Lot 647
  • 647

Rare watercolor fraktur: The Birth of Christ, John F. W. Stahr Probably southeastern Pennsylvania, dated 1825

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
  • Watercolor and ink on paper
  • 15 3/4 by 12 5/8 in.
  • 1835
Watercolor and ink on paper

Inscribed recto, ink: The Birth of Christ / Fredck G.Millpot / Made by John F W Stahr. March the 15 AD. 1835.

Provenance

Found in Morris County, New Jersey
Mitchell Work, Nutley, New Jersey
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 34

Exhibited

"Christmas Show," American Folk Art Museum, 1972
"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

 

Literature

Bishop, Robert, Folk Painters of America, New York: E.P. Dutton, 1979, pl. 35
American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, p. 243, fig. 215

Condition

Old repairs along the edges.
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

A second popular biblical account, of the birth of Christ, was apparently made for Frederick G. Millpot by John FW. Stahr in 1835. It is the same picture that is on G.S. Peters's broadside woodcut published some years later. Nothing is known of the artist, but his border decoration of flowers and an angel head relate this work to fraktur. -F.S.W.