Provenance:

Passed down in the family to the present consignor.

Note:

John Davidson Pitts, born to plantation owner Philip Henry PH Pitts (1816-1884) and Davidson College founder descendent Margaret Mary Davidson Pitts (1824-1910), lived at his familial home Pitts' Folly in Uniontown, Alabama. During the Civil War, John was a member of the Fourth Alabama Cane Brake Rifle Guards in the Confederate Army. At just 19 years old, he was killed at the Battles of Gaines Mill in Hanover County, Virginia on June 27, 1862.

Pitts' Folly, a Greek Revival wood frame house, was designed by architect B.F. Parsons and built for PH Pitts in 1852-1853. The portrait of John can be seen in 1935 photographs from the Historic American Buildings Survey, where it hung above the front parlor fireplace mantel.

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