Lee Stout", six one-sixth plate: two of identified gentlemen, each signed "Weston (James P. or Robert), 192 B-Way N.Y."; one of spectacled man, signed "Holmes" (Silas A.); one of lady and two girls, all identified; two of gentlemen, one identified; one-ninth plate of gentleman.
Five ambrotypes: two one-fourth plate, one of spectacled gentleman noted as "G. Lee Stout, or…one of his brothers", tined, signed "C. (Charles) D. (DeForest) Fredericks, 585 Broadway (New York):", metal hinged leather case; one of lady; two one-sixth plate, one of Wright F. Conger, signed "O. (Orrin) C. Benjamin, 274 Broad St. Newark, N.J."; one of lady; one one-ninth plate of gentleman, mother-of-pearl case.
Three ferrotypes, one-sixth plate, lady and two gentlemen, each identified.
All estates of Ward and Stout Families, Bloomfield, New Jersey
Estimate: $600 - $1,200
The silver lots were all purchased by other bidders, but comprised;
Lot 104 - A coin silver oval tureen, urn finial, acanthus handles, stepped pedestal base, gadroon borders, marked "Ball, Black & Co." (New York City, working 1851-1876), inscribed "Rebecca C Stout from her Husband Christmas 1865", opposing side inscribed "Miriam L. Stout from her Grandfather 1920", 61.41 oz, 11-3/4 x 14 x 9 in.Estates of Ward and Stout Families, Bloomfield, New Jersey
Estimate: $1,500 - $3,000
Lot 429 - A Tiffany sterling mug, round with shaped sides, scroll handle, acanthus and floral decoration, inscribed on base "Rebecca Comstock Stout From Her Grandfather 1888", "7996…5136", date marks for 1869-1891, 7.77 oz.T., 3-3/4 x 4 in.
Estate of the Late Jane W. Conneen, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Estimate: $300 - $600
Lot 445 - A set of Tiffany sterling ice cream forks, Richelieu pattern, 11 pieces, date mark for 1891-1902, inscribed "Stout", 12.08 oz.T., 5-3/4 in.
The Estate of the Late Jane W. Conneen, Bloomfield, New Jersey. Estimate: $200 - $400
Sunday
July - Mailbag - Researching sitters and decorative miniatures
I thought it may be helpful to miniature portrait collectors generally if I record my replies to two recent queries I received. The queries were about researching sitters in miniatures, and about decorative miniatures.
Research
The first writer asked me about how to start researching sitters.
Hi Don, Do you have any sites you can recommend to start research of a sitter? The girl I showed you was a named sitter and although she isn't my piece I would love to see if I can find anything to add to her name as to her life. I'm assuming children might be a bit more difficult to research as well--? Thanks so much for writing, Joy
Hi Joy,
As you would guess, successfully researching sitters depends upon how unusual their name is! If common, it is very hard, unless there is a full name and a date. As an example, John Williams is a common name, but via the notes on the reverse of his miniature I tracked him down and have shown quite full details of the way to go about it at;
Another free site is www.rootsweb.ancestry.com, but remember here that some people's family trees will have errors, and so you need to satisfy yourself as to the accuracy.
See also its sister site at www.ancestry.com The latter requires a subscription to get full details. The cost is not too bad for USA, but quite expensive for world wide. My subscription to this site has lapsed, but I think I will need to renew it for some Stout family miniatures which are transit. It is an excellent site for USA up to the 1930 census, but for UK the census detail only goes up to 1901. However, even the worldwide cost can be worthwhile if it enhances the value of a miniature.
Just Googling a name can also help a lot. With Shubrick I scanned pages and pages of Google references and found many new clues to follow up. It all helps a great deal if you have done some family history work on your own family. Thus, I would suggest you contact anyone else in your own family who has done any research and or have a go at researching your own family history.
Kind regards
Don
Decorative Miniatures
Many emails I receive ask about decorative miniatures and as my answers are usually quite similar, I have repeated a recent email exchange here for interested collectors. This one is a little different, as an encouragement to collectors, with the writer revealing that bargains can be found at garage sales. The writer only paid $1 each for them!
Dear Don, I recently purchased three miniature portraits at a local garage sale and would like to know if you might be able to tell me anything about them. After reading your article about copies, fakes, and decorative miniatures, I think I may have three decorative miniatures. I have enclosed pictures of them in the Attachments.
All three are in what would appear to be ivory--possibly made from old piano keys, as you said. Two of the portraits are signed "Stieler"--a name you said is commonly found on decorative miniatures. All three have newspaper print in a foreign language on the backs of the frames. One has a woman's name on the back, possibly the name of the sitter. Two have "Property of Col. F.W. Maxwell" stamped in larger, darker ink across the newspaper print. One has a paper label pasted on the newspaper print that says "Elfenbein Miniature, antik Bildnis: Charl.von Hagen." I'm thinking that Charl. von Hagen might be the name of the sitter for that portrait.
The picture of the woman with the beads around her head has a great deal of foxing. It looks like the foxing is on the underside of the glass rather than on the portrait. Her frame is also missing one small piece of ivory. All three frames have a metal piece attached at the top for hanging. If you would be so kind as to tell me anything you might know about these miniatures. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so much, Diana
Hi Diana, I am glad you found the website helpful, as there is not a lot I can add to what you have already written! Your conclusions are correct and I often think there is scope for someone to form an interesting collection of decorative miniatures like these and research the sitters.
As you say one is Charlotte von Hagen and using Google should tell you more about her. I recognize the other two, but cannot remember their names. "Elfenbein" is German for "elephant bone" and so equals ivory. I think Bildnis means painting.
Kind regards
Don
Dear Don, Thank you for your response. I will check further into Charlotte von Hagen. One of the other miniatures has the name Katherine Bozzaris (I think--if I am reading it correctly). I do get the impression from your website that there is not a lot of value to the decorative miniatures, but would you have any idea what might be the value of mine? Might you also have some idea as to when these were painted? I cannot find any information about a portraitist named Stieler. I am also curious if these are truly watercolors painted on ivory. Would you know? Again, thank you very much, Diana.
Hi Diana,
Google may help with the other sitter's name as well. Yes, they are most likely on ivory and painted around 1900, although some similar items are on ivorine, an imitation ivory made out of cellulose, but the poorest types of decorative miniatures are on celluloid. Values are relative. If you search on Ebay under miniature portraits you will probably find some similar decorative miniatures selling around $100/$150, but with some sellers asking as much as $350/$450, so values can be anywhere in between. Like most things in life "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and so depending upon how much a potential buyer gets attracted to a miniature, the end price will vary! If one is unbiased, the decorative miniatures are often more attractive than the "boring old 19C men" in many miniatures! For Stieler see Biography of STIELER, Karl Joseph in the Web Gallery of Art in the Web Gallery of Art and also search for him via Google images.
Kind regards
Don
Dear Don, I appreciate all of the information you have been able to provide. While I am excited that the miniatures have some monetary value, I will probably hang onto them. I've never sold on e-bay and don't really know much about that. I love anything old, so I am thinking about having these enclosed in a shadowbox-type frame (done professionally) so they can be preserved. However, I do think the one with the foxing and the missing piece of ivory on the frame should be restored. I may have to check into that!
I am only confused about the name Stieler on the two pictures. It looks like it says "M Stieler" or "N Stieler." I did find something about a Joseph Karl Stieler who did the portraits in the Gallery of Beauties (commissioned by Ludwig I) in the early to mid 1800's. He could not be the same Stieler who painted the miniatures if they were done in the early 1900's. So...did another artist just put the name Stieler on the miniatures just because Stieler did the portraits in the gallery?
Both of the miniatures that I have with the name Stieler on them (Charlotte von Hagen and Katherine--or Katherina--Bozzaris) are women whose portraits are in the Gallery of Beauties at the Palace of Nymphenburg in Munich, Germany. That explains why these two women might have been so popular that decorative miniatures were made of them. I do not know the name of the sitter in the other miniature, so I'm not sure I'll ever find out anything about her. I sure am having fun learning about miniature portraits--only wish I had stumbled on the real thing!! Thank you for being so kind to respond to all of my questions. I appreciate it so much. Diana
Dear Diana,
Just re the signature. Yes, you are right. I think I mentioned in the blog somewhere that the copyists often used fake signatures to make the buyer think that it was painted by the real artist, but slightly different. This was so they could not be prosecuted for using a false signature. Thus in your examples the copyist used fake first initials.
If you think for a moment, you have probably learned quite a bit about miniatures already and so will be better prepared for your next garage sale or local auction. Provided you do not spend too much, actually buying, holding, inspecting, and researching is the best way to learn. Even if you do not buy on eBay, just watching items during their auctions, reading the descriptions, and trying to understand the final price, is also a good way to learn more.
Kind regards
Don
P.S. Here are some eBay links to look at:
MINIATURE PORTRAIT PAINTING ON IVORY- J. STIELER 19th c
19TH C. OIL ON IVORY-IVORY FRAME W/ FAUX SHELL TRIM.
Beautiful Portrait Miniture on Ivory by STEILER Germany
Hi Don, Thanks for the e-bay links. I'll be sure to look at them. Yes, there is so much to learn about the miniatures. Finding them at a garage sale was such a quirk really. I actually picked them up, looked at them, and put them down when my husband told me he thought they were sort of ugly. After we got in the car, I asked my husband to run back up to the house and buy the miniatures because I just couldn't get them out of my mind. You won't believe, but they were only $1.00 each!! Why I would put them down is beyond me!!! But I'm awfully glad no one else picked them up before my husband went back. The woman who was selling them told my husband that the miniatures had belonged to her husband's grandmother. My husband, needless to say, is astonished that they have the value they do. I feel very fortunate to have found them. I'll keep you posted if I should ever find a "real" miniature portrait!! Thank you so much, Diana
Research
The first writer asked me about how to start researching sitters.
Hi Don, Do you have any sites you can recommend to start research of a sitter? The girl I showed you was a named sitter and although she isn't my piece I would love to see if I can find anything to add to her name as to her life. I'm assuming children might be a bit more difficult to research as well--? Thanks so much for writing, Joy
Hi Joy,
As you would guess, successfully researching sitters depends upon how unusual their name is! If common, it is very hard, unless there is a full name and a date. As an example, John Williams is a common name, but via the notes on the reverse of his miniature I tracked him down and have shown quite full details of the way to go about it at;
The Case of the Lord Mayor of Melbourne - ViewIf you have looked at my recent account of Mary Branford Shubrick (probably much too long for most of my readers!! - but still was an ongoing thrill for me to research), there is a lot of data, which all came via the Internet, and much via Google. But it can be quite time consuming as sometimes there are conflicts of information and many times there are dead ends. Just like any detective story! See
June - The Case of the Military Matriarch - ViewOne free site that is quite good to start with for pre-1900 sitters is http://www.familysearch.org/eng/default.asp As an example, if you put Shubrick in there you will see some of my source data.
Another free site is www.rootsweb.ancestry.com, but remember here that some people's family trees will have errors, and so you need to satisfy yourself as to the accuracy.
See also its sister site at www.ancestry.com The latter requires a subscription to get full details. The cost is not too bad for USA, but quite expensive for world wide. My subscription to this site has lapsed, but I think I will need to renew it for some Stout family miniatures which are transit. It is an excellent site for USA up to the 1930 census, but for UK the census detail only goes up to 1901. However, even the worldwide cost can be worthwhile if it enhances the value of a miniature.
Just Googling a name can also help a lot. With Shubrick I scanned pages and pages of Google references and found many new clues to follow up. It all helps a great deal if you have done some family history work on your own family. Thus, I would suggest you contact anyone else in your own family who has done any research and or have a go at researching your own family history.
Kind regards
Don
Decorative Miniatures
Many emails I receive ask about decorative miniatures and as my answers are usually quite similar, I have repeated a recent email exchange here for interested collectors. This one is a little different, as an encouragement to collectors, with the writer revealing that bargains can be found at garage sales. The writer only paid $1 each for them!
Dear Don, I recently purchased three miniature portraits at a local garage sale and would like to know if you might be able to tell me anything about them. After reading your article about copies, fakes, and decorative miniatures, I think I may have three decorative miniatures. I have enclosed pictures of them in the Attachments.All three are in what would appear to be ivory--possibly made from old piano keys, as you said. Two of the portraits are signed "Stieler"--a name you said is commonly found on decorative miniatures. All three have newspaper print in a foreign language on the backs of the frames. One has a woman's name on the back, possibly the name of the sitter. Two have "Property of Col. F.W. Maxwell" stamped in larger, darker ink across the newspaper print. One has a paper label pasted on the newspaper print that says "Elfenbein Miniature, antik Bildnis: Charl.von Hagen." I'm thinking that Charl. von Hagen might be the name of the sitter for that portrait.
The picture of the woman with the beads around her head has a great deal of foxing. It looks like the foxing is on the underside of the glass rather than on the portrait. Her frame is also missing one small piece of ivory. All three frames have a metal piece attached at the top for hanging. If you would be so kind as to tell me anything you might know about these miniatures. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so much, Diana
Hi Diana, I am glad you found the website helpful, as there is not a lot I can add to what you have already written! Your conclusions are correct and I often think there is scope for someone to form an interesting collection of decorative miniatures like these and research the sitters.As you say one is Charlotte von Hagen and using Google should tell you more about her. I recognize the other two, but cannot remember their names. "Elfenbein" is German for "elephant bone" and so equals ivory. I think Bildnis means painting.
Kind regards
Don
Dear Don, Thank you for your response. I will check further into Charlotte von Hagen. One of the other miniatures has the name Katherine Bozzaris (I think--if I am reading it correctly). I do get the impression from your website that there is not a lot of value to the decorative miniatures, but would you have any idea what might be the value of mine? Might you also have some idea as to when these were painted? I cannot find any information about a portraitist named Stieler. I am also curious if these are truly watercolors painted on ivory. Would you know? Again, thank you very much, Diana.
Hi Diana,
Google may help with the other sitter's name as well. Yes, they are most likely on ivory and painted around 1900, although some similar items are on ivorine, an imitation ivory made out of cellulose, but the poorest types of decorative miniatures are on celluloid. Values are relative. If you search on Ebay under miniature portraits you will probably find some similar decorative miniatures selling around $100/$150, but with some sellers asking as much as $350/$450, so values can be anywhere in between. Like most things in life "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and so depending upon how much a potential buyer gets attracted to a miniature, the end price will vary! If one is unbiased, the decorative miniatures are often more attractive than the "boring old 19C men" in many miniatures! For Stieler see Biography of STIELER, Karl Joseph in the Web Gallery of Art in the Web Gallery of Art and also search for him via Google images.
Kind regards
Don
Dear Don, I appreciate all of the information you have been able to provide. While I am excited that the miniatures have some monetary value, I will probably hang onto them. I've never sold on e-bay and don't really know much about that. I love anything old, so I am thinking about having these enclosed in a shadowbox-type frame (done professionally) so they can be preserved. However, I do think the one with the foxing and the missing piece of ivory on the frame should be restored. I may have to check into that!I am only confused about the name Stieler on the two pictures. It looks like it says "M Stieler" or "N Stieler." I did find something about a Joseph Karl Stieler who did the portraits in the Gallery of Beauties (commissioned by Ludwig I) in the early to mid 1800's. He could not be the same Stieler who painted the miniatures if they were done in the early 1900's. So...did another artist just put the name Stieler on the miniatures just because Stieler did the portraits in the gallery?
Both of the miniatures that I have with the name Stieler on them (Charlotte von Hagen and Katherine--or Katherina--Bozzaris) are women whose portraits are in the Gallery of Beauties at the Palace of Nymphenburg in Munich, Germany. That explains why these two women might have been so popular that decorative miniatures were made of them. I do not know the name of the sitter in the other miniature, so I'm not sure I'll ever find out anything about her. I sure am having fun learning about miniature portraits--only wish I had stumbled on the real thing!! Thank you for being so kind to respond to all of my questions. I appreciate it so much. Diana
Dear Diana,
Just re the signature. Yes, you are right. I think I mentioned in the blog somewhere that the copyists often used fake signatures to make the buyer think that it was painted by the real artist, but slightly different. This was so they could not be prosecuted for using a false signature. Thus in your examples the copyist used fake first initials.
If you think for a moment, you have probably learned quite a bit about miniatures already and so will be better prepared for your next garage sale or local auction. Provided you do not spend too much, actually buying, holding, inspecting, and researching is the best way to learn. Even if you do not buy on eBay, just watching items during their auctions, reading the descriptions, and trying to understand the final price, is also a good way to learn more.
Kind regards
Don
P.S. Here are some eBay links to look at:
MINIATURE PORTRAIT PAINTING ON IVORY- J. STIELER 19th c
19TH C. OIL ON IVORY-IVORY FRAME W/ FAUX SHELL TRIM.
Beautiful Portrait Miniture on Ivory by STEILER Germany
Hi Don, Thanks for the e-bay links. I'll be sure to look at them. Yes, there is so much to learn about the miniatures. Finding them at a garage sale was such a quirk really. I actually picked them up, looked at them, and put them down when my husband told me he thought they were sort of ugly. After we got in the car, I asked my husband to run back up to the house and buy the miniatures because I just couldn't get them out of my mind. You won't believe, but they were only $1.00 each!! Why I would put them down is beyond me!!! But I'm awfully glad no one else picked them up before my husband went back. The woman who was selling them told my husband that the miniatures had belonged to her husband's grandmother. My husband, needless to say, is astonished that they have the value they do. I feel very fortunate to have found them. I'll keep you posted if I should ever find a "real" miniature portrait!! Thank you so much, Diana
Wednesday
July - American additions and Mr Darcy
American additions
Three (or four, depending upon how you view them!) American miniatures have been acquired for the collection this month.
The most important is a miniature of Mrs E M Eastman by John Wood Dodge. It is dated 1836. (The vertical parallel lines on the right are the graining of the ivory showing through.)
In the second quarter of the 19C, John Wood Dodge (1807-1893) was one of the best miniature painters working in New York City. In my mind his work rivals Nathaniel Rogers (1788-1844).
Dodge may well have continued to become the pre-eminent miniature painter in NYC after Roger's death, but it was apparently recommended by his doctor that Dodge move south for the sake of his health.
He settled in Tennessee and continued to paint miniatures there and in various other places for many years.
So far the identity of Mrs E M Morgan is not clear and so any thoughts on her identity would be gratefully received, especially from anyone with access to New York street directories of the 1830's.
A current, and speculative, thought is that she may have been a first wife of Edward Morgan Eastman who did marry at age 31 in 1842, however no earlier marriage record has been found from the 1830's.
More about the miniature can be seen at Dodge, John Wood - portrait of Mrs E M Eastman
The second item is a husband and wife, obverse and reverse, pair in a single oval case by an unknown artist, with the sitters also being unknown.
Although this pair are unknown, the miniature itself is still of interest.
Firstly, it is most probably American, as it has an American shaped hanger and a beaded bezel.
To my mind, this hanger shape is most often met with on American miniatures, rarely on British miniatures, and almost never on European miniatures.
Especially when taken with a beaded bezel, which is unusual on miniature portraits from other than America.
The case seems to be rare in another respect.
No doubt other examples do exist, but this is the first American case that I have come across with a double portrait which has a beaded bezel on both sides.
More about it can be seen at Unknown - portrait of husband and wife
The third item is by an unknown artist, but the sitter is believed to be Isaac A Buckingham who was a lawyer in Decatur, Illinois. The Buckingham family were very early settlers in Ohio and Enoch Buckingham is said to have been the first white child born there.
Enoch was also fortunate not to be killed in 1791, as one of his hunting companions was killed and scalped. Enoch fell down while fleeing and was only able to escape by lying still and playing dead, as his pursuers chased his friends along the track, catching and killing one of them.
Much more about the Buckingham family history, the above incident, and the miniature portrait can be seen at Unknown - portrait of Isaac A Buckingham
The miniature is interesting as it is accompanied by a Memorandum notebook containing a lot of history of the Buckingham family in America.
Additionally, the notebook contains a many notes about witnesses to a shooting in Illinois in the early 20C which involved a Court case titled "People v McCool".
Isaac Buckingham was one of the attorney's involved with the case.
I would be grateful to hear from anyone who knows more about this case.
Other items of interest - Mr Darcy
An interesting portrait miniature pointed out to me as being made available for sale recently, is one of Thomas Langlois Lefroy by George Engleheart one of the most prolific miniature painters in Britain.
There are apparently two versions of the miniature by Engleheart, with one still being owned by the Lefroy family.
The miniature was offered for sale by Judy & Brian Harden and apparently had an asking price of GBP50,000.
Lefroy is thought to be the inspiration for Mr Darcy who features in "Pride and Prejuduce" the famous 19C novel by Jane Austen.
There is more about the miniature and the works of Jane Austen at Addicted to Jane Austen: Lefroy Portrait Goes on Sale and at Becoming Jane fansite
Three (or four, depending upon how you view them!) American miniatures have been acquired for the collection this month.The most important is a miniature of Mrs E M Eastman by John Wood Dodge. It is dated 1836. (The vertical parallel lines on the right are the graining of the ivory showing through.)
In the second quarter of the 19C, John Wood Dodge (1807-1893) was one of the best miniature painters working in New York City. In my mind his work rivals Nathaniel Rogers (1788-1844).
Dodge may well have continued to become the pre-eminent miniature painter in NYC after Roger's death, but it was apparently recommended by his doctor that Dodge move south for the sake of his health.
He settled in Tennessee and continued to paint miniatures there and in various other places for many years.
So far the identity of Mrs E M Morgan is not clear and so any thoughts on her identity would be gratefully received, especially from anyone with access to New York street directories of the 1830's.
A current, and speculative, thought is that she may have been a first wife of Edward Morgan Eastman who did marry at age 31 in 1842, however no earlier marriage record has been found from the 1830's.
More about the miniature can be seen at Dodge, John Wood - portrait of Mrs E M Eastman
The second item is a husband and wife, obverse and reverse, pair in a single oval case by an unknown artist, with the sitters also being unknown.Although this pair are unknown, the miniature itself is still of interest.
Firstly, it is most probably American, as it has an American shaped hanger and a beaded bezel.
To my mind, this hanger shape is most often met with on American miniatures, rarely on British miniatures, and almost never on European miniatures.Especially when taken with a beaded bezel, which is unusual on miniature portraits from other than America.
The case seems to be rare in another respect.
No doubt other examples do exist, but this is the first American case that I have come across with a double portrait which has a beaded bezel on both sides.
More about it can be seen at Unknown - portrait of husband and wife
The third item is by an unknown artist, but the sitter is believed to be Isaac A Buckingham who was a lawyer in Decatur, Illinois. The Buckingham family were very early settlers in Ohio and Enoch Buckingham is said to have been the first white child born there.
Enoch was also fortunate not to be killed in 1791, as one of his hunting companions was killed and scalped. Enoch fell down while fleeing and was only able to escape by lying still and playing dead, as his pursuers chased his friends along the track, catching and killing one of them.Much more about the Buckingham family history, the above incident, and the miniature portrait can be seen at Unknown - portrait of Isaac A Buckingham
The miniature is interesting as it is accompanied by a Memorandum notebook containing a lot of history of the Buckingham family in America.
Additionally, the notebook contains a many notes about witnesses to a shooting in Illinois in the early 20C which involved a Court case titled "People v McCool".
Isaac Buckingham was one of the attorney's involved with the case.
I would be grateful to hear from anyone who knows more about this case.
Other items of interest - Mr Darcy
An interesting portrait miniature pointed out to me as being made available for sale recently, is one of Thomas Langlois Lefroy by George Engleheart one of the most prolific miniature painters in Britain.There are apparently two versions of the miniature by Engleheart, with one still being owned by the Lefroy family.
The miniature was offered for sale by Judy & Brian Harden and apparently had an asking price of GBP50,000.
Lefroy is thought to be the inspiration for Mr Darcy who features in "Pride and Prejuduce" the famous 19C novel by Jane Austen.
There is more about the miniature and the works of Jane Austen at Addicted to Jane Austen: Lefroy Portrait Goes on Sale and at Becoming Jane fansite
Thursday
June - Market place and other jottings
Next stop Hollywood?Welcome to any and all Antiques Roadshow visitors who have recently been referred to this website.
Your scribe was flattered find he had received a mention in "The Antiques Roadshow Insider" magazine for June 2008. This is the magazine for the very popular American television show "The Antiques Roadshow", but which also appears around the world under several different national TV editions.
There is an article in the June Insider titled "Up Close and Personal" which comments about miniature portraits.
It is written by a lady named Jane Viator who I do not know, but who must have stumbled across this site and made some very kind comments about this website blog under the heading "Sources and Resources". Thus many thanks to her.
Having now "made" the Antiques Roadshow, I am anxiously checking my letter-box each day expecting to receive offers to feature some of the interesting sitters in the collection, either in a series on the History Channel, or in a Hollywood blockbuster!
Market PlaceRegular visitors will know that the focus of this collection is American miniatures, although I do get distracted by other interesting miniatures, some of which may be valuable, but many others which are just interesting.
However, as there are so few reference books about American miniatures, it seems worthwhile to record images of some items sold, to help provide a reference on the subject.
The first example shown above is unsigned and was sold as unattributed, but it looks to be by Anson Dickinson.It came from a Roosevelt estate and sold for under $1500, with the sitter being unknown.
The second was sold by Skinners and was described as;
"Signed and dated "M. B. Russell Pinxt 1839" l.r. and inscribed "Portrait of Dr. S. Graham by M.B. Russell Boston Mass. 1839" on backing paper. Watercolor on ivory, 4 1/4 x 2 5/8in, in a period molded wood frame."
The pre-sale estimate was $1000-$1500 and it sold for a hammer price of $1900.
Although it is hard to see in the photo, it was interesting to me to see that the signature on this miniature by Moses B Russell appeared to be scratched or incised on the front.
Works by Moses B Russell seem more normally to be signed on the reverse only.Last year I was fortunate to purchase two miniatures by Moses B Russell, one of a young lady also having a scratched or incised signature. That of the man was signed on the reverse only.
The young lady was the first time I had seen any reference to a miniature by him being signed with an incised signature, although the recent auction example shown here seems to suggest a number were signed by Moses B Russell in this manner.
For more on these other two miniatures, see Russell, Moses B - portrait of a young lady and Russell, Moses B - portrait of a manOther American items sold recently included one attributed to the DaLee family which was sold by Cowans for a hammer price of $1800, compared to a pre-sale estimate of $2000/$3000.
There were several members of the family who painted miniatures of this nature and their work is very similar.
There was also a good miniature portrait of a man signed and dated by William Doyle in 1823.
On the other hand, one has to be careful of wrongly described miniatures.The miniature below of Empress Josephine of France was recently sold for $510. The seller provided their own appraisal stating that it was "appraised at very realistic $800-1,250".
It was claimed to be by the American born Scottish artist William John Thomson, with the claim being based upon it being signed with the initials "W I T".
However, I very much doubt it is by William John Thomson. Circular miniatures are rarely found to be painted by British or American artists. The quality is not good enough for Thomson's work, with a lack of fine detail and with the mouth being too small.
Additionally, Thomson normally signed and dated his miniatures on the reverse, together with his address, but not on the front.
Instead, I believe the miniature is a very weak decorative copy of a portrait of Empress Josephine which has been copied many times. Such copies are frequently seen at auction. It is possible the initials on it are a later addition to the miniature, designed to mislead a potential buyer.
Une Collection Francaise
To get a better idea of what quality French miniatures should look like, regular visitors may wish to revisit Une Collection Francaise where there are many good examples.
From time to time, more miniatures are added to that exhibition gallery.
Since it was first displayed about ten further miniatures have been added and it gives an excellent selection of 18C and early 19C French miniatures. The quality is far better than the decorative copy above.
In passing, please note that I am very happy to assist any other collector who is interested in displaying their collection in a similar manner, in order to make this resource more useful to anyone interested in collecting or studying portrait miniatures.
Wednesday
June - Market place and miscellany
The Market Place
Several visitors have asked me about two American miniature portraits sold at auction in the last week or so. They wondered why the price for an unsigned and unidentified miniature seemed to go so high.
I was also asked if I could at the same time please comment about attributions.
Attributions are very tricky. I tried to think of an analogy, but about the best I could come up with was a garden full of flowers and four types of visitor.
A - Some people will enter and say "What a lovely garden of flowers!".
B - Some, like me will do a little better and say "What a lovely display of roses!".
C - The next group would be able to rattle off all the common names of the various roses.
D - Then the experts will enter and recite the common name, and the botanical name, of every rose in the garden, based upon their experience and minute differences between the various roses!
However, even that analogy is an over simplification as sometimes miniature portrait scholars and experts will meet before an exhibition of portrait miniatures, to debate all the attributions and try to reach a consensus on each artist for the purpose of the exhibition.
Thus I regret to say that attribution is all about training, experience, and very much study. However, as with the next example, use of good common sense before bidding or buying can help.
Miniatures from America sold recently sold at auction do provide examples for discussion.
The first military miniature was in a nice gold case with rear insert. It sold at a live auction for a hammer price of $5250, compared to a pre-sale estimate of $1000-$1500.
This was say $6500 in total including the buyer's commission.
It was fully described by the auction house as "MINIATURE OIL ON ELEPHANT IVORY MILITARY PORTRAIT - Bust Portrait of Lieut. Samuel Wallingford, the first US Marine killed in action, on April 24, 1778, while fighting alongside Capt. John Paul Jones aboard the USS Ranger during the capture of the HMS Drake, the first victory of the US Navy, the day after Wallingford had led men ashore at Whitemarsh in an attempt to take Lord Selkirk prisoner; the Marine is depicted in Naval Uniform, prior to the issuance of 'The Greens', housed in a gold filled oval case with an ambrotype of the man who married his widow set into the back by his daughter, unsigned, 2 7/8" x 2 1/4" overall, fine condition. A very important relic of the first USMC hero."
However, although I could not pick the artist, I did believe the description was wrong and so told the auction house of my concern before the auction, as did a knowledgeable visitor of my acquaintance.
I informed the auction house I believed the hair style, uniform, and case were 30 to 40 years too late to be Lieut. Wallingford.
Common sense and a little study would show they date to around 1815 and hence cannot be Wallingford who died in 1778. I believe the ambrotype in the rear dates to around 1850 and is probably the same sitter, but later in life.
As photography was not invented until around 1840, some sixty years after Wallingford was killed, it is rather beyond belief that a man so young as the one shown in the ambrotype, born say c1800, could have married Wallingford's widow.
The only response from the auction house was that they were just repeating what the vendor said. I do not know whether any words or caution were mentioned at the auction, but I rather doubt it based upon the price realised.
Military miniature portraits do attract a large premium, but the second was only described as; "Selling is a wonderful early 19th century portrait on ivory. The miniature portrait features a young military man in uniform. Although the watercolor is not signed it is of very high quality and detail. The young man's uniform is tufted up the front near the brass buttons and has a high collar. The portrait is in a gold filled or gold plated frame which measures 2 1/2" by 2 1/8"."
Being an Internet only auction there was no estimate, but it sold for $5500. This was slightly less than the previous example.
I could immediately tell the quality, but could not pick the artist precisely, but was then told it was by Joseph Wood, and which I readily accepted after comparing it with other examples of his work.
Although there are not a lot of examples of his work, Wood was a very good artist and this, together with a military sitter, explains the auction price.
Other recent military miniatures sold include two European ones.
The first is of a much decorated officer which was signed "Felia Alassa 1815", although my reference books do not record this name.
This miniature portrait sold for a similar price to the American ones at $5100.
It is a well done and very colorful miniature. I have been informed that the sitter may be wearing Russian decorations and the Russian connection was the reason for the strong buyer interest.
Another officer was in pair with a miniature of a lady.
The pair sold for Euros 1500. Although attractive and signed indistinctly, they almost look decorative to me.
If so, this would explain the relatively lower price.
On the subject of the "Russian" connection was another miniature sold recently for GBP500 or $1000.
It was described as "This delightful portrait is painted on ivory and measures 2.5 inches or 63 mm in diameter. The gilt metal frame has no hook or other means of hanging it. The glass is slightly convex. I am not sure if the frame is original, it does not fit that well and someone has added a thin cardboard ring to hold it in position. Look just below 3 pm on the photo with the frame and you will see that the ivory is not quite circular here, but this is original. The condition of the painting is excellent as is the ivory. There is no artist's signature. There is however a pencilled name on the back which is hardly distinguishable but looks like Arch. ..... Feodorovna.
It can be compared with the original (from a catalogue photo) shown here and another example from this collection, front and reverse, shown further below.
Elsewhere, in my section on Copy, Fake, and Decorative Miniatures
I talked about official copies made of important people for presentation purposes and said.
"Miniatures like these can be found. The one shown here is expertly painted and has a faint signature of "E Miles", who was active in St Petersburg, Russia from 1797-1806 where he was Court Painter to the Tsar. The sitter is Grand Princess Alexandra Pavlovna (1783-1801), who was daughter of Tzar Paul I (1754-1801). The original painted in 1797 is in the State Russian Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and is attributed to Miles. It looks identical to the version in this collection, apart from the style of the frame.
However, the frame here is tortoiseshell expensively inlaid with gold, mother-of-pearl, and abalone. Thus it is possible that it is an official copy made to give to a member of the Court, as the combined miniature and frame would have been very expensive. The doubt about this being by Miles, is that he did not normally sign his work and the frame style here seems to be somewhat later than the date of the original. However, it is still by a very good artist and is very similar to Miles' work. So much time and skill was required to make a copy of this standard, that it was usually not worth the effort of a faker to do so."
Thus, I hope the buyer who paid $1000 for the miniature of Grand Princess Alexandra Pavlovna realises it is a copy. Of course, the original miniature will never come on the market, but if it did I would expect to sell for well over $100,000.
Victorian and portrait jewelry
Some miniature portraits overlap with Victorian Jewelry, which is outside the scope of this collection, but anyone interested in viewing some nice Victorian jewelry should consider visiting Victorian Jewelry Musuem
Another similar museum type site which concentrates on portrait jewelry is at www.morninggloryantiques.com/collectportrait.html Much of the portrait jewelry shown there comes under the heading of what I call decorative miniatures, i.e. for decoration, rather than recording the likeness of an actual sitter, but the site does show how an interesting collection can be made of these attractive items.
A specialist site is that of American Society of Jewelry Historians which is a non-profit educational organization committed to providing an up-to-date resource for those interested in jewelry related subjects, including jewelry history, antique jewelry, and contemporary jewelry trends and design.
Several visitors have asked me about two American miniature portraits sold at auction in the last week or so. They wondered why the price for an unsigned and unidentified miniature seemed to go so high.
I was also asked if I could at the same time please comment about attributions.
Attributions are very tricky. I tried to think of an analogy, but about the best I could come up with was a garden full of flowers and four types of visitor.
A - Some people will enter and say "What a lovely garden of flowers!".
B - Some, like me will do a little better and say "What a lovely display of roses!".
C - The next group would be able to rattle off all the common names of the various roses.
D - Then the experts will enter and recite the common name, and the botanical name, of every rose in the garden, based upon their experience and minute differences between the various roses!
However, even that analogy is an over simplification as sometimes miniature portrait scholars and experts will meet before an exhibition of portrait miniatures, to debate all the attributions and try to reach a consensus on each artist for the purpose of the exhibition.
Thus I regret to say that attribution is all about training, experience, and very much study. However, as with the next example, use of good common sense before bidding or buying can help.
Miniatures from America sold recently sold at auction do provide examples for discussion.The first military miniature was in a nice gold case with rear insert. It sold at a live auction for a hammer price of $5250, compared to a pre-sale estimate of $1000-$1500.
This was say $6500 in total including the buyer's commission.
It was fully described by the auction house as "MINIATURE OIL ON ELEPHANT IVORY MILITARY PORTRAIT - Bust Portrait of Lieut. Samuel Wallingford, the first US Marine killed in action, on April 24, 1778, while fighting alongside Capt. John Paul Jones aboard the USS Ranger during the capture of the HMS Drake, the first victory of the US Navy, the day after Wallingford had led men ashore at Whitemarsh in an attempt to take Lord Selkirk prisoner; the Marine is depicted in Naval Uniform, prior to the issuance of 'The Greens', housed in a gold filled oval case with an ambrotype of the man who married his widow set into the back by his daughter, unsigned, 2 7/8" x 2 1/4" overall, fine condition. A very important relic of the first USMC hero."
However, although I could not pick the artist, I did believe the description was wrong and so told the auction house of my concern before the auction, as did a knowledgeable visitor of my acquaintance.
I informed the auction house I believed the hair style, uniform, and case were 30 to 40 years too late to be Lieut. Wallingford.
Common sense and a little study would show they date to around 1815 and hence cannot be Wallingford who died in 1778. I believe the ambrotype in the rear dates to around 1850 and is probably the same sitter, but later in life.
As photography was not invented until around 1840, some sixty years after Wallingford was killed, it is rather beyond belief that a man so young as the one shown in the ambrotype, born say c1800, could have married Wallingford's widow.
The only response from the auction house was that they were just repeating what the vendor said. I do not know whether any words or caution were mentioned at the auction, but I rather doubt it based upon the price realised.
Military miniature portraits do attract a large premium, but the second was only described as; "Selling is a wonderful early 19th century portrait on ivory. The miniature portrait features a young military man in uniform. Although the watercolor is not signed it is of very high quality and detail. The young man's uniform is tufted up the front near the brass buttons and has a high collar. The portrait is in a gold filled or gold plated frame which measures 2 1/2" by 2 1/8"."Being an Internet only auction there was no estimate, but it sold for $5500. This was slightly less than the previous example.
I could immediately tell the quality, but could not pick the artist precisely, but was then told it was by Joseph Wood, and which I readily accepted after comparing it with other examples of his work.
Although there are not a lot of examples of his work, Wood was a very good artist and this, together with a military sitter, explains the auction price.Other recent military miniatures sold include two European ones.
The first is of a much decorated officer which was signed "Felia Alassa 1815", although my reference books do not record this name.
This miniature portrait sold for a similar price to the American ones at $5100.
It is a well done and very colorful miniature. I have been informed that the sitter may be wearing Russian decorations and the Russian connection was the reason for the strong buyer interest.
Another officer was in pair with a miniature of a lady.The pair sold for Euros 1500. Although attractive and signed indistinctly, they almost look decorative to me.
If so, this would explain the relatively lower price.
On the subject of the "Russian" connection was another miniature sold recently for GBP500 or $1000.
It was described as "This delightful portrait is painted on ivory and measures 2.5 inches or 63 mm in diameter. The gilt metal frame has no hook or other means of hanging it. The glass is slightly convex. I am not sure if the frame is original, it does not fit that well and someone has added a thin cardboard ring to hold it in position. Look just below 3 pm on the photo with the frame and you will see that the ivory is not quite circular here, but this is original. The condition of the painting is excellent as is the ivory. There is no artist's signature. There is however a pencilled name on the back which is hardly distinguishable but looks like Arch. ..... Feodorovna.It can be compared with the original (from a catalogue photo) shown here and another example from this collection, front and reverse, shown further below.
Elsewhere, in my section on Copy, Fake, and Decorative MiniaturesI talked about official copies made of important people for presentation purposes and said.
"Miniatures like these can be found. The one shown here is expertly painted and has a faint signature of "E Miles", who was active in St Petersburg, Russia from 1797-1806 where he was Court Painter to the Tsar. The sitter is Grand Princess Alexandra Pavlovna (1783-1801), who was daughter of Tzar Paul I (1754-1801). The original painted in 1797 is in the State Russian Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and is attributed to Miles. It looks identical to the version in this collection, apart from the style of the frame.
However, the frame here is tortoiseshell expensively inlaid with gold, mother-of-pearl, and abalone. Thus it is possible that it is an official copy made to give to a member of the Court, as the combined miniature and frame would have been very expensive. The doubt about this being by Miles, is that he did not normally sign his work and the frame style here seems to be somewhat later than the date of the original. However, it is still by a very good artist and is very similar to Miles' work. So much time and skill was required to make a copy of this standard, that it was usually not worth the effort of a faker to do so."
Thus, I hope the buyer who paid $1000 for the miniature of Grand Princess Alexandra Pavlovna realises it is a copy. Of course, the original miniature will never come on the market, but if it did I would expect to sell for well over $100,000.
Victorian and portrait jewelry
Some miniature portraits overlap with Victorian Jewelry, which is outside the scope of this collection, but anyone interested in viewing some nice Victorian jewelry should consider visiting Victorian Jewelry Musuem
Another similar museum type site which concentrates on portrait jewelry is at www.morninggloryantiques.com/collectportrait.html Much of the portrait jewelry shown there comes under the heading of what I call decorative miniatures, i.e. for decoration, rather than recording the likeness of an actual sitter, but the site does show how an interesting collection can be made of these attractive items.
A specialist site is that of American Society of Jewelry Historians which is a non-profit educational organization committed to providing an up-to-date resource for those interested in jewelry related subjects, including jewelry history, antique jewelry, and contemporary jewelry trends and design.
Monday
June - Additions to the collection and research
Additions to the CollectionThree recent additions to the collection appear here. By a strange coincidence, two of them were painted in 1827.
The first is a "very large miniature" (if you will excuse the phrase, as it is 185mm x 135mm or 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches) and is signed and dated 1827 by Jean Alexandre Maricot (<1785->1840) a rare, but highly regarded French artist. For more detail, see Maricot, Jean-Alexandre - portrait of a young lady
The French Government lists some 2200 miniatures by French artists owned by various French Government collections, but there are no works by Maricot in the list.
A kind visitor who is an expert on European miniatures has commented: "Maricot is an extremely rare artist, and he is just as good as Mansion or Aubry, but lesser known due to his rarity. Glowing colours, a brush stroke like in oil painting, a fantastic artist."
The miniature is cracked, but the rarity and size does illustrate an instance where cracking, while not desirable, is acceptable. It is extremely rare for a miniature of this size to avoid being cracked.
After some 200 years it is almost inevitable that large portrait miniatures will be cracked and there are many large cracked miniatures in the Louvre Collection, the Tedeschi Collection, and also illustrated in the recent dictionary "Peintres en Miniature".
The hat the young lady is wearing is very finely painted and could have passed with favourable comment 100 years later, if it had been worn by a fashionable young lady of the 1920's!
The second miniature portrait is not signed or dated as such, but some detective work has attributed the miniature to Charles Fraser (1782-1860) a highly regarded miniaturist from Charleston SC.The sitter is Mary Brandord Shubrick (1759-1832) and the 1827 date of the painting is confirmed as the portrait is recorded in the work book of Charles Fraser for 1827.
Research into Mary Branford Shubrick has been fascinating. As it went on, I could feel a "Special Report" coming on!! So much so, that I have kindly dubbed her "The Military Matriarch" as her husband was an army colonel, and her six sons all served in the military. Four US Navy vessels have been named for the family.
Thus, the miniature and much information about the Shubrick family are included as the June Special Report at Fraser, Charles - Mary Branford Shubrick
Visitors only interested in miniature portraits, may wish to skip most of the report. However, even those visitors may still find it a useful read, if they ever suffer from insomnia!
Interesting snippets include that one USS Shubrick threatened to bombard the coast of Washington State with its cannon! The same vessel was instrumental in the purchase of Alaska from Russia. A bizarre incident on its maiden voyage occurred when a sailor died at sea and was consigned to the depths in a coffin. However, after the Shubrick reached port, the coffin came drifting into the harbour and bumped up against the Shubrick!
The third acquisition is an American revival miniature by another Charleston, SC born miniature painter named Louise Hammond Willis Snead (25 Dec 1866-1958).According to her 1924 passport application she was born in Charleston, SC and worked in Noroton, CT and New York City.
Most American miniature painters came from the North-East and hence to have two additions by Charleston born artists is unusual.
Louise Snead was also a journalist and illustrator, who created at least one cover for McCalls Magazine.
Some examples of her work can be seen at Snead, Lousie Willis - portrait of Emma C Rose
The miniature portrait is of Emma C Rose, but so far the sitter has not been more closely identified.
Research
Research into items in the collection is ongoing as times permits, and as prompted by visitor emails.The first one was prompted by an email from a helpful expert, who sent it as an example of a miniature by William Foster Jones (4 May 1817-9 Dec 1873) who was born and worked in Philadelphia.
I had to laugh at myself, as the exact miniature was sitting in the American 2 Gallery as an unsigned miniature and thus unattributed. For some unknown reason, I had never checked for a signature, but sure enough it was there.
Thus, that prompted some research into Jones as the artist and that research has now been included in the description.
See Jones, William Foster - portrait of lady with the initials "M B O"
A second email from a great-niece of Gertrude Pew, enquired about this miniature by Gertrude L Pew (Mar 1876-28 Jun 1949) who was born in Niles, Trumbull, Ohio and worked and died in NYC.It was a miniature which I had never got around to researching. The great-niece and I have jointly been researching Gertrude Pew and thus the description has been greatly expanded.
Gertrude L Pew trained in America and Paris. She painted many famous Americans, including President Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Mellon, J Pierpont Morgan, and Mrs John D Rockefeller.
She also designed post cards, and painted in oils. For more about her and examples of her work, see Pew, Gertrude - portrait of 20C lady
Tuesday
May - Exhibitions, new literature, stolen miniature
Arkansas ExhibitionA traveling exhibit that features Chas. Fagan’s miniature oil paintings of the 43 presidents, along with archival photographs and audio recordings of presidential speeches, opened recently at the Arkansas State Capitol.
“American Presidents: Life Portraits” is the only complete collection of American presidential oil portraits by a single artist, exhibit creators C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association say.
For more about it see Presidents on ‘exhibit’ at Arkansas Capitol It runs until June 27.
London Exhibition
For the next two weeks there is an exhibition of miniatures in London. It is at Philip Mould Fine Paintings and has been arranged by Emma Rutherford. It is described as follows:
"Philip Mould will host an important loan exhibition of British portrait miniatures at his London gallery from 28th May to 14th June 2008. The exhibition, ‘‘Secret Faces – Unseen Portrait Miniatures from Public and Private Collections’’, will focus on portraits of major historical figures that are not normally on public display. Works will be on loan from private collections as well as from the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Ashmolean Museum and the National Portrait Gallery."
"The exhibition will reveal a number of forgotten but captivating treasures by the masters of the genre including works by Nicholas Hilliard, Peter Oliver, Samuel Cooper and John Smart. It will present for the first time a number of re-discovered miniatures, including an unrecorded portrait of Elizabeth I. 'Secret Faces' will be on view from 28th May to 14th June, from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Saturday."
I can only endorse the following comment: "As curator of the exhibition, Emma hopes to lift the genre from its niche status to reflect its true historical importance."
For further details, see News or http://www.philipmould.com/news.php
New Book on Silhouettes
From the same website, there is comment that Emma Rutherford, previously with Bonhams, has completed her first book, due to be published autumn 2008.
Entitled "Silhouette", this will be the first major history of the subject written since the 1970s and is to be published by the prestigious New York publisher Rizzoli.
Silhouettes are very collectable, but a thin wallet precludes them from appearing in this collection, apart from the large frame of twenty silhouettes of the Garrigues family which were cut at the Peale Museum. They can be seen at View
Stolen MiniatureDealers and collectors should be aware of this miniature portrait in the form of an etui, which has just been reported stolen in late May, whilst in transit from the United States to France.
The theft is thought to have taken place while the miniature was being cleared through French Customs.
If it is sighted, please let me know via my email address under "About Me" and I will pass the information on to the owner.
Wednesday
May - New and recent literature on miniatures
The Kern Collection
In recent years there have been a number of wonderful reference books published on the subject of miniature portraits.
The latest book, which I have just become aware of, is a new book by Bodo Hofstetter on the Dr. E. S. Kern collection of portrait miniatures donated in 1998 to the town of Winterthur (close to Zurich in Switzerland). The book has been published this month.
Shown here are pictures of the cover page, a random double page, and also an image of 94 years old Dr. E. S. Kern (as pictured in the book) holding one of his favourite miniatures.
The hardbound book is written in German, has 200 pages and weighs 1.227 kilograms (43 oz.). In the catalogue part there are 72 miniatures from England and the European Continent, from a Hilliard dated 1594 to a Cecile Villeneuve dated 1896.
They are fully described and illustrated in colour, some with close-ups of details.
A further 26 miniatures and 68 comparative illustrations (mainly miniatures) are spread through the introduction and the historical essays.
This is another valuable addition to literature on the subject of portrait miniatures.
I do not yet have a copy, but from the preview and even though the book is written in German, the illustrations and layout appear excellent. Thus it will be another very useful reference.
The collection was a very generous gift from Dr Kern to Winterthur.
The full title is Die Welt der Bildnisminiatur. Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Emil S. Kern, published by Benteli, Bern and Sulgen. ISBN number of the book is 978-3-7165-1485-6. It costs 58 Swiss Francs or 36 Euros, plus handling and postage.
I am advised the book can be ordered from the editor: detlef.otten@benteli.ch or from the Winterthur Museum directly: brinerundkern@win.ch
The Tedeschi Collection
I have also just obtained another wonderful reference book which was published 2005. I knew it existed, but did not have a copy.
It is hard bound with 128 pages and records, with excellent colour photographs, 130 miniatures collected by Alberto Bruni Tedeschi.
The collection was generously donated by the Tedeschi family to the Civic Museum of Ancient Art in Palazzo Madama in Turin, Italy where they are on display.
The miniatures depicted in the book are of outstanding quality and a viewer is immediately stunned by the skill of the artists. Many of the miniatures depicted are very large, one ivory miniature is 37cm high. Even so the detail is exquisite.
As an amateur collector, I can identify with the quotations in the book written by Gian Piero Bona about Bruno Tedeschi as a collector of miniatures.
"For Alberto Bruni Tedeschi the word "collection" was a magic word, like music, art, or exploration.....He had finally understood what being being a collector of objects meant: a passion which becomes an obsession."
And: "A valuable collection, such as this one, is also a sequence of wonders which occur in the life of the owner, as if he can never tire of enthusiastically evoking every single echo, which will multiply itself, always the same and always different."
In addition his wife, Marisa Bruni Tedeschi remembered: "I can even see him "play" on miniatures, as if they were the keys of his piano."
And: "When he touched these things, these precious pieces, little worlds sang in his hands like music."
I feel sure these sentiments would apply equally to Dr Kern above, and also to other recent generous collector benefactors such as Charles Fleischmann, the Manney Family, and the Tansey Family.
They have all enabled the general public in various countries to view and appreciate the special nature of these miniature treasures from times past.
In recent years there have been a number of wonderful reference books published on the subject of miniature portraits.The latest book, which I have just become aware of, is a new book by Bodo Hofstetter on the Dr. E. S. Kern collection of portrait miniatures donated in 1998 to the town of Winterthur (close to Zurich in Switzerland). The book has been published this month.
Shown here are pictures of the cover page, a random double page, and also an image of 94 years old Dr. E. S. Kern (as pictured in the book) holding one of his favourite miniatures.
The hardbound book is written in German, has 200 pages and weighs 1.227 kilograms (43 oz.). In the catalogue part there are 72 miniatures from England and the European Continent, from a Hilliard dated 1594 to a Cecile Villeneuve dated 1896.
They are fully described and illustrated in colour, some with close-ups of details.A further 26 miniatures and 68 comparative illustrations (mainly miniatures) are spread through the introduction and the historical essays.
This is another valuable addition to literature on the subject of portrait miniatures.
I do not yet have a copy, but from the preview and even though the book is written in German, the illustrations and layout appear excellent. Thus it will be another very useful reference.The collection was a very generous gift from Dr Kern to Winterthur.
The full title is Die Welt der Bildnisminiatur. Meisterwerke aus der Sammlung Emil S. Kern, published by Benteli, Bern and Sulgen. ISBN number of the book is 978-3-7165-1485-6. It costs 58 Swiss Francs or 36 Euros, plus handling and postage.
I am advised the book can be ordered from the editor: detlef.otten@benteli.ch or from the Winterthur Museum directly: brinerundkern@win.ch
The Tedeschi Collection
I have also just obtained another wonderful reference book which was published 2005. I knew it existed, but did not have a copy.It is hard bound with 128 pages and records, with excellent colour photographs, 130 miniatures collected by Alberto Bruni Tedeschi.
The collection was generously donated by the Tedeschi family to the Civic Museum of Ancient Art in Palazzo Madama in Turin, Italy where they are on display.
The miniatures depicted in the book are of outstanding quality and a viewer is immediately stunned by the skill of the artists. Many of the miniatures depicted are very large, one ivory miniature is 37cm high. Even so the detail is exquisite.
As an amateur collector, I can identify with the quotations in the book written by Gian Piero Bona about Bruno Tedeschi as a collector of miniatures."For Alberto Bruni Tedeschi the word "collection" was a magic word, like music, art, or exploration.....He had finally understood what being being a collector of objects meant: a passion which becomes an obsession."
And: "A valuable collection, such as this one, is also a sequence of wonders which occur in the life of the owner, as if he can never tire of enthusiastically evoking every single echo, which will multiply itself, always the same and always different."
In addition his wife, Marisa Bruni Tedeschi remembered: "I can even see him "play" on miniatures, as if they were the keys of his piano."And: "When he touched these things, these precious pieces, little worlds sang in his hands like music."
I feel sure these sentiments would apply equally to Dr Kern above, and also to other recent generous collector benefactors such as Charles Fleischmann, the Manney Family, and the Tansey Family.
They have all enabled the general public in various countries to view and appreciate the special nature of these miniature treasures from times past.
Sunday
May - Twenty years on the trail of William Douglas
Although it is not part of this collection, a descendant of William Douglas (14 Apr 1780-30 Jan 1832) a miniature painter from Edinburgh, Scotland, has very kindly sent me this image which is a large oil self portrait by William Douglas.In the portrait he looks very self assured and confident. Judging by his apparent age, I would think it was painted around 1805. As befits his profession he is holding a brush or drawing pencil.
William Douglas as a miniature painter, holds a special position in this collection.
Elsewhere I have commented that the start of this collection of miniatures was occasioned by being present at a public antique auction when a group of family miniature portraits by William Douglas were being sold as separate lots as part of an estate sale.
This was in 1988 and pretty much on the spur of the moment, I purchased about six lots, out of about the eight lots of paintings offered by William Douglas, which was as much as I could afford at the time. They can be seen in the British 2 Gallery.
About ten years later, around 1998, another branch of the family sold some more miniature portraits by William Douglas at a different auction house. These were again mainly of family members. Fortunately, it was possible to acquire all the miniatures offered, together with one of his sketchbooks. These miniatures are also included in the British 2 Gallery.
Thus it was interesting to compare the various miniatures, apparently from two different branches of the current family, and be able to determine that, while some of the miniatures were by William Douglas, some others must have been painted by his daughter Archibald Ramsay Douglas (yes, Archibald was female!), who was also a miniature painter.
Now, twenty years on, in 2008 and at an auction by yet another auction house, several more miniatures by William Douglas were offered by his descendants. Two lots were not quite as interesting, being larger than normal miniature size, not of family members, and possibly copies of larger oil portraits.However, the third lot contained three miniature portraits of his children. Thus it was a "must have" for the collection. The cost of the lot was more than I hoped, but still a little less than the high estimate, so that was a help.
Thus in a single frame have been acquired these three miniature portraits of the children of William Douglas. He was born at Torryburn, Fife, Scotland and died in Edinburgh. His wife was Charlotte Grieve who he married on 7 Aug 1805.
Douglas held an appointment as Miniature Painter to HRH Princess Charlotte of Wales who, if she had not died shortly after her marriage, would have been Queen of England. Instead the throne descended to Queen Victoria.
The three children in the frame are; Archibald Ramsay Douglas at the top, Charlotte Douglas at the lower left, and Robert Duncan Douglas at the lower right.
Later in her life Archibald Ramsay Douglas (24 Apr 1807-?) was a miniature painter in her own right and several miniatures by her feature in this collection. She seems not to have married.Charlotte Douglas (2 May 1810-?) later married William Stuart and that branch of the family emigrated to New Zealand in the mid 19C.
Records suggest that the only son, Robert Duncan Douglas (24 Feb 1812->1881) never married and lived all his life in Edinburgh. He appears to have trained as a lawyer and been a Writer to the Signet, as well as a Procurator Fiscal (i.e. Crown Prosecutor).
It almost seems as if the sitters in the portraits may have been guiding me and that there is an element of fate in the acquisition of this frame as the frame was acquired about ten years subsequent to the purchase of a miniature of a fourth child of William Douglas and Charlotte Grieve.She was named Christina Brown Douglas (19 Mar 1815-21 Jan 1821) and she died before the age of six.
Christina is shown in the fourth miniature, which as can be seen is unfinished, probably due to her early death. Thus, it seems both fitting and very fortunate that the four children have been reunited in this collection. At auction they could very easily have gone to different collectors and thus never been reunited.
The presence of these four miniatures of children, all painted by William Douglas, is also a useful resource for judging the quality of his work, especially when taken with the other Douglas family miniatures in the British 2 gallery which were painted either by William Douglas, or by his daughter Archibald Ramsay Douglas. 1331, 10
Saturday
May - Les Peintres en Miniature and Research
One of the most rewarding aspects from all the time it takes to develop and update this Artists and Ancestors website, is contact with other collectors and researchers from all over the world who are interested in portrait miniatures.Sometimes it is possible to help other researchers with their own projects, which is just as rewarding as undertaking my own research.
During 2007, it was possible to make contact with Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard, the author of the book "Les Peintres en Miniature" which I previewed at April - New Dictionary of French Miniature Painters
A copy of the book purchased direct from France has now reached me and so it is possible to see the superb quality of her scholarship and realise how much effort went into the book. It sets a very high standard for other authors on the subject.
A major criteria for the book was that only signed miniature portraits were included. This sensible step avoided potential debate over attributions and so makes the published images even more important for reference purposes.
Also gratifying was the opportunity to see which of the signed miniatures sent to Nathalie from this collection have been included in the book. In total, twenty-two are mentioned, with nineteen of them accompanied by photographs. There are also eleven miniatures from Une Collection Francaise and two from the Guest Gallery.
To have miniatures mentioned in the book is quite an honour in itself, but their publication also illustrates the research benefits of collecting miniatures by lesser artists, even if they are damaged.
For major artists, such as this miniature by Charles Bourgeios, there are usually comprehensive lists of their work and so many examples that can be used to illustrate an important reference book such as this.
However, for the minor artists it is much harder to locate representative examples.Sometimes the only known examples are cracked or have paint flaking off, such as this example by N Freund.
Thus this collection is represented in the book by a few important artists, as well as by a number of minor artists, several of which are represented by cracked miniatures.
Naturally, being included in the literature makes a miniature more interesting. Thus collectors can see that damaged miniatures need not be rejected completely.
The twenty-two miniatures in this Artists and Ancestors collection which are included in the book are as below. They are all accompanied by images apart from the R de Beaux, the Brunet, and the Soiron.
Click on each View link to see the miniature and the listing in the book.
Page - Artist - Sitter - Link
081 - Beaux, R de - Duc d'Orleans - View
088 - Berjon, Antoine - A man - View
111 - Bossi, Domenico - Baroness Neuwall - View
119 - Bourgeios, Charles - A young man - View
130 - Brunet - An officer dated 1836 - View
144 - Cataneo, Michele - Charles Nollet - View
157 - Chatillon, J B - A man - View
182 - Decourcelle, Jean - A baby - View
188 - Delatour, Alexandre - A lady - View
209 - Dufaix - Comte Bouthier de Pennovere - View
245 - Freund, N - A man - View
261 - Gobert, Antoine - A young girl - View
287 - Hertrich, Heinrich - A man - View
287 - Hertrich, Heinrich - A lady - View
337 - Leclercq, Marie - A man - View
337 - Leclercq, Marie - A lady - View
342 - Legenvre - A lady - View
411 - Paul, S - Mrs Carter - View
427 - Pouell - A man - View
449 - Rouvier, Pierre - A young royalist - View
471 - Soiron, Jean-Francois - Joseph Chinard - View
523 - Vibert, Auguste - A man - View
In addition eleven miniatures in Une Collection Francaise are either illustrated or mentioned in the book:
071 - Barlet - A man - View
104 - Boissier - A lady - View
114 - Boudin - A lady - View
155 - Chasselet - Jean Allut - View
156 - Chateaubourg - A lady - View
192 - Deranton - A man - View
233 - Ferry - A lady - View
397 - Muneret - General Augereaux - View
488 - Tourcaty - A lady - View
476 - Strasbaux - A man - View
535 - Weise - An officer - View
Further two miniatures owned by a Dutch collector and which are in the Guest Gallery are also in the book:
094 - Bertrand - A lady - View
483 - Thibaut - Marie-Antoinette Robin - View
Sunday
May - American additions to the collection
Additions
It is increasingly difficult to find affordable and interesting American miniature portraits to add to this collection.
Prices are rising, fewer miniatures are offered for sale, and there is much more competition than ever there used to be. Thus every month I expect a buying drought to commence!
However, this month there has been very considerable luck in being able to add three interesting American miniatures.
George M Miller.
Firstly, there is a wax miniature portrait of an unknown man dating from around 1795 and which has been attributed to George M Miller.
The profile is set on a black glass background. It is partly modelled in colored wax and partly in over-painted white wax.
Miller was an immigrant from Germany, changing his name from Mueller to Miller on arriving in the United States. He was a potter, stone-cutter, and modeller and worked in Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia, being active from 1790 to 1821.
Most early artists had to adopt a variety of trades, as work as a miniaturist was not easy to find. In 1790 the population of Philadelphia was 28,500 and only New York, Boston, Charleston, and Baltimore had populations over 10,000. In contrast London, England had a population of over one million in 1800.
For more about Miller and his wax miniatures see View
Daniel and Maria Louisa Wagner
Every now and again I feel compelled to clamber onto my soapbox about a particular miniature portrait. This one of an unknown lady, is just such an example.
It is very rare, being jointly signed by a brother and sister, Daniel Wagner (1802-1888) and Maria Lousia Wagner (1815-1888). It is 95mm x 77mm and is dated 1839.
The photos displayed here, while illustrating the skill of the artist, do not convey the depth of colors and the vibrancy of the miniature when viewed in the hand or under a magnifying glass.
I feel the actual painting skill is similar to that displayed by John Henry Brown. However Brown was trying to emulate photographs and his miniatures tend to be flat, whereas this miniature was painted just before the introduction of photography and has a depth to it that very few other miniature painters have equalled.
Maria is reported to have taken up miniature painting to support her crippled brother Daniel. At present I am unaware of any other jointly signed example. Even miniatures signed by them as individual artists are rare.
They were both born in the United States and appear to have mainly worked Chenango Valley, NY, Albany NY, NYC and died in Norwich NY in the same year.
I stepped into a hornet's nest the other day, by saying to a friend that I thought this miniature was better than any miniature by Justus DaLee or Mrs M B Russell, which I feel they just painted to simple commercial formulae.
Despite the high market prices obtained by miniatures by DaLee or Russell, I still hold to that view, even if such a stance categorises me as an ignoramus in respect of investment art!
The year 1839 that this miniature by Daniel and Maria Louisa Wagner was signed, is poignant in the history of miniature portraits, as it is the year before the introduction of daguerreotypes began to hit miniature painters like a tsunami.
Thus 1839 could be said to represent the high tide mark for American miniature painting. In my opinion this miniature portrait certainly deserves to be regarded as a worthy example to mark that high tide. For more about it see View
The Speed Family and Abraham Lincoln
The third miniature is by an unknown artist, but is of Judge John Speed (May 17 1772-Mar 30 1840), the father of Joshua Fry Speed (Nov 14 1814-May 29 1882) who was the great friend of Abraham Lincoln.
The miniature was acquired together with some other memorabilia shown here which is associated with the Speed Family and Abraham Lincoln.
Most miniatures of the more significant people from history are already lodged in public museums. Hence this was a fortunate acquisition.
Apart from being the father of Joshua Fry Speed, Judge John Speed was the builder and owner of the historic Farmington estate in Louisville, Kentucky which he built with his second wife Lucy Gilmer Speed in 1815/1816.
Farmington homestead was modelled on the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello and it is now completely preserved as a major tourist attraction in Louisville.
The miniature of Judge John Speed is housed in an octagonal brooch 43mm x 35mm. The rear of the case is engraved L G Speed for his wife Lucy Gilmer Speed. The miniature is thought to have been painted in 1840, shortly after Judge John Speed died.
For more about the family and their relationship with Lincoln see View
It is increasingly difficult to find affordable and interesting American miniature portraits to add to this collection.
Prices are rising, fewer miniatures are offered for sale, and there is much more competition than ever there used to be. Thus every month I expect a buying drought to commence!
However, this month there has been very considerable luck in being able to add three interesting American miniatures.
George M Miller.Firstly, there is a wax miniature portrait of an unknown man dating from around 1795 and which has been attributed to George M Miller.
The profile is set on a black glass background. It is partly modelled in colored wax and partly in over-painted white wax.
Miller was an immigrant from Germany, changing his name from Mueller to Miller on arriving in the United States. He was a potter, stone-cutter, and modeller and worked in Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia, being active from 1790 to 1821.
Most early artists had to adopt a variety of trades, as work as a miniaturist was not easy to find. In 1790 the population of Philadelphia was 28,500 and only New York, Boston, Charleston, and Baltimore had populations over 10,000. In contrast London, England had a population of over one million in 1800.
For more about Miller and his wax miniatures see View
Daniel and Maria Louisa WagnerEvery now and again I feel compelled to clamber onto my soapbox about a particular miniature portrait. This one of an unknown lady, is just such an example.
It is very rare, being jointly signed by a brother and sister, Daniel Wagner (1802-1888) and Maria Lousia Wagner (1815-1888). It is 95mm x 77mm and is dated 1839.
The photos displayed here, while illustrating the skill of the artist, do not convey the depth of colors and the vibrancy of the miniature when viewed in the hand or under a magnifying glass.
I feel the actual painting skill is similar to that displayed by John Henry Brown. However Brown was trying to emulate photographs and his miniatures tend to be flat, whereas this miniature was painted just before the introduction of photography and has a depth to it that very few other miniature painters have equalled.
Maria is reported to have taken up miniature painting to support her crippled brother Daniel. At present I am unaware of any other jointly signed example. Even miniatures signed by them as individual artists are rare.
They were both born in the United States and appear to have mainly worked Chenango Valley, NY, Albany NY, NYC and died in Norwich NY in the same year.
I stepped into a hornet's nest the other day, by saying to a friend that I thought this miniature was better than any miniature by Justus DaLee or Mrs M B Russell, which I feel they just painted to simple commercial formulae.
Despite the high market prices obtained by miniatures by DaLee or Russell, I still hold to that view, even if such a stance categorises me as an ignoramus in respect of investment art!
The year 1839 that this miniature by Daniel and Maria Louisa Wagner was signed, is poignant in the history of miniature portraits, as it is the year before the introduction of daguerreotypes began to hit miniature painters like a tsunami.
Thus 1839 could be said to represent the high tide mark for American miniature painting. In my opinion this miniature portrait certainly deserves to be regarded as a worthy example to mark that high tide. For more about it see View
The Speed Family and Abraham LincolnThe third miniature is by an unknown artist, but is of Judge John Speed (May 17 1772-Mar 30 1840), the father of Joshua Fry Speed (Nov 14 1814-May 29 1882) who was the great friend of Abraham Lincoln.
The miniature was acquired together with some other memorabilia shown here which is associated with the Speed Family and Abraham Lincoln.
Most miniatures of the more significant people from history are already lodged in public museums. Hence this was a fortunate acquisition.
Apart from being the father of Joshua Fry Speed, Judge John Speed was the builder and owner of the historic Farmington estate in Louisville, Kentucky which he built with his second wife Lucy Gilmer Speed in 1815/1816.
Farmington homestead was modelled on the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello and it is now completely preserved as a major tourist attraction in Louisville.The miniature of Judge John Speed is housed in an octagonal brooch 43mm x 35mm. The rear of the case is engraved L G Speed for his wife Lucy Gilmer Speed. The miniature is thought to have been painted in 1840, shortly after Judge John Speed died.
For more about the family and their relationship with Lincoln see View
May - New Research and Trivia
Research
Previously, I have mentioned that when time permits, or am I prompted by a comment from a visitor, more research is undertaken about miniatures, some of which may have been in the collection for some time.
There are quite a number that have not been properly researched, or where a visitor comment leads to another line of enquiry. For this reason, I welcome information about miniatures in the collection.
Such research is absorbing and the most unexpected snippets of information can emerge. So much so, I have been tempted to prepare a list of "Trivia Questions" drawn from recent research into miniatures within this collection!!
For example;
Trivia 1; Which British Army General was on the German side in World War I?.
Trivia 2; His cousin was Commander-in-Chief of the British Army for 39 years and was married to an actress who performed at Drury Lane, the Lyceum, and Covent Garden Theatre in a 20 year career on the stage, including playing the parts of men. Who was this Commander-in-Chief?
Trivia 3; Who would have been King (or Queen) of England if Queen Victoria had died before having any children?
The answer to the first question emerged from the research into a miniature portrait of an unknown German officer, which I had included in the European Galleries of this collection.
It sat there for over a year, but recently a kind visitor identified the sitter as Crown Prince Ernst August of Hanover. He was a great grandson of King George III of England and born a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Later he also became Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale in the Peerage of Great Britain and Earl of Armagh in the Peerage of Ireland. Queen Victoria created him a Knight of the Garter on 1 August 1878.
From my reading of various Internet references it appears that if Queen Victoria had died before she had given birth to any children, Prince Ernst August would have become King of England!
Queen Victoria promoted him to Major General in 1886, to Lieutenant General in 1892, and to full General in the British Army in 1898.
He is shown here on the right (apologies for the scanner glare), while on the left is Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. For more about Prince Ernst August see View and for more about Prince George and his actress wife see View
As a result of the research, the miniature of Prince Ernst August has also been added to the British 20C Gallery.
Still on a military theme.
Trivia 4; Which famous World War I poem first appeared anonymously in the British satirical magazine "Punch" on 8 December 1915?
Trivia 5; Which Canadian artist was inspired by this poem to create a famous World War I Victory Bonds poster and received an award from the Canadian Government his work?
Trivia 6; Which famous French sculptor was also painted in miniature by this artist?
The answers to the first two questions were prompted by extra research, following an email from a kind visitor who emailed me saying: "I have a picture of my uncle Jack Brown fishing in the Laurentians. It was painted by Frank Nicolet in 1919. Frank was a friend of my uncle and they often went fishing together."
The artist in question was Frank Lucien Nicolet who painted this miniature of Rodin and also created this Victory Bonds poster, which was based on the poem "Flanders Fields" by John McRae. For much more about Nicolet, his posters, and the poem, see View
As he was more of an American, than European miniature painter, the miniature of Rodin by Nicolet has also been added to the American 20C Gallery.
Also from the early 20C.
Trivia 7; The daughter of which famous American architect painted a miniature self portrait?
Trivia 8; Who was the first woman to fly the English Channel?
The next trivia question is a belief, with the answer unconfirmed, so knowledgeable comment will be very gratefully received. The extra research arose out of a query from a visitor which related to the artist referred to in question 7.
Trivia 9; Did this miniature artist also write four children's books in the "Girl Aviator" series in 1911 and 1912?
Trivia 10; What is the apparent reason for the successful series coming to a sudden end in 1912?
The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham who designed many buildings including the Flatiron Building in New York.
His daughter was Margaret Burnham, who in 1910 painted this self portrait for her husband, George Kelly, as a gift for his 37th birthday.
Two examples of books in the Girl Aviator series are shown here. My personal belief is that this is the same Margaret Burnham, although I must stress this is doubted by her grandchildren.
The series of Girl Aviator books is believed to have come to a sudden halt in 1912 as several early lady aviators died in plane crashes in that year. One of these ladies killed in 1912 was Harriet Quimby, the first lady to fly the English Channel.
For more about Margaret Burnham Kelly, the Girl Aviators, and early aviators see View
As mentioned above, any evidence for, or against, linking the miniature painter and the author would be welcome.
Returning to the subject of French sculptors.
Trivia 11; Which famous French sculptor is noted for his sculptures of the Empress Josephine and other members of the French Royalty of the period?
Trivia 12; Why would a miniature of this sculptor, painted in France in 1801 also have the date "Year 9"?
The sculptor was Joseph Chinard who features in this enamel miniature by Jean Francois Soiron.
The reference to Year 9 refers to the French Revolutionary Calendar introduced in 1792 and which was intended to replace all references to the calender and years AD which we commonly use now. All citizens were required to use the new calendar.
For more about Joseph Chinard, his sculptures, and the calendar see View
However, the Revolutionary Calendar was dropped early in the 1800's. It is however proof that not all "good ideas at the time" are restricted to the 21C!!
Actually, it reminds me of another late 18C story of "a good idea at the time" that may or may not be apocryphal.
After the American Revolution there were various proposals aimed at severing all ties with England. One proposal was that English be dropped as the language for the United States and that instead Hebrew should be adopted as the national language for the country.
However, one sage noting the number of backwoods folk in the then remote parts of the Americas, demonstrated the folly of the suggestion, by dryly commenting that; "it would be far easier to get England to drop their use of English and for England to change to Hebrew!"
Previously, I have mentioned that when time permits, or am I prompted by a comment from a visitor, more research is undertaken about miniatures, some of which may have been in the collection for some time.
There are quite a number that have not been properly researched, or where a visitor comment leads to another line of enquiry. For this reason, I welcome information about miniatures in the collection.
Such research is absorbing and the most unexpected snippets of information can emerge. So much so, I have been tempted to prepare a list of "Trivia Questions" drawn from recent research into miniatures within this collection!!
For example;
Trivia 1; Which British Army General was on the German side in World War I?.
Trivia 2; His cousin was Commander-in-Chief of the British Army for 39 years and was married to an actress who performed at Drury Lane, the Lyceum, and Covent Garden Theatre in a 20 year career on the stage, including playing the parts of men. Who was this Commander-in-Chief?
Trivia 3; Who would have been King (or Queen) of England if Queen Victoria had died before having any children?
The answer to the first question emerged from the research into a miniature portrait of an unknown German officer, which I had included in the European Galleries of this collection.
It sat there for over a year, but recently a kind visitor identified the sitter as Crown Prince Ernst August of Hanover. He was a great grandson of King George III of England and born a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Later he also became Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale in the Peerage of Great Britain and Earl of Armagh in the Peerage of Ireland. Queen Victoria created him a Knight of the Garter on 1 August 1878.
From my reading of various Internet references it appears that if Queen Victoria had died before she had given birth to any children, Prince Ernst August would have become King of England!
Queen Victoria promoted him to Major General in 1886, to Lieutenant General in 1892, and to full General in the British Army in 1898.He is shown here on the right (apologies for the scanner glare), while on the left is Prince George, Duke of Cambridge. For more about Prince Ernst August see View and for more about Prince George and his actress wife see View
As a result of the research, the miniature of Prince Ernst August has also been added to the British 20C Gallery.
Still on a military theme.
Trivia 4; Which famous World War I poem first appeared anonymously in the British satirical magazine "Punch" on 8 December 1915?
Trivia 5; Which Canadian artist was inspired by this poem to create a famous World War I Victory Bonds poster and received an award from the Canadian Government his work?
Trivia 6; Which famous French sculptor was also painted in miniature by this artist?
The answers to the first two questions were prompted by extra research, following an email from a kind visitor who emailed me saying: "I have a picture of my uncle Jack Brown fishing in the Laurentians. It was painted by Frank Nicolet in 1919. Frank was a friend of my uncle and they often went fishing together."
The artist in question was Frank Lucien Nicolet who painted this miniature of Rodin and also created this Victory Bonds poster, which was based on the poem "Flanders Fields" by John McRae. For much more about Nicolet, his posters, and the poem, see ViewAs he was more of an American, than European miniature painter, the miniature of Rodin by Nicolet has also been added to the American 20C Gallery.
Also from the early 20C.
Trivia 7; The daughter of which famous American architect painted a miniature self portrait?
Trivia 8; Who was the first woman to fly the English Channel?
The next trivia question is a belief, with the answer unconfirmed, so knowledgeable comment will be very gratefully received. The extra research arose out of a query from a visitor which related to the artist referred to in question 7.
Trivia 9; Did this miniature artist also write four children's books in the "Girl Aviator" series in 1911 and 1912?
Trivia 10; What is the apparent reason for the successful series coming to a sudden end in 1912?
The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham who designed many buildings including the Flatiron Building in New York.His daughter was Margaret Burnham, who in 1910 painted this self portrait for her husband, George Kelly, as a gift for his 37th birthday.
Two examples of books in the Girl Aviator series are shown here. My personal belief is that this is the same Margaret Burnham, although I must stress this is doubted by her grandchildren.
The series of Girl Aviator books is believed to have come to a sudden halt in 1912 as several early lady aviators died in plane crashes in that year. One of these ladies killed in 1912 was Harriet Quimby, the first lady to fly the English Channel.
For more about Margaret Burnham Kelly, the Girl Aviators, and early aviators see View
As mentioned above, any evidence for, or against, linking the miniature painter and the author would be welcome.
Returning to the subject of French sculptors.
Trivia 11; Which famous French sculptor is noted for his sculptures of the Empress Josephine and other members of the French Royalty of the period?
Trivia 12; Why would a miniature of this sculptor, painted in France in 1801 also have the date "Year 9"?
The sculptor was Joseph Chinard who features in this enamel miniature by Jean Francois Soiron.The reference to Year 9 refers to the French Revolutionary Calendar introduced in 1792 and which was intended to replace all references to the calender and years AD which we commonly use now. All citizens were required to use the new calendar.
For more about Joseph Chinard, his sculptures, and the calendar see View
However, the Revolutionary Calendar was dropped early in the 1800's. It is however proof that not all "good ideas at the time" are restricted to the 21C!!
Actually, it reminds me of another late 18C story of "a good idea at the time" that may or may not be apocryphal.
After the American Revolution there were various proposals aimed at severing all ties with England. One proposal was that English be dropped as the language for the United States and that instead Hebrew should be adopted as the national language for the country.
However, one sage noting the number of backwoods folk in the then remote parts of the Americas, demonstrated the folly of the suggestion, by dryly commenting that; "it would be far easier to get England to drop their use of English and for England to change to Hebrew!"
Friday
April - New Dictionary of French Miniature Painters
Les Peintres en Miniature Actifs en France (1650-1850)
Recently I commented that Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard was publishing a dictionary of French miniature portrait painters. It covers French artists and artists from other countries working in France between 1650 and 1850.
More information about the Dictionary is now to hand and it should be available in the shops listed below in the very near future. It is written in French, but will be an invaluable reference resource, even for non-French speakers like myself.
The cover shows a painting by Alexandre Roslin from the Reims Museum of Fine Arts and is of the miniature painter Louis Lié Perin holding a miniature portrait of his father. The painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1791.
The book lists almost 3000 artists with many being listed for the first time. I believe it concentrates on artists whose work did not require firing in a furnace, so miniaturists who painted solely in enamels are excluded.
There are new biographical details for each artist whenever possible, list of works by chronological order (sometimes it's just a selection for a prolific artist), names of associated scholars, and iconography.
There are example of two pages on the flyer. For each artist: a list of museums where one can find a reference piece, i.e. a signed piece or a piece that came from the artist, so that the provenance is positive. The Dictionary excludes attributions, as it is intended to be a reference dictionary. Thus even miniatures in museums which may be confidently attributed to artists are not listed.
There are 560 pages and 1200 illustrations, with a foreword by Pierre Rosenberg, from the French Academy and Honorary President of the Louvre Museum.
The effort to prepare the Dictionary has been tremendous and reportedly it was a nightmare to get all the photographs. Some museums were very helpful and others not as helpful; many museums had no inventory of their miniatures when the project commenced. However, the end result has been well worth the effort.
Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard and her colleagues need to be thanked very much for their efforts.
Example listings:
The following extracts for two artists named "Hue" give an indication of the depth of information available for each artist included in the Dictionary.
HÜE Marie Charlotte Victoire Mélanie (active à Paris en 1760).
Peintre en miniature à Paris. Elle assista au mariage de son frère ( ?), Louis Hüe à Paris, le 4 juillet 1760. Elle apparaît citée dans le testament de la princesse de Bourbon, le 26 juin 1821, mais nous n’avons pas trouvé l’acte à la cote indiquée (A.N., m.c. et/XV,1670).
Archives : A.N. (mc/LII-411).
HUE de BREVAL Virginie Mlle - (active début XIXè siècle).
Peintre en miniature, élève de Lethiers et de J. Augustin. En l’an X, elle demeurait à Paris, rue Michel le Comte n° 17, près la rue Ste Avoie. Elle prit sa première leçon chez Augustin le 12 floréal an X ; elle habitait alors rue du Cloître St Germain près la rue de l’arbre sec ; elle fut à nouveau son élève en l’an XII. Vers 1810, une « Mlle Breval » prenait encore des cours chez Augustin, et demeurait alors « chez M. Brossere le jeune rue de la madeleine à Beauvais » (Carnet d’Augustin, f° 38). J.-B.J. Augustin notait dans son carnet, fol° 41, en 1814 « De Breval, boulevard Italien n° 9/ [ ? ] intime du duc d’Orléans », mention qui se rapporte peut-être à un membre de la famille de Mlle Hue de Breval. En 1816-1818, « Mlle Hue de Breval » était répertoriée comme « peintre en miniature », rue Michel-le-Comte, n° 17 (Almanach de 25000 adresses). Elle épousa un M. Rousseau. Elle eut notamment une clientèle d’officiers comme le Général de Rougé, dont elle peignit aussi la famille. Schidlof répertorie une « Virginie Heu » (sic) qui doit être la même artiste, signalée par une miniature de bonne facture dans une coll. parisienne, exécutée « vers 1830 » : Petit garçon en uniforme noir à boutons dorés, S. Virginie Heu, taille inconnue. Ce fut une très bonne artiste dont les œuvres se rencontrent assez rarement alors qu’elle exposa au Salon de 1810 à 1822.
Signature : selon Schidlof, elle continua à signer Hue de Breval après son mariage or il existe des miniatures signées Mme Rousseau qui sont peut-être d’elle.
- Jeune femme en robe blanche, S. Mlle Hue Debréval (sic) (Vienne, Albertina, 1924, n° 459, alors coll. V.E. Pollak, Vienne ; signalé par Schidlof ).
- Officier de la Garde à cheval, S.D. Mlle Hue de Bréval 1811 (1ère vte Bernard Frank, Drouot, 22-23 février 1935, n° 131).
- Le comte d’Hautefeuille en uniforme, S.D. 1813 (vte prince Ney de la Moscowa, Drouot, 28-29 mai 1929, n° 204).
- La marquise de Crillon en robe de velours rouge, S.D. Mlle Hue de Bréval 1813, ovale, H. 5,7 cm, L. 4,6 cm (Genève, 1956, n° 230 ; Schidlof, 1964, fig. 591).
- Général de Rougé, signé ; Mlle de Rougé, signé (vte prince Ney de la Moscowa, Drouot, 28-29 mai 1929, n° 206 et 207 « Hue de Bréval » ).
- Louis de Rougé, S.D. Mlle Hue de Bréval 1819 (vte prince Ney de la Moscowa, Drouot, 28-29 mai 1929, n° 205).
- Femme au châle bleu, signé, ovale, H. 7 cm, L.5,5 cm (Drouot, 29 avril 1999, Me de Ricqles, Pescheteau-Badin, Godeau-Leroy, n° 366 repr. « Hue de Bréval »).
- Jeune homme coiffé de mèches, de ¾ à droite en costume bleu foncé, gilet jaune, sur fond gris, signé, vers 1825, ovale, H. 7,2 cm (Bonhams, Londres, 28 avril 2005, n° 293 repr.).
- une miniature de Virginie Hue est passée en vente chez Christie’s Londres,10 juillet 1991, n° 36. Peut-être d’elle :
- Portrait d’homme, S. Mme Rousseau, ovale (Drouot, Me Le Ricque, 15 juin 1910, n° 47 non repr.).
Iconographie : Autoportrait, miniature
Archives : Carnet d’Augustin (Louvre, RF 51882, f° 41 en 1814).
Bibl. : Almanach de 25.000 adresses, 1816, 1818. Bénézit. Thieme et Becker. Lemberger. Foster. Darmon. Schidlof, 1964, p. 701 et p. 355. Busse. Petteys. Blättel.
Availability
In the United States the Dictionary (ISBN 978-2-85017-468-2) is expected to be available at the following locations:
- MOE'S BOOKS ** Tel: FAX : 001 510 8499938 2476 TELEGRAPH AVENUE BERKELEY CA 94704 USA
- FRENCH & EUROPEAN 610 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 10020-2497 USA
- HAYDEN & FANDETTA PO BOX 1549- RADIO CITY STATION 310 WEST 55TH STREET NY 10101 NEW YORK USA
- HENNESSEY & INGALLS *** 001 310 4589074 001 310 3942928 214 WILSHIRE BLVD SANTA MONICA CA 90401 USA
- URSUS BOOKS 00 1 212 2267858 00 1 212 7379306 981 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK NY 10021 USA
- BOOKSOUP 001 310 6590344 8818 SUNSET BD WEST HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES 90069 CALIFORNIA USA
- WORLDWIDE 00 1 607 272 9200 00 1 607 272 0239 1001 WEST SENECA STREET 3342 ITHACA NY USA
- MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON 001 713 6397850 001 713 6397710 P.O.BOX 6826 ' Retail Department Bernard Bonnet' 77265 HOUSTON TX 6826 USA
- POTTERTON BOOKS NY 00 1 212 6442292 001 212 6442292 D & D BUILDING LOBBY - 979 THIRD AVENUE NEW YORK NY 10022 USA
- BOOKSOUP COSTA MESA 001 714 6892665 001 714 6892442 SOUTH COAST PLAZA 3333 BRISTOL STREET, 2400 COSTA MESA CA 92626 USA
- ADLER' S FOREIGN BOOKS 00 1 847 8640664 00 1 8478640804 915 FOSTER STREET EVANSTON, IL 60201-3199 USA
Recently I commented that Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard was publishing a dictionary of French miniature portrait painters. It covers French artists and artists from other countries working in France between 1650 and 1850.More information about the Dictionary is now to hand and it should be available in the shops listed below in the very near future. It is written in French, but will be an invaluable reference resource, even for non-French speakers like myself.
The cover shows a painting by Alexandre Roslin from the Reims Museum of Fine Arts and is of the miniature painter Louis Lié Perin holding a miniature portrait of his father. The painting was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1791.
The book lists almost 3000 artists with many being listed for the first time. I believe it concentrates on artists whose work did not require firing in a furnace, so miniaturists who painted solely in enamels are excluded.
There are new biographical details for each artist whenever possible, list of works by chronological order (sometimes it's just a selection for a prolific artist), names of associated scholars, and iconography.
There are example of two pages on the flyer. For each artist: a list of museums where one can find a reference piece, i.e. a signed piece or a piece that came from the artist, so that the provenance is positive. The Dictionary excludes attributions, as it is intended to be a reference dictionary. Thus even miniatures in museums which may be confidently attributed to artists are not listed.
There are 560 pages and 1200 illustrations, with a foreword by Pierre Rosenberg, from the French Academy and Honorary President of the Louvre Museum.The effort to prepare the Dictionary has been tremendous and reportedly it was a nightmare to get all the photographs. Some museums were very helpful and others not as helpful; many museums had no inventory of their miniatures when the project commenced. However, the end result has been well worth the effort.
Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard and her colleagues need to be thanked very much for their efforts.
Example listings:
The following extracts for two artists named "Hue" give an indication of the depth of information available for each artist included in the Dictionary.
HÜE Marie Charlotte Victoire Mélanie (active à Paris en 1760).
Peintre en miniature à Paris. Elle assista au mariage de son frère ( ?), Louis Hüe à Paris, le 4 juillet 1760. Elle apparaît citée dans le testament de la princesse de Bourbon, le 26 juin 1821, mais nous n’avons pas trouvé l’acte à la cote indiquée (A.N., m.c. et/XV,1670).
Archives : A.N. (mc/LII-411).
HUE de BREVAL Virginie Mlle - (active début XIXè siècle).
Peintre en miniature, élève de Lethiers et de J. Augustin. En l’an X, elle demeurait à Paris, rue Michel le Comte n° 17, près la rue Ste Avoie. Elle prit sa première leçon chez Augustin le 12 floréal an X ; elle habitait alors rue du Cloître St Germain près la rue de l’arbre sec ; elle fut à nouveau son élève en l’an XII. Vers 1810, une « Mlle Breval » prenait encore des cours chez Augustin, et demeurait alors « chez M. Brossere le jeune rue de la madeleine à Beauvais » (Carnet d’Augustin, f° 38). J.-B.J. Augustin notait dans son carnet, fol° 41, en 1814 « De Breval, boulevard Italien n° 9/ [ ? ] intime du duc d’Orléans », mention qui se rapporte peut-être à un membre de la famille de Mlle Hue de Breval. En 1816-1818, « Mlle Hue de Breval » était répertoriée comme « peintre en miniature », rue Michel-le-Comte, n° 17 (Almanach de 25000 adresses). Elle épousa un M. Rousseau. Elle eut notamment une clientèle d’officiers comme le Général de Rougé, dont elle peignit aussi la famille. Schidlof répertorie une « Virginie Heu » (sic) qui doit être la même artiste, signalée par une miniature de bonne facture dans une coll. parisienne, exécutée « vers 1830 » : Petit garçon en uniforme noir à boutons dorés, S. Virginie Heu, taille inconnue. Ce fut une très bonne artiste dont les œuvres se rencontrent assez rarement alors qu’elle exposa au Salon de 1810 à 1822.
Signature : selon Schidlof, elle continua à signer Hue de Breval après son mariage or il existe des miniatures signées Mme Rousseau qui sont peut-être d’elle.
- Jeune femme en robe blanche, S. Mlle Hue Debréval (sic) (Vienne, Albertina, 1924, n° 459, alors coll. V.E. Pollak, Vienne ; signalé par Schidlof ).
- Officier de la Garde à cheval, S.D. Mlle Hue de Bréval 1811 (1ère vte Bernard Frank, Drouot, 22-23 février 1935, n° 131).
- Le comte d’Hautefeuille en uniforme, S.D. 1813 (vte prince Ney de la Moscowa, Drouot, 28-29 mai 1929, n° 204).
- La marquise de Crillon en robe de velours rouge, S.D. Mlle Hue de Bréval 1813, ovale, H. 5,7 cm, L. 4,6 cm (Genève, 1956, n° 230 ; Schidlof, 1964, fig. 591).
- Général de Rougé, signé ; Mlle de Rougé, signé (vte prince Ney de la Moscowa, Drouot, 28-29 mai 1929, n° 206 et 207 « Hue de Bréval » ).
- Louis de Rougé, S.D. Mlle Hue de Bréval 1819 (vte prince Ney de la Moscowa, Drouot, 28-29 mai 1929, n° 205).
- Femme au châle bleu, signé, ovale, H. 7 cm, L.5,5 cm (Drouot, 29 avril 1999, Me de Ricqles, Pescheteau-Badin, Godeau-Leroy, n° 366 repr. « Hue de Bréval »).
- Jeune homme coiffé de mèches, de ¾ à droite en costume bleu foncé, gilet jaune, sur fond gris, signé, vers 1825, ovale, H. 7,2 cm (Bonhams, Londres, 28 avril 2005, n° 293 repr.).
- une miniature de Virginie Hue est passée en vente chez Christie’s Londres,10 juillet 1991, n° 36. Peut-être d’elle :
- Portrait d’homme, S. Mme Rousseau, ovale (Drouot, Me Le Ricque, 15 juin 1910, n° 47 non repr.).
Iconographie : Autoportrait, miniature
Archives : Carnet d’Augustin (Louvre, RF 51882, f° 41 en 1814).
Bibl. : Almanach de 25.000 adresses, 1816, 1818. Bénézit. Thieme et Becker. Lemberger. Foster. Darmon. Schidlof, 1964, p. 701 et p. 355. Busse. Petteys. Blättel.
Availability
In the United States the Dictionary (ISBN 978-2-85017-468-2) is expected to be available at the following locations:
- MOE'S BOOKS ** Tel: FAX : 001 510 8499938 2476 TELEGRAPH AVENUE BERKELEY CA 94704 USA
- FRENCH & EUROPEAN 610 FIFTH AVENUE NEW YORK 10020-2497 USA
- HAYDEN & FANDETTA PO BOX 1549- RADIO CITY STATION 310 WEST 55TH STREET NY 10101 NEW YORK USA
- HENNESSEY & INGALLS *** 001 310 4589074 001 310 3942928 214 WILSHIRE BLVD SANTA MONICA CA 90401 USA
- URSUS BOOKS 00 1 212 2267858 00 1 212 7379306 981 MADISON AVENUE NEW YORK NY 10021 USA
- BOOKSOUP 001 310 6590344 8818 SUNSET BD WEST HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES 90069 CALIFORNIA USA
- WORLDWIDE 00 1 607 272 9200 00 1 607 272 0239 1001 WEST SENECA STREET 3342 ITHACA NY USA
- MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS HOUSTON 001 713 6397850 001 713 6397710 P.O.BOX 6826 ' Retail Department Bernard Bonnet' 77265 HOUSTON TX 6826 USA
- POTTERTON BOOKS NY 00 1 212 6442292 001 212 6442292 D & D BUILDING LOBBY - 979 THIRD AVENUE NEW YORK NY 10022 USA
- BOOKSOUP COSTA MESA 001 714 6892665 001 714 6892442 SOUTH COAST PLAZA 3333 BRISTOL STREET, 2400 COSTA MESA CA 92626 USA
- ADLER' S FOREIGN BOOKS 00 1 847 8640664 00 1 8478640804 915 FOSTER STREET EVANSTON, IL 60201-3199 USA
Sunday
April - Une Collection Francaise and the American market
Une Collection Francaise - A French Collection
A French collector with a specialist 18C and early 19C collection of miniature portraits has kindly offered to display part of his collection for miniature "addicts" to view, and more items from his collection may be added at a later date.
Normally, I add other collector's miniatures into the Guest Gallery.
However, in this instance and given the number of miniatures involved, as well as the likelihood of more to be added to the display, I have opened a new Gallery titled; "Une Collection Francaise - A French Collection" at Une Collection Francaise
The link is recommended to anyone interested in French miniatures. It should be helpful to experienced collectors and also beginning collectors, who can see a range of genuine miniatures and so learn how to pick them out from more modern decorative miniatures.
I hope that other collectors of miniatures will be encouraged to submit special items from their own collections, so that we can continue to build an important reference resource on the Internet.
The American market place
At recent Internet and live auctions in America, there have been a number of interesting sales. Several of these were sold by Freemans Auctions of Philadelphia.
One of the rarest, was a miniature landscape on ivory of City Hall, NY and signed F Fritsch, which sold for a hammer price of $7500.
A miniature of Seth Johnson of Middletown, Connecticut and of New York by Walter Robertson had a hammer price of $3750, well above the estimate of $1000-$2000.
A more uncommon form of the profile miniatures painted by James H Gillespie, which was attributed by the auction house concerned and was apparently signed JG on the shoulder, sold for $400 plus commission. One in Gillespie's more usual style sold at the same sale for $550.
A miniature of a young lady by Anson Dickinson sold at a hammer price of $600. This was a very low price for an Anson Dickinson, but I have a feeling the very same miniature sold on eBay a few months ago for double this price, even though it was cracked. Thus, the latest low price, may now reflect a more informed market and a repaired crack.
An unsigned miniature on paper inscribed as being of Stephen Decatur by William Birch, reached a hammer price of $4750, much less than the estimate of $8000-$12000.
A pair of miniatures of William Bethel and Mary Ash Bethell, who were married in Philadelphia in 1797, sold for a hammer price of $950, having been passed in at a Freemans auction in 2007.
An unattributed miniature of Lieut Stephen Decatur McKnight sold for $1500 plus commission.
An interesting item at the same auction, although not a miniature, was a large oil signed and dated by John Henry Brown 1843.
Brown is more usually known for his meticulously painted miniatures. His oil of Ernestine Brown sold for a hammer price of only $500.
A fine, but unsigned English miniature, inscribed on the reverse as being of James Boswell, the biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson, sold for $4400. If confirmed as being of Boswell, this seems to be cheap for such an important sitter.
A Justus Dalee (American, 1793-1878), pencil and watercolor profile portrait of a young woman, 3" x 2 1/2" was sold by Pook and Pook for a hammer price of $5000, double the pre-sale estimate of $2000-$3000.
Several works by Dalee were sold recently at another live auction, I think it was possibly by Freemans, but achieved much lower prices.
Pook and Pook also auctioned two other portraits by miniaturists. One being by Charles Balthazar Julien Saint Memin (American/French, 1770-1852), mixed media profile portrait of a gentleman, 24" x 18" which sold for $5500 plus commission.
The other being by William M.S. Doyle (American, 1769-1828), an oval miniature portrait on ivory of a gentleman, signed lower right "Doyle 1803", which reached a hammer price of $1400.
However, probably the most surprised vendor recently, was the dealer who offered this miniature portrait of an unknown boy on eBay, without a reserve and a starting price of only $99.
The seller noted that it was signed "I P 1802" but obviously did not realise this was the signature of James Peale. Bidding slowly crept up to $1625, where it stuck for several days, until there were only ten minutes left. Then all the experts started to leap in and it quickly ended at $9700.
Others may have differing opinions, but I think if this miniature had been offered at Skinners or Freemans, with a full James Peale attribution, I would not have been surprised for it to exceed $20,000. Thus the buyer still got a bargain and may make a quick profit on a resale.
In eight years of buying miniatures on the Internet, this is only the second signed James Peale miniature I have seen offered at an Internet only auction. The other one being signed "I P 180?" and a fortunate, and much less costly, acquisition for this collection about four years ago.
It was less attractive, being of Dr Robert Hare the chemist as shown here, and can be seen better at View
A French collector with a specialist 18C and early 19C collection of miniature portraits has kindly offered to display part of his collection for miniature "addicts" to view, and more items from his collection may be added at a later date.
Normally, I add other collector's miniatures into the Guest Gallery.However, in this instance and given the number of miniatures involved, as well as the likelihood of more to be added to the display, I have opened a new Gallery titled; "Une Collection Francaise - A French Collection" at Une Collection Francaise
The link is recommended to anyone interested in French miniatures. It should be helpful to experienced collectors and also beginning collectors, who can see a range of genuine miniatures and so learn how to pick them out from more modern decorative miniatures.
I hope that other collectors of miniatures will be encouraged to submit special items from their own collections, so that we can continue to build an important reference resource on the Internet.
The American market place
At recent Internet and live auctions in America, there have been a number of interesting sales. Several of these were sold by Freemans Auctions of Philadelphia.
One of the rarest, was a miniature landscape on ivory of City Hall, NY and signed F Fritsch, which sold for a hammer price of $7500.A miniature of Seth Johnson of Middletown, Connecticut and of New York by Walter Robertson had a hammer price of $3750, well above the estimate of $1000-$2000.
A more uncommon form of the profile miniatures painted by James H Gillespie, which was attributed by the auction house concerned and was apparently signed JG on the shoulder, sold for $400 plus commission. One in Gillespie's more usual style sold at the same sale for $550.A miniature of a young lady by Anson Dickinson sold at a hammer price of $600. This was a very low price for an Anson Dickinson, but I have a feeling the very same miniature sold on eBay a few months ago for double this price, even though it was cracked. Thus, the latest low price, may now reflect a more informed market and a repaired crack.
An unsigned miniature on paper inscribed as being of Stephen Decatur by William Birch, reached a hammer price of $4750, much less than the estimate of $8000-$12000.A pair of miniatures of William Bethel and Mary Ash Bethell, who were married in Philadelphia in 1797, sold for a hammer price of $950, having been passed in at a Freemans auction in 2007.
An unattributed miniature of Lieut Stephen Decatur McKnight sold for $1500 plus commission.An interesting item at the same auction, although not a miniature, was a large oil signed and dated by John Henry Brown 1843.
Brown is more usually known for his meticulously painted miniatures. His oil of Ernestine Brown sold for a hammer price of only $500.
A fine, but unsigned English miniature, inscribed on the reverse as being of James Boswell, the biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson, sold for $4400. If confirmed as being of Boswell, this seems to be cheap for such an important sitter.A Justus Dalee (American, 1793-1878), pencil and watercolor profile portrait of a young woman, 3" x 2 1/2" was sold by Pook and Pook for a hammer price of $5000, double the pre-sale estimate of $2000-$3000.
Several works by Dalee were sold recently at another live auction, I think it was possibly by Freemans, but achieved much lower prices.
Pook and Pook also auctioned two other portraits by miniaturists. One being by Charles Balthazar Julien Saint Memin (American/French, 1770-1852), mixed media profile portrait of a gentleman, 24" x 18" which sold for $5500 plus commission.The other being by William M.S. Doyle (American, 1769-1828), an oval miniature portrait on ivory of a gentleman, signed lower right "Doyle 1803", which reached a hammer price of $1400.
However, probably the most surprised vendor recently, was the dealer who offered this miniature portrait of an unknown boy on eBay, without a reserve and a starting price of only $99.The seller noted that it was signed "I P 1802" but obviously did not realise this was the signature of James Peale. Bidding slowly crept up to $1625, where it stuck for several days, until there were only ten minutes left. Then all the experts started to leap in and it quickly ended at $9700.
Others may have differing opinions, but I think if this miniature had been offered at Skinners or Freemans, with a full James Peale attribution, I would not have been surprised for it to exceed $20,000. Thus the buyer still got a bargain and may make a quick profit on a resale.
In eight years of buying miniatures on the Internet, this is only the second signed James Peale miniature I have seen offered at an Internet only auction. The other one being signed "I P 180?" and a fortunate, and much less costly, acquisition for this collection about four years ago.It was less attractive, being of Dr Robert Hare the chemist as shown here, and can be seen better at View
Wednesday
April - Additions to the collection
Additions
There are many miniatures in this collection, but most have been acquired singly.
Given that marriage was a common human state (less so these days), one might expect that most miniature portraits would come in pairs of a husband and wife.
However that is not the case and while not rare, pairs of miniatures are comparatively uncommon and would comprise less than 5% of the examples in this collection.
Thus it is most unusual that all the miniatures added this month represent husband and wife, in each instance being painted by a single artist.
The earliest is from around 1775 and shows an unknown husband and wife, perhaps a miller and his wife, which are contained inside a silver rococo snuff box. Although the snuff box is hallmarked, at present the country of origin is uncertain, perhaps Holland.
For more about this item and to view other snuff boxes in the collection, see View
Stepping ahead by forty years to 1815, there is an unusual pair of "modest school" miniature portraits. The term "modest school" is often used when referring to miniatures of modest size, usually about 45mm x 35mm. There were the norm up to about 1790, but are very uncommon after 1800.
The unknown pair appear to have been painted by a Continental trained artist working in America, as the cases appear to be American. For more about the pair see View
The third pair steps forward another five or ten years to 1820 or 1825. The quality of this pair is very good and they are attractive to view.
The sitters are again unknown, but a kind and knowledgeable visitor has advised that they are most likely American miniatures by Thomas Gimbrede, a French born artist who emigrated to America and for 14 years taught French and Drawing at the West Point Military Academy.
For more about Thomas Gimbrede and the portraits, see View
The fourth couple are by far the most interesting of the additions, even though they have less age.
The pair of miniatures were painted in 1938 by Dorothea Kellner, a German artist.
The date of 1938 makes this pair almost the newest miniatures in the collection, even though they are 70 years old.
The sitters are well identified as General August von Cramon and his wife Helene. The research into the miniatures gives a fascinating and enlightening, but in some instances very sad, view of historical events in Europe during in the first half of the 20C.
In particular, that General von Cramon's granddaughter Johanna Rahtgens (nee von Cramon) was married to one of the July 1944 German army plotters against Hitler and he was sadly executed in August 1944 for his part in the plot. Johanna is still alive at age 90, having now been widowed for nearly 64 years.
It is recommended that visitors do read much more about the von Cramon pair at View
At View when talking about the von Cramon miniatures, I mentioned a proposed United Artists documentary starring Tom Cruise and called "Valkyrie" which will be about the July 1944 bomb plot against Adolf Hitler.
In my local newspaper for April 10, there was this report saying the documentary had been delayed.
It is to be hoped that the documentary will be sensitively written and directed by Bryan Singer out of respect for the relatives of the bomb plotters, and not as a typical "over-the-top" Hollywood special effects display.
Research note
A very kind visitor has provided me with new information and suggested revised attributions for a number of miniatures in the collection, including the Thomas Gimbrede pair above.
It will take me a while to work through the various suggested revisions, as in some cases I need to do additional research and scan new images.
After some thought, I have decided, while making any necessary corrections and revisions, to in most cases retain the comments about the earlier incorrect attributions.
Changed attributions are part of the history of an item and earlier incorrect attributions help to demonstrate that making attributions to particular artists, while done with the best of intentions, is not an exact science.
There are many miniatures in this collection, but most have been acquired singly.
Given that marriage was a common human state (less so these days), one might expect that most miniature portraits would come in pairs of a husband and wife.
However that is not the case and while not rare, pairs of miniatures are comparatively uncommon and would comprise less than 5% of the examples in this collection.Thus it is most unusual that all the miniatures added this month represent husband and wife, in each instance being painted by a single artist.
The earliest is from around 1775 and shows an unknown husband and wife, perhaps a miller and his wife, which are contained inside a silver rococo snuff box. Although the snuff box is hallmarked, at present the country of origin is uncertain, perhaps Holland.
For more about this item and to view other snuff boxes in the collection, see ViewStepping ahead by forty years to 1815, there is an unusual pair of "modest school" miniature portraits. The term "modest school" is often used when referring to miniatures of modest size, usually about 45mm x 35mm. There were the norm up to about 1790, but are very uncommon after 1800.
The unknown pair appear to have been painted by a Continental trained artist working in America, as the cases appear to be American. For more about the pair see View
The third pair steps forward another five or ten years to 1820 or 1825. The quality of this pair is very good and they are attractive to view.The sitters are again unknown, but a kind and knowledgeable visitor has advised that they are most likely American miniatures by Thomas Gimbrede, a French born artist who emigrated to America and for 14 years taught French and Drawing at the West Point Military Academy.
For more about Thomas Gimbrede and the portraits, see View
The fourth couple are by far the most interesting of the additions, even though they have less age.The pair of miniatures were painted in 1938 by Dorothea Kellner, a German artist.
The date of 1938 makes this pair almost the newest miniatures in the collection, even though they are 70 years old.
The sitters are well identified as General August von Cramon and his wife Helene. The research into the miniatures gives a fascinating and enlightening, but in some instances very sad, view of historical events in Europe during in the first half of the 20C.
In particular, that General von Cramon's granddaughter Johanna Rahtgens (nee von Cramon) was married to one of the July 1944 German army plotters against Hitler and he was sadly executed in August 1944 for his part in the plot. Johanna is still alive at age 90, having now been widowed for nearly 64 years.
It is recommended that visitors do read much more about the von Cramon pair at ViewAt View when talking about the von Cramon miniatures, I mentioned a proposed United Artists documentary starring Tom Cruise and called "Valkyrie" which will be about the July 1944 bomb plot against Adolf Hitler.
In my local newspaper for April 10, there was this report saying the documentary had been delayed.
It is to be hoped that the documentary will be sensitively written and directed by Bryan Singer out of respect for the relatives of the bomb plotters, and not as a typical "over-the-top" Hollywood special effects display.
Research note
A very kind visitor has provided me with new information and suggested revised attributions for a number of miniatures in the collection, including the Thomas Gimbrede pair above.
It will take me a while to work through the various suggested revisions, as in some cases I need to do additional research and scan new images.
After some thought, I have decided, while making any necessary corrections and revisions, to in most cases retain the comments about the earlier incorrect attributions.
Changed attributions are part of the history of an item and earlier incorrect attributions help to demonstrate that making attributions to particular artists, while done with the best of intentions, is not an exact science.
Sunday
April - Market place and other things
Google rankings
It is almost exactly two years since this --- Artists and Ancestors --- Miniature Portrait Art Collection website commenced. I do not keep a record of how many visitors there have been, but there must have been a quite a number.
It must also be fulfilling a useful function of some nature, as "Artists and Ancestors" has now reached the top of the Google rankings in three of the four relevant searches.
It is currently ranked top for:
miniature portrait
"miniature portrait"
"portrait miniature"
and ranks second, after the Victoria and Albert Museum for:
portrait miniature
I will try to maintain these rankings and keep it interesting for future visitors!
The market place
There have not been many interesting American miniature items sold at auction so far this month, apart from the Benjamin West miniature separately described at View
If other American miniatures are sold during April which seem worth commenting on, I may add them to this post later in the month.
However there has been a fine miniature sold which was painted by Charles Fraser (1782-1860) the famous Charleston artist.
It was offered at auction by Charlton Hall Galleries, with good provenance and was described as being "JUDGE MITCHELL KING (1783-1862) watercolor on ivory, framed, unsigned, engraved: verso of frame, Mitchell King Born 1783 Painted by Charles Fraser Charleston, October 1822 H4" W3 1/4".
As can be seen in the smaller image, the miniature has been reframed in a chased frame from the early 20C which is a minor drawback.
The estimate was $7000/$9000, but it achieved a hammer price of $17,000, which when the buyer's commission is added, equates to a price of around $20,000. This may be a record for the artist.
Jewelry Symposium
I mentioned in an earlier post that I had turned down an opportunity to earn income by have advertisements on the website. However, I do not mind mentioning occasional events that are related to the subject in some way.
As an example, I have been contacted by an organiser for a conference which is a two day lecture series about jewelry. It is being organized by the chief curator of jewelry from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Yvonne Markowitz, and Elyse Karlin, a noted jewelry historian and author.
It is the Third Annual Conference on Jewelry & Related Arts, entitled "Ahead of Its Time: Artistic Jewelry in the Milieu of 1900" and will examine personal ornament as a decorative art against the background of the turn of the 19th into the 20th century.
It will explore a number of emergent jewelry movements, including Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Jugendstil. All stood in stark contrast to mainstream jewelry and represent an exciting phase in jewelry history. Speakers will examine the philosophical and inspirational sources for these changes; the political, and social climate of the time; and the popular motifs and technological innovations that characterize the various movements.
The conference will be held at The Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, Massachusetts in October. Tickets are limited so if you are interested, you should investigate it further at the website. Here is a link to the site at www.jewelryconference.com
Young artist
Although I have not seen examples of her work, I note a reference to a young artist, Catalina Viejo Lopez De Roda who paints miniatures as well as larger portraits, see Portrait of the artist as a young woman
It is almost exactly two years since this --- Artists and Ancestors --- Miniature Portrait Art Collection website commenced. I do not keep a record of how many visitors there have been, but there must have been a quite a number.
It must also be fulfilling a useful function of some nature, as "Artists and Ancestors" has now reached the top of the Google rankings in three of the four relevant searches.
It is currently ranked top for:
miniature portrait
"miniature portrait"
"portrait miniature"
and ranks second, after the Victoria and Albert Museum for:
portrait miniature
I will try to maintain these rankings and keep it interesting for future visitors!
The market placeThere have not been many interesting American miniature items sold at auction so far this month, apart from the Benjamin West miniature separately described at View
If other American miniatures are sold during April which seem worth commenting on, I may add them to this post later in the month.
However there has been a fine miniature sold which was painted by Charles Fraser (1782-1860) the famous Charleston artist.
It was offered at auction by Charlton Hall Galleries, with good provenance and was described as being "JUDGE MITCHELL KING (1783-1862) watercolor on ivory, framed, unsigned, engraved: verso of frame, Mitchell King Born 1783 Painted by Charles Fraser Charleston, October 1822 H4" W3 1/4".
As can be seen in the smaller image, the miniature has been reframed in a chased frame from the early 20C which is a minor drawback.The estimate was $7000/$9000, but it achieved a hammer price of $17,000, which when the buyer's commission is added, equates to a price of around $20,000. This may be a record for the artist.
Jewelry Symposium
I mentioned in an earlier post that I had turned down an opportunity to earn income by have advertisements on the website. However, I do not mind mentioning occasional events that are related to the subject in some way.
As an example, I have been contacted by an organiser for a conference which is a two day lecture series about jewelry. It is being organized by the chief curator of jewelry from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Yvonne Markowitz, and Elyse Karlin, a noted jewelry historian and author.
It is the Third Annual Conference on Jewelry & Related Arts, entitled "Ahead of Its Time: Artistic Jewelry in the Milieu of 1900" and will examine personal ornament as a decorative art against the background of the turn of the 19th into the 20th century.
It will explore a number of emergent jewelry movements, including Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Jugendstil. All stood in stark contrast to mainstream jewelry and represent an exciting phase in jewelry history. Speakers will examine the philosophical and inspirational sources for these changes; the political, and social climate of the time; and the popular motifs and technological innovations that characterize the various movements.
The conference will be held at The Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, Massachusetts in October. Tickets are limited so if you are interested, you should investigate it further at the website. Here is a link to the site at www.jewelryconference.com
Young artist
Although I have not seen examples of her work, I note a reference to a young artist, Catalina Viejo Lopez De Roda who paints miniatures as well as larger portraits, see Portrait of the artist as a young woman
April - Miniature portrait of Benjamin West
Recently I was contacted by an advertising company wanting me to show advertisements for their client on this website. Although any advertising income would be very welcome indeed, I declined so as to try and keep the website uncluttered.
However, if there is any wealthy visitor who is willing to donate money or miniature portraits to assist me with improving this collection and adding to the research, I would love to hear from them via my email contact under "View my complete profile".
I could have used such fairy godmother assistance this week with a miniature where I bid several times more than I could comfortably afford, but was regretfully still the under-bidder.
Although, unsuccessful at the auction, I thought visitors might be interested in my following research into the miniature.
The miniature portrait is an excellent example of how rare items and bargains can be still be found. It is one of the most important American miniature discovered this century and no doubt will be sold to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts for a very high price.
Granted, the sale price of $5250 may not sound like a bargain for a cracked miniature! - but I believe it is worth many times what the winning bidder paid, maybe $30,000 to $50,000. The winner being a well known Philadelphia art dealer.
The miniature was well described as by John Robinson, dated 1816, and of the famous American painter Benjamin West. It is signed with the initials "J R 1816".
John Robinson (1774-1829) was an English artist who moved to America. His work is uncommon. There is a miniature in the Gibbes Art Museum which is claimed to be by him, but to me it looks more continental in style.
Robinson wrote a full description of one of West's major works, "A Description of, And Critical Remarks on the Picture of Christ Healing The Sick in the Temple", see Intersections: Narrative, Allegory and History
Benjamin West (Oct 10 1738–Mar 11 1820) was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence. He is probably the most famous American painter of the era. Although born in the United States he spent much of his life in England and was President of the Royal Academy from 1792 until 1820, apart from a brief period in 1806.
It is interesting to compare this self-portrait, a large oil, by Benjamin West which is in the National Museum of American Art. West painted it in 1819, three years after the miniature by Robinson. The sitter is obviously the same, but West has painted himself as a distinguished gentleman, whereas Robinson has painted West looking tired and somewhat demoralised.
Many American artists studied under West in London, including Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, and Thomas Sully. For more see, Benjamin West - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The provenance of this miniature is impeccable.
In the 19C William Dunlap wrote his major work "History of the Arts of Design in the United States". A second edition of this was published much later in 1918.
On page 173 of volume III, there is the following comment by Dunlap; "Mr Robinson was a miniature painter of some skill, who came from London and resided in Philadelphia for some years. He showed me a miniature of Mr West, for which he said the old gentleman sat, and in the background he represented a part of West's great picture of "Christ Rejected". He came to America after 1817. He was then a man advanced in life, and he died about 1829."
A study for "Christ Rejected" is shown here which belongs to the University of Rochester, see Art Gallery of the University of Rochester and Christ can be seen left of centre.
It is reported that GBP10,000 was offered at one time (I do not know if this was in 1817!) but declined for "Christ Rejected" which West gifted to the Pennsylvania Hospital. The original is now in the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.
There are various labels on the reverse of the miniature, including a framer's label for James E McClees of 1505 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
The existence of the apparently original inscription by John Robinson on the reverse, suggests that the inner portion of the frame is original, with the outer frame replaced at a later date.
James McClees established his gallery in 1845 and later became a dealer and collector of paintings. Thus he may have reframed it for the owner or perhaps sold the miniature to the Yocum family.
The gallery is still in existence, see McClees Galleries - History
There appears to be an original pencil inscription by John Robinson which must refer to the miniature being loaned to the Pennsylvania Hospital for display at some stage, probably at the time "Christ Rejected" was gifted to the hospital in 1817.
The inscription is hard to read, but appears to say; "This portrait of Benjamin West Esq. is lent to the manager of the hospital to be (???) John Robinson, Philadelphia, Nov 3rd, 1817."
Another label appears to read; "Portrait of Benjamin West by John Robinson. Loaned by Miss F Yocum 747 South Broad St." This probably refers to the miniature being loaned on a second occasion.
The name Yocum is a very old name in Philadelphia and there is a street named for the family.
The last label appears to read; "Property of Susan Foulke Yocum II. Left her by her Great Aunt Frances Corson? Yocum."
Susan Foulke Yocum or her mother, is probably the Susan Foulke Yocum recorded as graduating with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1935 and a first female member of the women's section of the Delta Chapter. However, I have not researched the family more closely.
Comment should also be made on the condition of the miniature. The ivory is very large at 145mm x 195mm and somewhat faded. As a consequence of the ivory drying out, it has cracked in several places as can be seen, but fortunately not on the figure itself.
It is possible for a restorer to remedy this damage, probably by filling and retouching the affected areas, and given the rarity of the item, I do not think it detracts from the value to any great degree.
You can imagine from reading the above I was very disappointed to be the under-bidder, but congratulations to the winner!
As an aside, this is the second time time I have missed out on a miniature referred to in Dunlap. The other occasion was about four years ago when I saw a country auction advertising a miniature inscribed as a self-portrait by William Dunlap himself.
I looked in Dunlap and found it was the original for this engraving facing page 288 of volume I. With the source confirmed, I again bid more than I could afford, but it sold for about $10,000 and the dealer who bought it later resold it to an institution, no doubt for much more!
I can only hope "third time lucky" at some stage!
However, if there is any wealthy visitor who is willing to donate money or miniature portraits to assist me with improving this collection and adding to the research, I would love to hear from them via my email contact under "View my complete profile".
I could have used such fairy godmother assistance this week with a miniature where I bid several times more than I could comfortably afford, but was regretfully still the under-bidder.Although, unsuccessful at the auction, I thought visitors might be interested in my following research into the miniature.
The miniature portrait is an excellent example of how rare items and bargains can be still be found. It is one of the most important American miniature discovered this century and no doubt will be sold to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts for a very high price.
Granted, the sale price of $5250 may not sound like a bargain for a cracked miniature! - but I believe it is worth many times what the winning bidder paid, maybe $30,000 to $50,000. The winner being a well known Philadelphia art dealer.
The miniature was well described as by John Robinson, dated 1816, and of the famous American painter Benjamin West. It is signed with the initials "J R 1816".John Robinson (1774-1829) was an English artist who moved to America. His work is uncommon. There is a miniature in the Gibbes Art Museum which is claimed to be by him, but to me it looks more continental in style.
Robinson wrote a full description of one of West's major works, "A Description of, And Critical Remarks on the Picture of Christ Healing The Sick in the Temple", see Intersections: Narrative, Allegory and History
Benjamin West (Oct 10 1738–Mar 11 1820) was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence. He is probably the most famous American painter of the era. Although born in the United States he spent much of his life in England and was President of the Royal Academy from 1792 until 1820, apart from a brief period in 1806.It is interesting to compare this self-portrait, a large oil, by Benjamin West which is in the National Museum of American Art. West painted it in 1819, three years after the miniature by Robinson. The sitter is obviously the same, but West has painted himself as a distinguished gentleman, whereas Robinson has painted West looking tired and somewhat demoralised.
Many American artists studied under West in London, including Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Gilbert Stuart, John Trumbull, and Thomas Sully. For more see, Benjamin West - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The provenance of this miniature is impeccable.In the 19C William Dunlap wrote his major work "History of the Arts of Design in the United States". A second edition of this was published much later in 1918.
On page 173 of volume III, there is the following comment by Dunlap; "Mr Robinson was a miniature painter of some skill, who came from London and resided in Philadelphia for some years. He showed me a miniature of Mr West, for which he said the old gentleman sat, and in the background he represented a part of West's great picture of "Christ Rejected". He came to America after 1817. He was then a man advanced in life, and he died about 1829."
A study for "Christ Rejected" is shown here which belongs to the University of Rochester, see Art Gallery of the University of Rochester and Christ can be seen left of centre.It is reported that GBP10,000 was offered at one time (I do not know if this was in 1817!) but declined for "Christ Rejected" which West gifted to the Pennsylvania Hospital. The original is now in the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.
There are various labels on the reverse of the miniature, including a framer's label for James E McClees of 1505 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
The existence of the apparently original inscription by John Robinson on the reverse, suggests that the inner portion of the frame is original, with the outer frame replaced at a later date.James McClees established his gallery in 1845 and later became a dealer and collector of paintings. Thus he may have reframed it for the owner or perhaps sold the miniature to the Yocum family.
The gallery is still in existence, see McClees Galleries - History
There appears to be an original pencil inscription by John Robinson which must refer to the miniature being loaned to the Pennsylvania Hospital for display at some stage, probably at the time "Christ Rejected" was gifted to the hospital in 1817.
The inscription is hard to read, but appears to say; "This portrait of Benjamin West Esq. is lent to the manager of the hospital to be (???) John Robinson, Philadelphia, Nov 3rd, 1817."
Another label appears to read; "Portrait of Benjamin West by John Robinson. Loaned by Miss F Yocum 747 South Broad St." This probably refers to the miniature being loaned on a second occasion.The name Yocum is a very old name in Philadelphia and there is a street named for the family.
The last label appears to read; "Property of Susan Foulke Yocum II. Left her by her Great Aunt Frances Corson? Yocum."Susan Foulke Yocum or her mother, is probably the Susan Foulke Yocum recorded as graduating with a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in 1935 and a first female member of the women's section of the Delta Chapter. However, I have not researched the family more closely.
Comment should also be made on the condition of the miniature. The ivory is very large at 145mm x 195mm and somewhat faded. As a consequence of the ivory drying out, it has cracked in several places as can be seen, but fortunately not on the figure itself.
It is possible for a restorer to remedy this damage, probably by filling and retouching the affected areas, and given the rarity of the item, I do not think it detracts from the value to any great degree.
You can imagine from reading the above I was very disappointed to be the under-bidder, but congratulations to the winner!
As an aside, this is the second time time I have missed out on a miniature referred to in Dunlap. The other occasion was about four years ago when I saw a country auction advertising a miniature inscribed as a self-portrait by William Dunlap himself.I looked in Dunlap and found it was the original for this engraving facing page 288 of volume I. With the source confirmed, I again bid more than I could afford, but it sold for about $10,000 and the dealer who bought it later resold it to an institution, no doubt for much more!
I can only hope "third time lucky" at some stage!
April - Fakes and decorative miniatures
Every week I receive emails from people enclosing images of miniatures they have purchased or been given, and asking if they are genuine. Sometimes the dealer who sold the miniatures has assured the buyer that they are 18C or by a famous artist.
Unfortunately, I usually have to tell them they are decorative items or fakes. This can mean that the new owner has paid far more than an item is worth.
However, if that unwelcome news is received by the owner, perhaps a small consolation is to know that even large museums make mistakes. For example last year, I commented on fake miniatures in the Royal Ontario Museum, see View
Fakes
In recent months, in this blog I have given several examples of miniatures sold by reputable auction houses which I believe were not accurately described. They included miniatures of George Washington.
Such inaccurate descriptions are usually due to inadequate knowledge of the subject at the auction houses, who merely repeat a previous owner's claims when preparing their auction catalogue.
Thus, I thought it might be helpful to give some more examples of items offered on eBay recently which I think are fakes. You will have to draw your own conclusions as to whether the inaccurate descriptions are deliberate or innocent.
Fake 1
The first is the above miniature of George Washington claimed to be by Charles Willson Peale. PORTRAIT OFGEORGE WASHINGTON ,POSS. CHAS.WILLSON PEALE It was offered on eBay as item 300214059106 in early April with an opening price of one cent and a "Buy It Now" price of $1,450,000. The vendor had bought it three weeks earlier on eBay for GBP360. Currently it is bid to $10,300.00 but it is a fake, so anyone bidding will lose a lot of money.
It has writing on the reverse as shown and this along with a detailed description supposedly supports the seller's claim. However, in my opinion it is a poor copy of a portrait of George Washington by another artist, the signature is fake, and the style is nothing like Peale's work.
On behalf of Charles Willson Peale (who can no longer say it himself), I am embarrassed that such a poorly painted miniature should be attributed to Peale.
For comparison, here are three genuine miniatures by Charles Willson Peale (including one of George Washington) and one by James Peale (Martha Washington).
The bottom two are Martha's children by her first marriage; Martha Parke Curtis and John Parke Curtis. They are all held at Mount Vernon.
Note the different style, the oval shape of the frame, and the size (approx 40mm x 50mm).
In this case I do not believe anyone buying on eBay would be so foolish as pay the Buy It Now asking price, but it is an extreme example of what one needs to watch out for.
I next noticed the seller modified his claim a little to say "This pose of George Washington is strikingly similar to the Gilbert Stuart paintings. This has Washington's head tilted to the right instead of to the left as on a One Dollar Bill." The seller did not realise it, but he gave even more proof of a fake.
Plates for making early 19C engravings were engraved by copying the image exactly from the original portrait. However this means that the printed images were then reversed.
Thus anyone painting a fake by copying an early reversed engraving, will have the head facing the wrong way.
For bank notes, the engraved plate itself has to be done back to front, so the printed image appears the correct way round.
Since writing the above I have been contacted by the dealer who sold this identical miniature, complete with the crack, on Mar 12 for GBP360 as eBay item 220208051678 to the vendor of the above fake listing, who reframed it before listing it on eBay.
The original seller had seen the relisting as eBay item 300214059106 with a Buy It Now for$1,450,000 and was worried that he had made a terrible mistake in selling it for GBP360.
Fortunately for him, he then saw this article and is now able to sleep better, realising it is a fake.
Perhaps the vendor of the fake with the BIN has also become aware of this article, as I see on April 10, it has been withdrawn as from sale as being "no longer available."
In October 2007, I commented on these three portraits of George Washington which were also fakes or decorative copies.
The vendor tried to sell two of them at auction for opening bids of $15,000 and one for an opening bid of $60,000, but being fakes, predictably they did not sell.
For more about researching miniatures and yet another Washington fake, see my post on Walter Robertson at 2008 - Additions and Comment: The Case of Walter Robertson, Copies ...
I think the fakes were painted in the late 1800's and there are many other fake copies of Washington circulating, also of Lincoln and other US Presidents. They are the American equivalents of the numerous French decorative portraits of Napoleon and in my opinion are worth under $500.
The above and the following example are dangerous fakes, mainly because of the prices being asked. I feel they are each only worth about $150/$250 at auction, say up to 50% more than that at retail, as decorative miniatures. However, anyone wanting a portrait of Washington may pay a premium over that.
Fake 2
The second example of a fake is this miniature portrait offered with an opening price of $2800 and claimed to be by Richard Cosway. It is described as;
"RICHARD COSWAY,1742 - 1821. SIGNED MINIATURE ON THE FRONT. PORTRAIT OF WIFE OF EMPEROR OF ALEXANDER OF RUSSIA. IN A LATER FRAME, WRITING ON THE BACK OF THE FRAME ON PENCIL. CAME FROM THE FAMOUS BRADLEY GIES ESTATE IN HAWAII SEVERAL YEARS AGO."
To try and help a visitor who had asked about a miniature where she felt she had been mislead by a seller, I wrote the following. "Many dealers do not know what they are selling, but one way to get protection is to ask for a receipt with a full written description. Then if you find they misled you, you can take it back for a refund.
Several people have contacted me about collecting miniatures. I usually say, if you would like to start serious collecting, I suggest you look for books in your library, especially by Daphne Foskett. Her books are mainly about British miniatures, but hers was the first book I had and I learned a lot from it. Also for a month or two watch miniatures on eBay and try to pick which ones are "proper" ones which will end up at a high price.
You will start to get a good idea of the range of values, but do remember that some buyers may pay well above the market value for an item if they think it is pretty. There are many experts buying on eBay and so it is hard to find a bargain. Some dealers put ridiculous prices on decorative items and so they do not sell.
My first miniature was a decorative one and I still keep it for sentimental reasons! I have also made many mistakes (and still do!) but it is all part of the learning process and even when something I like sells for a high price, even far too much for me, I sort of feel a little rewarded that at least I had a good eye to pick it as a good one!
There is a lot of information about miniatures on my website, so you might learn something from reading that, see Background "
I also indicated to this visitor the "Cosway" miniature shown, as an example of a fake that she should avoid. I hope the visitor does not mind me quoting her reply.
She commented; "It looks genuine to me! How can you tell it isn't real? From the signature, from the fact that the history or artist's style of painting isn't what it should be or because the frame isn't costly or doesn't date with the painting? It's a minefield for someone like me!"
And I replied, inter alia; "For all the reasons you mention!"
Thus it is an example of a fake miniature portrait offered for sale by a vendor who may have innocently accepted the previous owner's description and provenance without question.
Update - This "Cosway" miniature did not sell, but was been relisted at the same price, so buyers still need to take care. New - It still did not sell, so hopefully will not reappear again.
Fake 3
On a similar subject, Nadeau's Auction Gallery is offering this miniature portrait which they also claim is by Richard Cosway.
It is lot 2156 at their sale on 12 April and is described as "Richard Cosway (1742-1821) "Signed miniature portrait of Marchioness of Queenston, wearing a white dress with a" "ruffle collar, blue sash and white and blue bandeau, inscribed on verso, 3 1/2in x 3in. Provenance: The Estate of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Solomon of Norwich, Connecticut".
The required opening bid is $4000, with an estimate of $8000/$12000. Nadeau's appear to be relying on the previous owner's provenance. However, I suggest potential buyers be very wary of it and seek a guarantee from Nadeau's before bidding, as it looks like a Continental copy to me.
Update - Someone must have subsequently made the same criticism of this miniature to Nadeau's as I see the opening bid was reduced from $4000 to $500 and it then sold for $1500. Still a solid price for a decorative miniature, but it is well painted.
Fake 4
Goantiques has offered this fake pair of miniatures on eBay on several occasions on behalf of a seller in Canada.
They are described; "We are pleased to offer a pair of exquisite works of art. These are a pair of what believe to be 18th century portrait miniatures. They portray the King and Queen after the "Glorious Revolution"of 1688 when the Catholic James II was defeated and went into exile. William, Prince of Orange, was invited to become King and his wife, Mary Stuart, daughter of James II became Queen. These portraits have not been taken apart and I would hesitate to do so. The quality of the painting is marvellous. We have another portrait very similar to these signed Wyck, so we would suggest that the artist is most likely Wyck who lived in the late 17th and early 18th century. Year:c. 1690-1700"
There is an unknown reserve, but it is presumably close to the Goantiques estimate of $4000-$5250. However, the seller is dishonest, as they are fakes from around 1900-1920, probably painted on an ivory substitute, and of very poor quality. They may even have been printed and have hand-painted highlights.
As mentioned elsewhere, the ornate frame is intended to distract a buyer away from the poor quality of the miniature. In my opinion, they are only worth $100 each on a good day and I would rather choose something from the following selection of decorative miniatures.
Decorative Miniatures
I know many people enjoy and collect decorative miniatures which may, or may not have, fake signatures because they just like the images depicted.
I do not have any argument with this, provided they are not being mislead over the artist or the value. The main thing is to like an image, and if you like to have decorative miniatures to look at, that is great.
In this Artists and Ancestors collection a very limited number of the miniatures shown are in fact decorative items, which appealed at the time due to the sitters being interesting.
As long as collectors do not pay too much due to unscrupulous sellers making false claims, decorative miniatures are fine.
Shown below is a random selection of decorative miniatures being offered on eBay. I have not checked the descriptions to see if any of them are misleading, but they give an indication of what many decorative miniatures look like.
In 99% of cases, decorative miniatures are copied from engravings of 18C and earlier portraits. They are often attractive and have fancy frames designed to distract one away from the poor quality of the painting on the miniature. After a short time, you will find you recognise many of the images from previous items offered for sale. In this selection there are two of Lady Hamilton.
A good place to see a range of original 18C portraits, some of which have have been copied over the years, as the basis for decorative miniature portraits, is the website of Claudia Solacini who has a section dedicated to the 18C works of The art of Adelaide Labille-Guiard
Decorative miniatures are a good and affordable way of forming a collection as a basis for learning about the people and the times of the 18C, apart from furnishing your home. Thus, I do hope that you can buy them at a good price and enjoy looking at them.
Unfortunately, I usually have to tell them they are decorative items or fakes. This can mean that the new owner has paid far more than an item is worth.
However, if that unwelcome news is received by the owner, perhaps a small consolation is to know that even large museums make mistakes. For example last year, I commented on fake miniatures in the Royal Ontario Museum, see View
Fakes
In recent months, in this blog I have given several examples of miniatures sold by reputable auction houses which I believe were not accurately described. They included miniatures of George Washington.Such inaccurate descriptions are usually due to inadequate knowledge of the subject at the auction houses, who merely repeat a previous owner's claims when preparing their auction catalogue.
Thus, I thought it might be helpful to give some more examples of items offered on eBay recently which I think are fakes. You will have to draw your own conclusions as to whether the inaccurate descriptions are deliberate or innocent.
Fake 1
The first is the above miniature of George Washington claimed to be by Charles Willson Peale. PORTRAIT OFGEORGE WASHINGTON ,POSS. CHAS.WILLSON PEALE It was offered on eBay as item 300214059106 in early April with an opening price of one cent and a "Buy It Now" price of $1,450,000. The vendor had bought it three weeks earlier on eBay for GBP360. Currently it is bid to $10,300.00 but it is a fake, so anyone bidding will lose a lot of money.It has writing on the reverse as shown and this along with a detailed description supposedly supports the seller's claim. However, in my opinion it is a poor copy of a portrait of George Washington by another artist, the signature is fake, and the style is nothing like Peale's work.
On behalf of Charles Willson Peale (who can no longer say it himself), I am embarrassed that such a poorly painted miniature should be attributed to Peale.
For comparison, here are three genuine miniatures by Charles Willson Peale (including one of George Washington) and one by James Peale (Martha Washington).The bottom two are Martha's children by her first marriage; Martha Parke Curtis and John Parke Curtis. They are all held at Mount Vernon.
Note the different style, the oval shape of the frame, and the size (approx 40mm x 50mm).
In this case I do not believe anyone buying on eBay would be so foolish as pay the Buy It Now asking price, but it is an extreme example of what one needs to watch out for.I next noticed the seller modified his claim a little to say "This pose of George Washington is strikingly similar to the Gilbert Stuart paintings. This has Washington's head tilted to the right instead of to the left as on a One Dollar Bill." The seller did not realise it, but he gave even more proof of a fake.
Plates for making early 19C engravings were engraved by copying the image exactly from the original portrait. However this means that the printed images were then reversed.
Thus anyone painting a fake by copying an early reversed engraving, will have the head facing the wrong way.
For bank notes, the engraved plate itself has to be done back to front, so the printed image appears the correct way round.
Since writing the above I have been contacted by the dealer who sold this identical miniature, complete with the crack, on Mar 12 for GBP360 as eBay item 220208051678 to the vendor of the above fake listing, who reframed it before listing it on eBay.The original seller had seen the relisting as eBay item 300214059106 with a Buy It Now for$1,450,000 and was worried that he had made a terrible mistake in selling it for GBP360.
Fortunately for him, he then saw this article and is now able to sleep better, realising it is a fake.
Perhaps the vendor of the fake with the BIN has also become aware of this article, as I see on April 10, it has been withdrawn as from sale as being "no longer available."
In October 2007, I commented on these three portraits of George Washington which were also fakes or decorative copies.The vendor tried to sell two of them at auction for opening bids of $15,000 and one for an opening bid of $60,000, but being fakes, predictably they did not sell.
For more about researching miniatures and yet another Washington fake, see my post on Walter Robertson at 2008 - Additions and Comment: The Case of Walter Robertson, Copies ...
I think the fakes were painted in the late 1800's and there are many other fake copies of Washington circulating, also of Lincoln and other US Presidents. They are the American equivalents of the numerous French decorative portraits of Napoleon and in my opinion are worth under $500.
The above and the following example are dangerous fakes, mainly because of the prices being asked. I feel they are each only worth about $150/$250 at auction, say up to 50% more than that at retail, as decorative miniatures. However, anyone wanting a portrait of Washington may pay a premium over that.
Fake 2The second example of a fake is this miniature portrait offered with an opening price of $2800 and claimed to be by Richard Cosway. It is described as;
"RICHARD COSWAY,1742 - 1821. SIGNED MINIATURE ON THE FRONT. PORTRAIT OF WIFE OF EMPEROR OF ALEXANDER OF RUSSIA. IN A LATER FRAME, WRITING ON THE BACK OF THE FRAME ON PENCIL. CAME FROM THE FAMOUS BRADLEY GIES ESTATE IN HAWAII SEVERAL YEARS AGO."
To try and help a visitor who had asked about a miniature where she felt she had been mislead by a seller, I wrote the following. "Many dealers do not know what they are selling, but one way to get protection is to ask for a receipt with a full written description. Then if you find they misled you, you can take it back for a refund.
Several people have contacted me about collecting miniatures. I usually say, if you would like to start serious collecting, I suggest you look for books in your library, especially by Daphne Foskett. Her books are mainly about British miniatures, but hers was the first book I had and I learned a lot from it. Also for a month or two watch miniatures on eBay and try to pick which ones are "proper" ones which will end up at a high price.
You will start to get a good idea of the range of values, but do remember that some buyers may pay well above the market value for an item if they think it is pretty. There are many experts buying on eBay and so it is hard to find a bargain. Some dealers put ridiculous prices on decorative items and so they do not sell.
My first miniature was a decorative one and I still keep it for sentimental reasons! I have also made many mistakes (and still do!) but it is all part of the learning process and even when something I like sells for a high price, even far too much for me, I sort of feel a little rewarded that at least I had a good eye to pick it as a good one!
There is a lot of information about miniatures on my website, so you might learn something from reading that, see Background "
I also indicated to this visitor the "Cosway" miniature shown, as an example of a fake that she should avoid. I hope the visitor does not mind me quoting her reply.
She commented; "It looks genuine to me! How can you tell it isn't real? From the signature, from the fact that the history or artist's style of painting isn't what it should be or because the frame isn't costly or doesn't date with the painting? It's a minefield for someone like me!"
And I replied, inter alia; "For all the reasons you mention!"
Thus it is an example of a fake miniature portrait offered for sale by a vendor who may have innocently accepted the previous owner's description and provenance without question.
Update - This "Cosway" miniature did not sell, but was been relisted at the same price, so buyers still need to take care. New - It still did not sell, so hopefully will not reappear again.
Fake 3
On a similar subject, Nadeau's Auction Gallery is offering this miniature portrait which they also claim is by Richard Cosway.It is lot 2156 at their sale on 12 April and is described as "Richard Cosway (1742-1821) "Signed miniature portrait of Marchioness of Queenston, wearing a white dress with a" "ruffle collar, blue sash and white and blue bandeau, inscribed on verso, 3 1/2in x 3in. Provenance: The Estate of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Solomon of Norwich, Connecticut".
The required opening bid is $4000, with an estimate of $8000/$12000. Nadeau's appear to be relying on the previous owner's provenance. However, I suggest potential buyers be very wary of it and seek a guarantee from Nadeau's before bidding, as it looks like a Continental copy to me.
Update - Someone must have subsequently made the same criticism of this miniature to Nadeau's as I see the opening bid was reduced from $4000 to $500 and it then sold for $1500. Still a solid price for a decorative miniature, but it is well painted.
Fake 4Goantiques has offered this fake pair of miniatures on eBay on several occasions on behalf of a seller in Canada.
They are described; "We are pleased to offer a pair of exquisite works of art. These are a pair of what believe to be 18th century portrait miniatures. They portray the King and Queen after the "Glorious Revolution"of 1688 when the Catholic James II was defeated and went into exile. William, Prince of Orange, was invited to become King and his wife, Mary Stuart, daughter of James II became Queen. These portraits have not been taken apart and I would hesitate to do so. The quality of the painting is marvellous. We have another portrait very similar to these signed Wyck, so we would suggest that the artist is most likely Wyck who lived in the late 17th and early 18th century. Year:c. 1690-1700"
There is an unknown reserve, but it is presumably close to the Goantiques estimate of $4000-$5250. However, the seller is dishonest, as they are fakes from around 1900-1920, probably painted on an ivory substitute, and of very poor quality. They may even have been printed and have hand-painted highlights.
As mentioned elsewhere, the ornate frame is intended to distract a buyer away from the poor quality of the miniature. In my opinion, they are only worth $100 each on a good day and I would rather choose something from the following selection of decorative miniatures.
Decorative Miniatures
I know many people enjoy and collect decorative miniatures which may, or may not have, fake signatures because they just like the images depicted.
I do not have any argument with this, provided they are not being mislead over the artist or the value. The main thing is to like an image, and if you like to have decorative miniatures to look at, that is great.
In this Artists and Ancestors collection a very limited number of the miniatures shown are in fact decorative items, which appealed at the time due to the sitters being interesting.
As long as collectors do not pay too much due to unscrupulous sellers making false claims, decorative miniatures are fine.
Shown below is a random selection of decorative miniatures being offered on eBay. I have not checked the descriptions to see if any of them are misleading, but they give an indication of what many decorative miniatures look like.
In 99% of cases, decorative miniatures are copied from engravings of 18C and earlier portraits. They are often attractive and have fancy frames designed to distract one away from the poor quality of the painting on the miniature. After a short time, you will find you recognise many of the images from previous items offered for sale. In this selection there are two of Lady Hamilton.
A good place to see a range of original 18C portraits, some of which have have been copied over the years, as the basis for decorative miniature portraits, is the website of Claudia Solacini who has a section dedicated to the 18C works of The art of Adelaide Labille-Guiard
Decorative miniatures are a good and affordable way of forming a collection as a basis for learning about the people and the times of the 18C, apart from furnishing your home. Thus, I do hope that you can buy them at a good price and enjoy looking at them.
Friday
March - JH Brown, Books, and More on Museums
John Henry Brown
Recently a visitor sent me a photocopy of a 1860 miniature portrait by John Henry Brown.
It is the top one on the right of Mary Destouet and is inscribed as painted from a daguerreotype.
I have added the portrait into the Guest Gallery with some information I have been able to find out about the Destouet family.
There is also a portrait in the Guest Gallery of Sartain Destouet, her husband who had emigrated from France.
For more about the portraits see View but it is very interesting to compare the portrait and the sitter's dress with the portrait of Maria Charlotte Gouverneur Cadwalader shown here, but which is in this collection with more details at View
This Cadwalader miniature was also painted in 1860, but the two ladies are not related.
The two dresses only differ in the detail of the lace, and even the way their lace bonnets hang on their shoulders is the same.
One of the records I managed to source from an American museum was a list of the portraits which John Henry Brown painted in 1860. There were 20 in total, number 9 was the Maria Cadwalader portrait, number 16 was Abraham Lincoln, and number 17 was Mary Destouet.
As mentioned above, JHB records this latter miniature was copied from a daguerreotype, which was quite common for him, with half of the miniatures he apinted in 1860 being such copies.
As the dresses are so similar, I am inclined to think the Destouet dageuerreotype showed Mary Destouet wearing clothes several years old and thus unfashionable in 1860. Therefore to update the miniature for his client, John Henry Brown copied the dress from the Cadwalader miniature.
It would be interesting to see other portraits from his 1860 list and see how the sitters were dressed.
While on the subject of John Henry Brown, this unattributed miniature of a lady was auctioned by Cottone Auctions this month.
It went well above my bid and sold for a hammer price of $2600 compared to an estimate of $400/$600.
Although it may look a bit like a John Wood Dodge, to me it looks more like a John Henry Brown.
Note the similar frame, when compared with the two above examples.
Bibliography
Two books have been acquired for the reference library this month.
The oldest is the 1865 catalogue of a "Special Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures on Loan at the South Kensington Museum - June 1865".
Unfortunately, there are no pictures in the Catalogue, but this must be the greatest exhibition of miniatures ever. There were 3081 loaned miniatures on display and by definition, all were painted prior to 1865.
The exhibition included miniatures by or attributed to the following artists; H Bone 22 miniatures, S Cooper 63, R Cosway 61, N Hilliard 27, J Hoskins 20, I Oliver 29, P Oliver 21, J Petitot 51, J Smart 25, and C Zincke 57 amongst many others.
The second book is written in French and was published last year.
It is by Nicole Garnier-Pelle, Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard and Bernd Pappe and illustrates in colour 345 miniatures from the Royal Houses of France and other countries in Europe which are held at the Conde Museum at Chantilly in France.
Reference books like this are very useful, even for collectors like me, who cannot speak French, as the illustrations are excellent for training one's eye, making comparisons of sitters, and assessing possible attributions to artists.
Bernd Pappe has authored several excellent books in the Bibliography which is included in the Background of this collection. He is currently working on another volume about the Tansey Collection.
Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard has also written another book in the Bibliography and very soon in 2008 Nathalie is publishing a Dictionary of French Miniature Painters on Ivory up to 1850. This will be another "must have reference" book.
More on Museums
The 1865 exhibition referred to above, illustrates a point I was trying to make in my recent February 2008 comments about 21C museums which can be seen at View
That was that in earlier times museums were prepared to assemble and exhibit items owned by private collectors which would otherwise never be seen by the the general public.
As I said, I believe museums in the 21C should revive this practice as a means of better informing the public. This can be done by arranging comprehensive exhibitions of privately owned items from within the museum's own catchment area and so adding to the community knowledge base.
My belief is that museums which concentrate on 21C displays of what may loosely be called contemporary art with a view to competing with theme park entertainment, are sacrificing their heritage and they risk disappearing down a long Alice in Wonderland corridor ending only in smoke and mirrors.
There are some signs of museums paying more attention to visitors, see the March 2008 NY Times report Museums Refine the Art of Listening - New York Times which echoes my February point about museums facing competition; "they’re competing for those customers with local shopping malls, movie theaters, even grocery stores."
The NY Times report also makes the following comment; "When the Museum of Modern Art opened its expanded $450 million home on West 53rd Street three years ago, the ticket desk began compiling the ZIP code or country of origin of every visitor, putting the information in a database. And at the Detroit Institute of Arts, officials recently discovered that the average visitor spends only four or five minutes in any gallery, rather than the 20 minutes the officials had expected. Only 7 percent bothered to read the wall plaques."
I would have to say, to record ZIP codes sounds a pretty half-hearted means of gathering useful data, and the 20 minutes sounds like a wild guess of how long a visitor would spend in a gallery.
As somewhat of a cynic I have the feeling that many museum staff will pay only lip service to data collection and will be more concerned to invent statistics (as we know; there are lies, damned lies, and statistics) to justify a focus on their contemporary art "pet projects", which do not add to a community's knowledge base, but are chosen for display in an effort to outdo competing museums which are holding other "funky" exhibitions.
Also from the same NY Times article; "A year and a half ago, the (MFA Boston) museum hired the marketing firm J.D. Power & Associates to try to understand what visitors want. “We found out that the No. 1 thing that gets people to the museum is our collection.” "
The MFA sounds surprised at this conclusion!!
They should not be surprised. The general public knows there are many commercial art galleries exhibiting contemporary art, as well as many interactive theme parks for children, but few places where one can see a museum collection.
Therefore, from my personal soap box, I stress the opinion: Museums should not sacrifice their cultural heritage on the altar of funky contemporary art and interactive entertainment for children.
Instead, they should stick to their established skills, while working with private collectors and attracting Internet visitors. Potential Internet visitors are an enormous and untapped customer base.
Recently a visitor sent me a photocopy of a 1860 miniature portrait by John Henry Brown.It is the top one on the right of Mary Destouet and is inscribed as painted from a daguerreotype.
I have added the portrait into the Guest Gallery with some information I have been able to find out about the Destouet family.
There is also a portrait in the Guest Gallery of Sartain Destouet, her husband who had emigrated from France.
For more about the portraits see View but it is very interesting to compare the portrait and the sitter's dress with the portrait of Maria Charlotte Gouverneur Cadwalader shown here, but which is in this collection with more details at View
This Cadwalader miniature was also painted in 1860, but the two ladies are not related.
The two dresses only differ in the detail of the lace, and even the way their lace bonnets hang on their shoulders is the same.One of the records I managed to source from an American museum was a list of the portraits which John Henry Brown painted in 1860. There were 20 in total, number 9 was the Maria Cadwalader portrait, number 16 was Abraham Lincoln, and number 17 was Mary Destouet.
As mentioned above, JHB records this latter miniature was copied from a daguerreotype, which was quite common for him, with half of the miniatures he apinted in 1860 being such copies.
As the dresses are so similar, I am inclined to think the Destouet dageuerreotype showed Mary Destouet wearing clothes several years old and thus unfashionable in 1860. Therefore to update the miniature for his client, John Henry Brown copied the dress from the Cadwalader miniature.
It would be interesting to see other portraits from his 1860 list and see how the sitters were dressed.While on the subject of John Henry Brown, this unattributed miniature of a lady was auctioned by Cottone Auctions this month.
It went well above my bid and sold for a hammer price of $2600 compared to an estimate of $400/$600.
Although it may look a bit like a John Wood Dodge, to me it looks more like a John Henry Brown.
Note the similar frame, when compared with the two above examples.
Bibliography
Two books have been acquired for the reference library this month.
The oldest is the 1865 catalogue of a "Special Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures on Loan at the South Kensington Museum - June 1865".Unfortunately, there are no pictures in the Catalogue, but this must be the greatest exhibition of miniatures ever. There were 3081 loaned miniatures on display and by definition, all were painted prior to 1865.
The exhibition included miniatures by or attributed to the following artists; H Bone 22 miniatures, S Cooper 63, R Cosway 61, N Hilliard 27, J Hoskins 20, I Oliver 29, P Oliver 21, J Petitot 51, J Smart 25, and C Zincke 57 amongst many others.
The second book is written in French and was published last year.
It is by Nicole Garnier-Pelle, Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard and Bernd Pappe and illustrates in colour 345 miniatures from the Royal Houses of France and other countries in Europe which are held at the Conde Museum at Chantilly in France.
Reference books like this are very useful, even for collectors like me, who cannot speak French, as the illustrations are excellent for training one's eye, making comparisons of sitters, and assessing possible attributions to artists.
Bernd Pappe has authored several excellent books in the Bibliography which is included in the Background of this collection. He is currently working on another volume about the Tansey Collection.Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard has also written another book in the Bibliography and very soon in 2008 Nathalie is publishing a Dictionary of French Miniature Painters on Ivory up to 1850. This will be another "must have reference" book.
More on Museums
The 1865 exhibition referred to above, illustrates a point I was trying to make in my recent February 2008 comments about 21C museums which can be seen at View
That was that in earlier times museums were prepared to assemble and exhibit items owned by private collectors which would otherwise never be seen by the the general public.
As I said, I believe museums in the 21C should revive this practice as a means of better informing the public. This can be done by arranging comprehensive exhibitions of privately owned items from within the museum's own catchment area and so adding to the community knowledge base.
My belief is that museums which concentrate on 21C displays of what may loosely be called contemporary art with a view to competing with theme park entertainment, are sacrificing their heritage and they risk disappearing down a long Alice in Wonderland corridor ending only in smoke and mirrors.
There are some signs of museums paying more attention to visitors, see the March 2008 NY Times report Museums Refine the Art of Listening - New York Times which echoes my February point about museums facing competition; "they’re competing for those customers with local shopping malls, movie theaters, even grocery stores."
The NY Times report also makes the following comment; "When the Museum of Modern Art opened its expanded $450 million home on West 53rd Street three years ago, the ticket desk began compiling the ZIP code or country of origin of every visitor, putting the information in a database. And at the Detroit Institute of Arts, officials recently discovered that the average visitor spends only four or five minutes in any gallery, rather than the 20 minutes the officials had expected. Only 7 percent bothered to read the wall plaques."
I would have to say, to record ZIP codes sounds a pretty half-hearted means of gathering useful data, and the 20 minutes sounds like a wild guess of how long a visitor would spend in a gallery.
As somewhat of a cynic I have the feeling that many museum staff will pay only lip service to data collection and will be more concerned to invent statistics (as we know; there are lies, damned lies, and statistics) to justify a focus on their contemporary art "pet projects", which do not add to a community's knowledge base, but are chosen for display in an effort to outdo competing museums which are holding other "funky" exhibitions.
Also from the same NY Times article; "A year and a half ago, the (MFA Boston) museum hired the marketing firm J.D. Power & Associates to try to understand what visitors want. “We found out that the No. 1 thing that gets people to the museum is our collection.” "
The MFA sounds surprised at this conclusion!!
They should not be surprised. The general public knows there are many commercial art galleries exhibiting contemporary art, as well as many interactive theme parks for children, but few places where one can see a museum collection.
Therefore, from my personal soap box, I stress the opinion: Museums should not sacrifice their cultural heritage on the altar of funky contemporary art and interactive entertainment for children.
Instead, they should stick to their established skills, while working with private collectors and attracting Internet visitors. Potential Internet visitors are an enormous and untapped customer base.
Monday
March - Additions
During March the most interesting additions of miniature portraits to this collection are British items which collectively touch on many historical events of the 18C and 19C.Although, the acquisition of these miniatures in the one month is coincidental, it was very interesting to see how they were linked through the research process to the events.
The first unsigned miniature is of Charles James Fox (1749-Sep 1806) who was a fierce political opponent of William Pitt the Younger (1759-Feb 1806) for many years in the late 18C and early 19C.
Fox was a strong advocate for the abolition of slavery. He was also well disposed to America and became a prominent and staunch opponent of George III, whom he regarded as an aspiring tyrant.
Fox demonstrated his support of the revolutionaries across the Atlantic by taking up the habit of dressing in the colours of George Washington's army. The coat here is badly faded, but was originally dark blue, as can be seen at the extreme edges. Taken with the buff waistcoat, it does represent the colours of Washington's army.
See also Charles James Fox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Although, I have not seen a direct reference that suggests it, it seems the relationship between Pitt and Fox was a little like that between Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain.
Fox was a Liberal and the founder of the modern Whig party. Unlike Pitt, Fox was a passionate advocate for peace with France. After the "Peace of Amiens" in 1802, Fox went to France and met Bonaparte with a view to paving the way for a future Anglo-French alliance.
Supposedly the two men thought highly of each other, but that is similar to Chamberlain's comments about Hitler. Perhaps as Hitler did with Chamberlain, Napoleon put up a front to convince Fox of his "peaceable intentions".
When William Pitt died in 1806, Fox immediately started negotiations with Napoleon and believed he was about to secure a durable peace, but he died a few months later. With his death, hopes for peace were irrevocably dashed and Napoleon always considered Fox's death as one of the misfortunes of his career.
Two hundred years later, some features of late 18C/early 19C politics, as well as those prior to World War II, seem to have an uncanny resemblance to aspects of the 2008 political debates between the Democrats and the Republicans! For much more about Fox see View
In the event Fox did not achieve peace with France. Thus Britain continued a long and costly war against Napoleon which lasted for a further nine years.The most important army commander in the second half of the Napoleonic Wars was the Duke of Wellington who commenced his land campaign from Portugal in the Iberian peninsula. Thus leading to the description of the campaign as the Peninsular War.
In this campaign the bloodiest battle was regarded as the Battle of Badajos, where the British suffered very heavy casualties.
The second sitter is Major Thomas Cansh (1781-?) of the 5th Northumberland Regiment of Foot. He was the first man to scale the battlements of Badajos and live, with his commander Colonel Ridge dying in his arms. For much more about Major Cansh see View
In the 19C members of the British Royal Family were still appointed to senior positions in the Army.The third sitter was one such person, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (26 Mar 1819 – 17 Mar 1904) who was Commander-in-Chief of the British Army for 39 years from 1856 to 1895.
Prince George was born at Cambridge House in Hanover, Germany. His father was Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, the 10th child and 7th son of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
The Duke of Cambridge made no secret of his view that "arranged marriages were doomed to failure." He was married privately and in contravention of the 1772 Royal Marriages Act at St. John's Church, Clerkenwell, London on 8 January 1847 to Sarah Fairbrother who was an actress. For much more about him, see View
The profile miniature is of Insull Burman (1810-1884) by Barrett.Being in civilian clothes Burman epitomises the peace of the middle years of the 19C.
Researching him has enabled some interesting "ancestor archaeology" to be conducted, albeit with several research diversions, such as the Irish Potato Famine, Bear Farming, a School for Young Ladies, the reason for the slow acceptance of Daguerreotypes in England, and the transportation to Australia of convicted pickpockets!!
For example Daguerreotypes were much more slowly accepted in England than in France or the United States as the process had been patented in England. For more about these various diversions, see View
Although there were various colonial wars, mainly in Africa, and the Franco-Prussian War, most of the second half of the 19C was peaceful and prosperity spread through most of Britain.The Edwardian period prior to World War I is often thought of as a high point in British civilization.
The fourth unknown sitter represents this time, when elegance was an art form. She looks confident and assured, with no cares to worry her. For more about the portrait, see View
However this was all to change in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I, which caused 20,000,000 deaths by its end in 1918.
This was followed immediately in 1918 by the Great Influenza Epidemic which itself killed between another 50 million to 100 million people on a world wide basis.
At this distance, the best known image of World War I is the recruiting poster stating "Your Country Needs You".This was based upon a portrait of Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC (24 Jun 1850-5 Jun 1916) in a pose somewhat similar to the miniature on ivory shown here.
At Scapa Flow in Scotland, Lord Kitchener embarked aboard the armoured cruiser HMS Hampshire for a diplomatic mission to Russia. On 5 June 1916, while en route to the Russian port of Arkhangelsk, Hampshire struck a mine laid by the newly-launched German U-boat U-75 (commanded by Curt Beitzen) during a Force 9 gale and sank west of the Orkney Islands.
Kitchener, his staff, and 643 of the crew of 655 were drowned or died of exposure. His body was never found. For more about him see View
The United States had its own troubles in the 19C with the Civil War being devastating to the country.Both of these two American miniature portraits pre-date the Civil War as they date to around 1840.
That of a man is by Anson Dickinson (1779-1952) and is unfortunately affected by fading of the fugitive blue color.
This damage can be remedied by a professional restorer, but the portrait is being kept in its current condition in the meantime, as an example of the effect of the bleaching which can occur from strong daylight or sunlight.
Thus owners of miniatures should ensure they are not exposed to strong daylight. For more about the miniature see ViewThe miniature of the lady with a baby is by an as yet unidentified artist.
Miniatures with more than one sitter are much less common than those with one sitter and the artist often charged twice the price for two sitters.
Although the identity of the lady is not known, nevertheless her pose is timeless and can be compared with other historical portraits with a similar subject at View
March - The market place
In the past month there have been several interesting American miniature portraits sold at auction, including one of a man holding a letter which was sold by Skinners for a hammer price of $2000, compared to an estimate of $2000/$4000.It was described as "Possibly the work of James Peale (American, 1749-1831) - Portrait Miniature of William Cobbett. Unsigned. Sitter, artist's name, and date inscribed on paper backing "William Cobbett by James Peale 1788"; indistinct name "Cobbe--" inscribed on top of booklet sitter is holding in his right hand."
However, I have some doubt that it is the work of James Peale. The clothing of the sitter is much later than 1788, I would think no earlier than 1810, and rectangular miniatures were very rare before 1810.
At the same Skinners sale several other lots went for well above their estimates.A pair of a man and a lady, although in slightly different frames, sold for $1600 compared to an estimate of $300/$500. I think these may be by Nathaniel Rogers (1787-1844) as they seem to have the fineness of detail for which he is noted.
However, a kind visitor has suggested they may be by Chester Harding.
A revival miniature, unusually painted on tin, of Wendell Phillips by Peter Baumgras (American, 1827-1903) sold for $1400 compared to $500/$700.One of J W Quincy Esq with a blue and pink, at the bottom, sky went for $1400 compared to $800/$1200. I had thought this may be by Raphaelle Peale, as several of his miniatures have the sky graduating from blue to pink.
However, a kind visitor feels it is probably too late for him and on reflection, I am inclined to agree.
Heritage Auction Gallery sold a miniature said to be Andrew Jackson, only 0.75" x 0.875" in size, but in very poor condition for $3750 compared to $4500/$6500. The spectacles look to have been retouched.Heritage also sold a miniature of John Quincy Adams described as "The present painting is presented nicely under glass in a vintage, but probably not original, frame, with old label on reverse in what appears to be a 19th century ink handwriting. "John Quincy Adams, President U.S.A., painted on ivory by Marchant, 1835. It is signed "Marchant" above the right shoulder in the field." It sold for $7000 compared to an estimate of $4000/$6000.
Alderfer Auctions sold three lots containing very nice mourning miniatures for hammer prices between $2000 and $2500, compared to very low estimates, each in the region of $200/$500.These do not often come on the market and it was not surprising that these all sold far above their estimates, as they have a great deal of sentimental appeal and usually sell for quite high sums.
With these it is often hard to tell whether they are American or British in origin.
I would lean towards these being American, although that is not certain.
Insofar as American miniatures are concerned the highlight of the month was an unidentified portrait by Daniel Dickinson (1795-1866) and signed D.D.1832 at the lower right. This was sold by Cowans auctions for a hammer price of $8500 compared to an estimate of $4000/$6000.
This miniature was in a fine case containing Dickinson's trade label printed on the interior silk. The trade label has some similarity with one which was acquired and featured in the December 2007 additions.
The differences being that was printed vertically and not horizontally, and also the wording and its placement is different. This one reading D. Dickinson/Miniature Painter/at Earles/No.169 Chestnut St/PHILAD, whereas the December one read D Dickinson - Miniature Painter - at Earles - Chestnut above 5 - PHIL see ViewInclusive of buyer's commission the price achieved was $10,200 and probably a record for this artist, especially for an unidentified sitter.
Perhaps this is a sign of investors looking for an investment haven outside the financial markets, as possibly was the following pair.
During March this nice pair by John Wood Dodge was offered at an Internet auction. The sale price was $8350 which seems quite a reasonable price for a named pair by Dodge as pairs do not often come on the market.
The sitters were Mrs. Sarah F. Maguire and Mr. Edward Maguire. Dodge painted Sarah's portrait from life, and completed it March 14th, 1845 in Nashville, Tennessee. However, Edward's portrait was painted from a daguerreotype much later in Dodge's career, as it was completed May, 1878 in Chicago, Illinois. Perhaps there had even been an earlier miniature of Edward Maguire by Dodge, but it had possibly been lost or destroyed.
One British revival miniature that sold for a high price at an Internet auction was Edith, wife of Alfred Fletcher, daughter of Thomas Littledale and painted by Charles James Turrell (1845-1932) which sold for $1700.This was quite a high price for an English revival period miniature.
Friday
March 08 - Exhibition of eBay Boycott Art
Visitors may be aware that eBay has been subjected to a boycott by some of its sellers over concerns about fee increases from February 20, 2008 and other proposed changes.I felt that the illustrations used by some of the sellers were worthy of an exhibition in their own right - so here are a selection!
The aim of the boycott was to reduce selling, buying, and watching for a period to impact eBay income. Some sellers said they were actively seeking alternative auction outlets.
While only an occasional eBay seller I have some sympathy.
My personal view is that eBay spends too much money fiddling with needless bell and whistle modifications to the system which are confusing to regular users.
Thus every now and again their fiddling messes up my regular search routines.
eBay could have maintained the simpler structure of two or three years ago, saving money and improving profits.
Thus they would not have needed to keep increasing their charges.The particular villain is seen by many sellers as the new CEO John Donahoe and issue is taken by many with his claim; "Our sellers prefer the new structure" which is seen by many sellers as a patently untrue statement.
Sellers are using the eBay seller discussion board to record their frustration and displeasure which caused them to proceed with the boycott.
Some of them have posted pictures expressing their displeasure on the eBay noticeboard.
Time will tell whether the boycott has any success, but here are examples of images posted on the discussion board, some of which are quite clever.There are already close to 30,000 posts and the detailed comments by sellers can be read at SIGN THE PLEDGE _ NO SALES FEB 18-25!
It has since been noticeable that eBay has since had a number of cheap listing days, perhaps to try and counter this criticism.
The following are the