Lot 2013 | Erastus Salisbury Field American, 1805-1900 Portrait of a Lady and Portrait of a Gentleman:
Estimated Price:
£Realised Price:
£
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Erastus Salisbury Field
American, 1805-1900
Portrait of a Lady and Portrait of a Gentleman: Two
Oil on canvas
Each 30 x 24 inches
This delightful pair of portraits was acquired from an antique shop in Connecticut. In every respect: the precisely rendered details of costume, the distinctive anatomy with short waists and narrow shoulders, division of the canvas, and brushwork, the paintings are consistent with portraits by Field from around 1830, when he was working in the Connecticut valley.
Mary Black's description of Field's portraits from this period accords perfectly with the details in the present works, reflecting the artist's "unmistakable and characteristic difficulties in making hands and figures look real: waists are too short, shoulders too narrow, arms too long. While the bodies look awkward, his treatment of form is distinctive and oddly appealing. These early portraits demonstrate the young artist's efforts to master human anatomy and to teach himself other skills, such as modeling, color placement, and composition. Fine fabrics, jewels and curls reflect the upper middle-class status of his clientele and add richness to the boldly scaled figures that fill the canvases. A variation on the red-upholstered chair, with wooden arms ending in curlicues like a snail's brown shell, appears frequently." [Mary Black, Erastus Salisbury Field: 1805-1900. Springfield, Mass., Museum of Fine Arts, 1984, p. 15]
Also typical is what Black describes as a "shaded 'cloud' background, painted in gradations from a dark margin to the light warm grey that forms a halo outlining the head." [Mary Black, Erastus Salisbury Field: 1805-1900, op cit, p. 18] The flaccid, slender fingers, shading of the noses, even the elfin ears, relate to other works by Field, as does the tousled Byronic hair of the male figure. Even the frame with its ogee molding and the size of the paintings are appropriate for work executed by the artist around 1830.
The identity of this engaging couple is not known, but more than two hundred portraits by Erastus Salisbury Field have been recorded.
Estimated Price: £
