Jacob Maentel (1778-?)

Descended in family to Frederick W. Shaffer
Sotheby Parke-Bernet, January 27-30, 1982, lot 833
Marjorie Schorsch, Greenwich, Connecticut, 1983

"American Radiance: Highlights of the Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum," de Menil Gallery at Groton School, Groton, Massachusetts, October 15-December 15, 2002
"Jubilation/Rumination: Life, Real and Imagined," New York, American Folk Art Museum, January 17-September 2, 2012

American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 36, fig. 11

Small repair upper extreme right in sky.
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.

The portrait of Catherine Wilt (1817-1906) is one of four that descended in her family. It bears many of the hallmarks associated with Jacob Maentel's outdoor scenes: dry earth under the feet of the subject, rolling green hills studded with trees behind, and a house in the background. Details of costume and hair point to a date of about 1830-1832, supporting family tradition that the portrait was painted on the occasion of Wilt's confirmation, which occurred during that period. The paisley bordered cotton upon which the watercolor is mounted is a remnant from the actual shawl depicted in the portrait. Wilt married William Adams (1825-1858) in 1846. Her father, Peter, owned and operated a public inn in York on the south side of Market Street, east of Queen. The establishment was well known for the entertainments offered by traveling circuses and theater companies in its yards and a large interior room.¹ A series of drawings by Lewis Miller details the tavern and some of its entertainments, as well as an accident that occurred while the building was being erected.² Identified by Miller as "Peter Wilt's House," this may be the same home, at 45 South Queen Street, that was deeded to Catherine Wilt in 1850. -S.C.H.

¹ The genealogical and historical information about the Wilt family descended with the portraits and was provided at the time of the Sotheby Parke-Bernet sale. The research appears to have been done by Frederick W. Shaffer, a descendant, in 1981; the information about Peter Wilt's tavern is excerpted from George Prowell, History of York, Pennsylvania, vol. 1 (Chicago: J.H. Beers, 1907), pp. 737, 797.
² Collection AARFAM.