Lot 655
  • 655

Rare watercolor fraktur: Two Priests Possibly Berks or Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, circa 1810

Estimate
8,000 - 10,000 USD
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Description

  • TWO PRIESTS
  • Watercolor and ink on paper
  • 8 7/8 by 7 1/4 in.
  • C. 1810
Watercolor and ink on paper

Inscribed (translated from German) recto, ink: General Waschington and the city / which was built with his name; on building: Congress House

Provenance

Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Cambridge, Maryland
Sotheby Parke-Bernet, "Important Frakturs, Embroidered Pictures, Theorem Paintings, and Cutwork Pictures from the Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch," January 24, 1974, lot 38
Mr. and Mrs. Peter H. Tillou, Litchfield, Connecticut
Ed and Mildred Bohne, Newmanstown, Pennsylvania
M. Austin and Jill R. Fine, Baltimore
Sotheby’s New York, "Americana from the Collection of M. Austin and Jill R. Fine," January 30, 1987, lot 1027

Exhibited

"Where Liberty Dwells, Nineteenth-Century Art by the American People: Works of Art from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Tillou," Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY, 1976
"Life in the New World: Selections from the Permanent Collection of the Museum of American Folk Art," Sotheby's New York, 1987

Literature

Dewhurst, C. Kurt, Betty MacDowell, and Marsha MacDowell. Religious Folk Art in America: Reflections of Faith. New York: E.P. Dutton in association with American Folk Art Museum, 1983, p. 69
Tillou, Peter H. Here Liberty Dwells, Nineteenth-Century Art by the American People: Works of Art from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Tillou. Buffalo, NY: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1976, fig. 9
American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 239, fig. 211

Condition

Some minor stain at the bottom; overall very good condition. Glued down at corners. Lined with rice paper, tape hinged at the top.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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Catalogue Note

The drawing of two priests in chasubles, the normal attire of Roman Catholic clergymen (but also used historically and today by Anglicans and some Lutherans), may well come from the Roman Catholic center around Bally in Berks County near the Montgomery County border. Certainly the tulips, vines, angels, birds, and elaborate swirl at the bottom are to be found on much fraktur. A similar drawing of one clergyman in the collection of the Free Library of Philadelphia suggests that the theme had some appeal.