- 2174
Ralph Earl (1751 - 1801)
Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description
- Ralph Earl
- Portrait of Major James Fairlie
- oil on canvas
- 25 1/2 by 21 5/8 in.
Provenance
Private Collection, Rhode Island;
Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts;
Midwestern Corporate Collection, 1981;
Sotheby's New York, Important Americana, January 30, 1995, sale 6660, lot 1731;
Alan Miller, Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts;
Midwestern Corporate Collection, 1981;
Sotheby's New York, Important Americana, January 30, 1995, sale 6660, lot 1731;
Alan Miller, Quakertown, Pennsylvania.
Literature
George Parker, “Merchants and Planters: American Portraits of the Colonial Period and the Early Republic,” Wisconsin Academy Review: A Journal of Wisconsin Culture, vol. 43, no. 4, Fall 1997, p. 30, illustrated.
Condition
The canvas is lined. Under UV: there are scattered dots of inpainting throughout the figure's face and background. There is a 2-inch horizontal repair in the figure's chin below his lip, and a 1-inch horizontal repair in his forehead. There are numerous spots of inpainting in his upper waistcoat.
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.
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.
Catalogue Note
Ralph Earl painted this portrait while he was in debtor's prison in New York. Major James Fairlie was one of Major General Friedrich von Steuben’s aides-de-camp during the American Revolutionary War. The medal in his lapel is the Order of the Society of the Cincinnati, awarded to the officers of the Continental Army after the Treaty of Paris. The reference is to Roman general and statesman Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, born about 519 B.C., who left his small farm and distinguished himself in battle in 458 B.C. and again in 439 B.C. He was looked upon as a model of competence and courage as well as virtue and simplicity, and he returned to farming after his battlefield victories.