Gilbert Stuart (1755 - 1828)

Mr. and Mrs. Orton Clark;
Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts;
An Eastern Foundation;
Christie's, New York, Important American Furniture, Silver, Prints, Folk Art and Decorative Arts, January 18, 1992, sale 7398, lot 346;
Alan Miller, Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Athenaeum, Exhibition of Portraits, Painted by the Late Gilbert Stuart, Esq., August 1828, nos. 125, 142;
San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor.

George Mason, The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart, New York, 1879, p. 272;
Lawrence Park, Gilbert Stuart, New York, 1926, vol. II, nos. 855, 856, pp. 768-70, illustrated vol. IV, pp. 534-35;
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, pp. 28-29, illustrated.

The woman: there is frame abrasion along edges with corresponding inpainting. There is a thin vertical 4-inch crack extending from the upper edge at center. Under UV: there are some spots of inpainting in the figure's face, primarily under her nose, lips and chin. There are 6 small spots of inpainting in her arms and several dots elsewhere. The work retains an old varnish. The man: there is frame abrasion along edges and a thin filled L-shaped scratch approximately 8.5 inches long in the upper right quadrant. Under UV: there are several spots and specks of discolored inpainting in the figure's face and several lines in his shirt collar. There is an 8-inch line of inpainting to address cracking extending from the bottom edge. There are some scattered spots elsewhere, some small surface cracks extending from the upper edge. The work retains an old varnish.
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.

Edward Tuckerman (1775-1843) was the son of Edward and Elizabeth (Harris) Tuckerman of Boston. He became a shipping merchant and one of the founders of the first savings bank in New England. His first wife Hannah Parkman, depicted here, daughter of Samuel and Sarah Parkman, was born in 1777 in Boston and died in 1814. Edward Tuckerman remarried in 1817 to Sophia May.