- 885
Rufus Hathaway (1770 - 1822)
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
bidding is closed
Description
- Rufus Hathaway
- Portrait of Israel Forster (1779-1863)
- Oil on canvas
- 20 1/4 by 16 1/2 in.
Provenance
Sotheby's, New York, Important Americana, January 27-28, 1989, sale 5810, lot 1149.
Exhibited
Duxbury, Massachusetts, "Rufus Hathaway, Artist and Physician 1770-1822," Art Complex Museum, March 18 - May 17, 1987, p. 68-69.
Condition
Overall fine condition. Relined and restretched and there is very fine inpainting throughout, where craquelure has occurred.
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
The sitter of this portrait, Israel Forster, was born in Andover, Massachusetts sometime between 1775 and 1782. He lived in Manchester, Massachusetts and was married once in 1802 and again in 1806. The present portrait depicts Israel Forster at approximately 9 years of age, possibly during his time as a student at Phillips Academy in Andover. Rufus Hathaway is one of America's most celebrated folk artists. His professional career encompassed two disciplines: medicine and art. He was born in Freetown, Rhode Island, on May 2, 1770. The young Hathaway probably left home and sought commissions for his chosen profession of portrait painting during his adolescence.
Among his earliest known paintings are the companion 1791 portraits The Reverend Caleb Turner and Mrs. Phebe King Turner and the extraordinary 1790 portrait Lady with Her Pets, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch.
Hathaway arrived on horseback in Duxbury, Massachusetts in the mid 1790s. Family tradition maintains that he fell in love with Judith Winsor while painting her portrait, which was commissioned by her father, Joshua Winsor, a prominent Duxbury merchant. Hathaway and Judith were married on December 10, 1795. After his marriage and in order to support himself and his wife in a more lucrative and socially acceptable fashion, Hathaway pursued the study of medicine with Dr. Isaac Winslow of Marshfield. Upon completion of his training, Hathaway returned to Duxbury and practiced medicine until his death in 1822. His artistic career continued when he entered the medical field for he continued to paint on request.
For further information on Hathaway, see Beatrix T. Rumford, [et al], American Folk Portraits: Paintings and Drawings from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, (New York Graphic Society, 1981) pp. 117-118; Jean Lipman and Tom Armstrong, Editors, American Folk Painters of Three Centuries, (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1980), pp. 35-40; as well as Sandra Brant and Elissa Cullman, Small Folk, (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1980), p. 14, no. 9; p. 103, no. 117.
Among his earliest known paintings are the companion 1791 portraits The Reverend Caleb Turner and Mrs. Phebe King Turner and the extraordinary 1790 portrait Lady with Her Pets, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch.
Hathaway arrived on horseback in Duxbury, Massachusetts in the mid 1790s. Family tradition maintains that he fell in love with Judith Winsor while painting her portrait, which was commissioned by her father, Joshua Winsor, a prominent Duxbury merchant. Hathaway and Judith were married on December 10, 1795. After his marriage and in order to support himself and his wife in a more lucrative and socially acceptable fashion, Hathaway pursued the study of medicine with Dr. Isaac Winslow of Marshfield. Upon completion of his training, Hathaway returned to Duxbury and practiced medicine until his death in 1822. His artistic career continued when he entered the medical field for he continued to paint on request.
For further information on Hathaway, see Beatrix T. Rumford, [et al], American Folk Portraits: Paintings and Drawings from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, (New York Graphic Society, 1981) pp. 117-118; Jean Lipman and Tom Armstrong, Editors, American Folk Painters of Three Centuries, (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1980), pp. 35-40; as well as Sandra Brant and Elissa Cullman, Small Folk, (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1980), p. 14, no. 9; p. 103, no. 117.