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American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts
|
- Sale 1130
Live
| Cincinnati
Mar 30 | 10:00 AM EDT
Live
| Cincinnati
Sale 1130
| Cincinnati
| Cincinnati
Estimate$5,000 – $8,000
Hannah Eells Palmer (1804-1881) was the fourth of eight children born in Stonington, Connecticut to Abigail Davis and Lemuel Palmer. On February 15, 1824, she married her cousin Paul Smith Palmer (1796 -1875), the son of Revolutionary War general Roswell Saltonstall Palmer, and moved to her new husband’s home in Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. According to federal census agricultural schedules, Paul Smith Palmer owned 190 acres of land in Stockbridge, where he raised cattle, sheep, and swine, and cultivated corn and oats, cumulatively valued at $8,363 in 1860.[1] Palmer was purportedly an “honest, upright man and highly esteemed by all who knew him.”[2] The couple had nine children, though only three lived to see adulthood.
Two of the Palmer children, twins Emma and Charles, were painted along with their mother in another portrait of Hannah Eells Palmer executed by Erastus Salisbury Field during the mid-to-late 1830s. Field painted a pendant portrait of Paul Smith Palmer, and both works are part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The portrait offered here is slightly smaller and was likely painted prior to the pair in Washington, given the expansive breadth of the gigot sleeves and the elaborately curled hairstyle Eells Palmer wore. Sleeves of women’s dresses began to widen in the late 1820s and reached an apex between 1830 and 1833, after which their size began to shrink. Similarly, women’s hairstyles grew simpler and sleeker by the middle of the decade.[3][1] 1860 US census, Stockbridge, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, non-population schedule, Ancestry.com. U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Archive Collection Number: T1204; Roll: 11; Page: 9; Line: 40; Schedule Type: Agriculture.
[2] Albert Henry Davis, History of the Davis family. Being an account of the descendants of John Davis, a native of England, who died in East Hampton, Long Island, in 1705. With notices of individuals and families connected with them. Brought down to 1886-7 (New York City, New York: T.A. Wright, 1888), 24.
[3] Penelope Byrde, Nineteenth Century Fashion (London: Batsford, 1992), 39.
Provenance:
Edith Gregor Halpert, The Downtown Gallery, New York;
Terry Dintenfass, New York;
Gerald Kornblau, New York;
Anonymous Sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 29 April 1982, Lot 9;
Christie's, New York, 29 September 2010, Lot 59;
Christie's, New York, 21 June 2011, Lot 183.
To request further details about this lot, please email [email protected]
Leah Vogelpohl
AVP, Specialist, American Furniture, Folk, and Decorative Arts
Ms. Vogelpohl joined the firm in 2013 as a cataloger in the American and European Furniture and Decorative Arts department. She became a department specialist in 2017, focusing on American decorative arts and silver. She received a BA from the College of Charleston and an MLITT in Art History from the University of Glasgow.
Framed: 44 x 36 inches.
In overall fine and stable condition. Minor layers of dust to surface, with network of stable craquelure throughout. Under UV light examination, areas of filled cracks visible throughout, with other small, associated areas of inpainting, including to subject’s hair, dress, nose, and proper left temple. Repaired horizontal tear (approx. 4 inches) present to left hand, just above knuckles, visible under both UV light and faintly under raking light. Canvas was treated and wax lined by Bernard Rabin, New York in 1972, with associated stamp and inscription to verso. On new stretchers, with “Kornblau Gallery” inscribed to frame verso. Scattered areas of chips, scratches, and finish loss throughout frame.
The physical condition of lots in our auctions can vary due to age, normal wear and tear, previous damage, and restoration/repair. All lots are sold "AS IS," in the condition they are in at the time of the auction, and we and the seller make no representation or warranty and assume no liability of any kind as to a lot's condition. Any reference to condition in a catalogue description or a condition report shall not amount to a full accounting of condition. Condition reports prepared by Freeman's staff are provided as a convenience and may be requested from the Department prior to bidding.
The absence of a posted condition report on the Freeman's website or in our catalogues should not be interpreted as commentary on an item's condition. Prospective buyers are responsible for inspecting a lot or sending their agent or conservator to inspect the lot on their behalf, and for ensuring that they have requested, received and understood any condition report provided by Freeman's.
Please email [email protected] for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.
Ms. Howe joined the firm in 2012 working as a specialist in the American and European Furniture and Decorative Arts department as well as the Modern and Contemporary Art and Design department.
Previously, Ms. Howe served as Associate Curator of Decorative Arts at the Cincinnati Art Museum, where she curated exhibitions focusing on American and European furniture, silver, glass and ceramics. Additionally, she was an instructor of Art History at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, an independent consultant to museums and a lecturer on decorative arts. Ms. Howe’s research and publications have focused on late 19th- and early 20th-century decorative arts and design, in particular, on Cincinnati Arts and Crafts metalwork and furniture. Ms. Howe served as editor and contributing author of the book Cincinnati Art-Carved Furniture and Interiors. She received a BA from the University of Cincinnati and an MA in Art History from the University of Minnesota.
