Alfred Jacob Miller 1810 - 1874

Eugenia Miller Whyte (the artist's niece) or Louisa Whyte Norton (the artist's grandniece)
The Old Print Shop, New York, 1947
The Boatman's National Bank, St. Louis, Missouri (now Bank of America), 1947 (acquired from the above)

St. Louis, Missouri, The Boatman's National Bank, 1964, no. 48
Kansas City, Missouri, The Nelson-Atkins Museum; Houston, Texas, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Alfred Jacob Miller: Romancing the West in the Bank of America Collection, September 2010-September 2011, no. 25, p. 124, illustrated in color p. 125

Mary Bartlett Cowdrey and Helen Comstock, "Alfred Jacob Miller and the Farthest West," Panorama, August-September 1947, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 1
Robert Combs Warner, The Fort Laramie of Alfred Jacob Miller: A Catalogue of All the Known Illustrations of the First Fort Laramie, Laramie, Wyoming, 1979, vol. II, p. 61-2, illustrated in color p. 63
Ron Tyler ed. Alfred Jacob Miller: Artist on the Oregon Trail, Fort Worth, Texas, 1982, no136, p. 242

Various areas of Japanese tissue patches are evident on the reverse acting as reinforcements to the paper; Under UV: an uneven fluorescence appears in the upper right corner; minor inpainting is evident to address old tears along the left and bottom edges, mended with Japanese tissue patches; the work is hinged at the upper right and upper left top edges; Old acid staining is evident around the edges on the verso; Please see the below report, provided by Julius Lowy Frame & Restoring Company, Inc. The artwork is executed in watercolor, gouache, pencil and ink on a paper support. The verso shows evidence of tears which have been mended with Japanese tissue patches. There are also several small Japanese tissue patches within the lower left and upper left quadrant which are acting as reinforcements making the paper support stable. The media layers, which have been applied directly to the paper, are in good condition. Ultraviolet examination reveals an uneven fluorescence in the upper right quadrant which is inconclusive, and minor inpainting covering tears along the left and bottom edges. Upon visual inspection, the artwork appears to be clean and has been hinged appropriately to an acid free mat board with Japanese tissue hinges. The artwork has been inscribed in the upper right in pencil: Rocky Formations near the Nebraska or Platte River, and at the upper left 132. The artwork is in good condition overall.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.