American School 19th Century, Farmscape

Signed and dated, "C.L. Ayers, 1860" bottom left and right, and inscribed on verso, "C.L. Ayers/ Oct. 1860," oil on canvas, framed.

11 3/8 in. x 20 1/8 in. (sight)

The Collection of Dr. Richard J. and Eva Wattenmaker, Pennsylvania

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance:

Collection of Violette de Mazia, Merion, Pennsylvania.

Her sale, Christie's East, New York, sale of April 28, 1989, lot 48 (sold as Pennsylvania Country House with Carriage by C.L. Ayers).

Acquired directly from the above sale.

In overall fair condition. With light craquelure throughout the surface of the work, most notably seen through crazing in the bottom half of the picture. We notice a long horizontal crack running across the top tier of the work, across the blue sky, with a fainter line just above, closer to the top outer edge of the canvas. Most of the cracks are likely due to old abrasions following the work being laid down. Examination under UV light reveals broad inpainting along all four outer edges, particularly extensive in the sky at upper center. Minor inpainting on the horses four legs and the carriage behind. Localized inpainting also visible in each bottom corner. most of the houses are intact. Minor restoration ahead of the white mansion, on the gate and dirt path. Remnants of old greenish varnish in the grass in the foreground (a result of selective cleaning, which also explains some of the aforementioned purplish highlights in some cases). See Specialist's pictures for more details.
Frame: 13 3/8 x 22 5/8 x 1 in.

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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 rchatroux@freemansauction.com for any additional information or questions you may have regarding this lot.

Raphaël Chatroux

VP, Head of Department, Impressionist & Modern Art

raphaelchatroux@freemansauction.com 267.414.1253

Raphaël Chatroux is the Head of Department for Freeman's Impressionist & Modern Art.

Chatroux joined Freeman’s in 2016 as a Fine Art department intern. Later that year, he was the Samuel M. Freeman II Fellowship recipient and was promoted to cataloguer. Since his arrival, he has developed an expertise for a wide range of American and European art. He worked closely with Chairman Alasdair Nichol on the successful sales of The Collections of Heidi Bigham Stott in 2020 and The Peltz Collection of Pennsylvania Impressionists in 2021. Chatroux is associated with recent world records obtained for artists Cecilia Beaux, Emma Fordyce McRae, and Bo Bartlett. He was also instrumental in the acquisition of a Berthe Morisot oil painting by the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris. As a native of France, Chatroux has worked in various art centers in Paris including Hôtel Drouot, where he oversaw auctions of fine wine and good spirits and the Palace of Versailles, where he conceived and curated several bilingual audio-guide tours. Chatroux graduated from Paris-Sorbonne University with a degree in art history; he also holds a master’s degree in art law.

Lynda Cain

VP, Head of Department, American Furniture, Folk and Decorative Arts

lyndacain@freemansauction.com 267.414.1237

Lynda Cain serves as a Vice President of Freeman's and is the Head of Department for American Furniture, Folk and Decorative Arts.
She specializes in American furniture and decorative arts, Native American art, American folk art, and Pennsylvania furniture and decorative arts.
Cain joined Freeman's in 2001 as the company's first American furniture and decorative arts specialist. She began her career in American Decorative Arts as assistant curator at the Detroit Historical Museum. In 1984 she became curator of costume at the Detroit Historical Museum. In 1986, she relocated to Cambridge, Massachusetts and switched from museum work when she joined the American Furniture and Decorative Art Department at Skinner Inc., Bolton and Boston, Massachusetts. Before leaving New England in 1997, she had the great pleasure of directing the cataloguing project of the Folk Art Collection of Nine Fletcher and Bertram K. Little at Cogswell’s Grant, Essex, Massachusetts for the Society of the Preservation of New England Antiquities, now Historic New England. Ms. Cain joined the cast of the popular PBS series Antiques Roadshow in Season 19.
Growing up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she was greatly influenced by the rich collections of American paintings, furniture, and decorative arts held by Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum. She notes her good fortune of working in our two great “attic states:” Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Each Commonwealth has tremendous inventory of historic material, great institutions, and citizens who treasure their inherited and collected items. Cain appears on the television Antiques Roadshow as an appraiser of decorative and folk arts.

For the Love of Barnes: The Collection of Dr. Richard J. Wattenmaker

American School 19th Century, Farmscape

For the Love of Barnes: The Collection of Dr. Richard J. Wattenmaker

American School 19th Century, Farmscape

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