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Young Girl in a White Dress Holding a Rose

Creator: John Brewster, Jr.
Offered by: David A. Schorsch - Eileen M. Smiles Fine Americana

Description
JOHN BREWSTER, JR. (1766-1854)
Young Girl in a White Dress Holding a Rose
Probably Maine, circa 1820
Oil on canvas, 18 x 15 inches, in original veneered frame.
Inscribed on stretcher: “L. E. GREGORY / OYSTER BAY / NY 1959 / FROM BRUNSWICK / ME REGION”

This is a classic example of Brewster’s portraits of children from the 1820s, with the sitter positioned close to the picture plane, depicted bust length, and devoid of distractions that might compete with their faces. Related examples are illustrated in Paul S. D’Ambrosio, The World of John Brewster, Jr. (Cooperstown, NY, 2006), pp. 49–51, pls. 37–39. The artist’s extraordinary life as an eighteenth century deaf and mute itinerant portrait artist is explored in Harlan Lane, A Deaf Artist in Early America: The Worlds of John Brewster, Jr. (Boston, 2004), and the landmark 2006 exhibition “The World of John Brewster Jr.” at the Fenimore Art Museum and American Folk Art Museum. Born in Connecticut to an established Puritan family, Brewster was well educated and studied painting with Reverend Joseph Steward. In 1817, at age fifty-one, Brewster was a member of the first class at the newly formed American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. He lived a long life of eighty-eight years, traveling throughout Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, painting his extraordinarily sensitive portraits.

Provenance:
Lewis Ellsworth Gregory (1919–1977), Oyster Bay and Glen Head, NY; “Important American Furniture, Silver, Folk Art and Decorative Arts,” Christie’s, New York, October 18, 1986, lot 443; Collection of Eddy G. Nicholson, Hampton, NH; Marguerite Riordan, Stonington, CT; Collection of Susan and Mark Laracy, New Canaan, CT; “Distinguished American Furniture and Folk Art: The Collection of Susan and Mark Laracy,” Sotheby’s, New York, January 20, 2007, lot 159; Collection of Barbara Gordon, Bethesda, MD; Private collection.

Exhibited:
“A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America,” American Folk Art Museum, New York, 2014– 15, traveled to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2015; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, TN, 2015–16; Montgomery Museum of Art, AL, 2016; Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PA, 2016; Denver Art Museum, CO, 2016–17; Society of the Four Art, Palm Beach, FL, 2017; Cincinnati Art Museum, OH, 2017; Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY, 2017.

Published:
Wendy Moonan, “A Trove of Americana, Filled With Heart Goes on the Block,” The New York Times, January 5, 2007, https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/arts/ design/05anti.html.Richard Miller, ed., A Shared Legacy, Folk Art in America (Alexandria, VA, 2014), pp. 114–17, no. 9.

More Information

Documentation:	Documented elsewhere (similar item)
Period:	19th Century
Condition:	Good.
Creation Date:	1820
Styles / Movements:	Folk Art, Traditional
Incollect Reference #:	649501

Dimensions

W.	15 in;	H.	18 in;
W.	38.1 cm;	H.	45.72 cm;

Message from Seller:

David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles are nationally recognized dealers in American antiques and folk art, specializing in weathervanes, folk paintings, Shaker furniture, and more. With over forty years of experience, they offer expert services in private and corporate collections, authentication, and auction representation—contact them today at 203.263.3131 or via email at contact@schorsch-smiles.com.

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