(Faulkner, William)

Cofield, "Colonel" J. B.  Studio photograph on textured canvas board (19 5/8 x 15 1/2 in.; 498 x 393 mm), skillfully overpainted to resemble an oil portrait, signed "Portrait by Col. Cofield" in the lower right corner, [Oxford, Mississippi, January 1961].  In elaborate gilt frame.

Blotner, Faulkner: A Biography 2, p. 1772–1773

Condition as described in catalogue entry
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.

"I have been awarded a pink coat, a splendor worthy of being photographed in"(Faulkner to Random House editor Albert Erskine).  In  December 1960, William Faulkner was made a full member of the Farmington Hunt Club in Albemarle Country, Virginia.  After Christmas with family in Charlottesville, Faulkner returned to Oxford in January.   Joseph Blotner's acccount of this photograph cannot be bettered: "He lost no time in making an appointment and then presenting himself at J. R. Cofield's photographic studio off the Square on the first Tuesday of 1961.  He did not park directly in front of the studio, however.  Johncy [Faulkner's nephew] and his friends, drinking coffee at the Leslie drugstore, watched attentively as he strode across the Square in his complete dress hunting outfit.  Any Oxonian old enough to recall his dressing up in the Young Colonel's clothes [his grandfather J. W. T. Falkner] before appearing on the Square would not have been surprised.  As Cofield posed him, Faulkner told him the reason for the vivid hue of the coat: if anyone fell on a hunt, he could be spotted more readily.  Faulkner assumed naturally and easily the poses Cofield requested.  When Cofield later developed the film, he realized that these were the best portraits he had ever made.  Nearly full length and in color, they showed the subject holding the coiled whip, his head back, a look of aristocratic hauteur on the strong features.  As he had grown older he had grown more photogenic.  He ordered two large portraits and seventeen smaller ones, leaving a mailing list of ten friends with Cofield."

"Colonel" Cofield's finest portrait of William Faulkner, the culmination of over four decades of rapport and sympathy between photographer and subject.  Tally-ho!