Elizabeth R. Coffin
Arab Boy (front); Landscape with Horse-Drawn Hay Wagon (back)
Albert F. Egan Jr. & Dorothy H. Egan Foundation
Elizabeth R. Coffin
American
1850 - 1930
Arab
Boy (front); Landscape with Horse-Drawn Hay Wagon (back)
signed, inscribed, and dated Elizabeth R. Coffin/ Biskra 1905 (lower left)
oil on board
canvas: 13½ by 11 in.; 34.2 by 27.9 cm
framed: 17⅝ by 15⅛ in.; 44.7 by 38.4 cm
The board is painted on both sides. Front: The paint surface is stable but slightly soiled. Some damage to corners and two pin pricks at upper and lower right corners. There is a pattern of pigment separation in the boy's left foot and red cap. Under UV light, some small scattered spots of retouching in the boy's clothes and a vertical line of retouching approximately 2 inches in length in the sky at right. Back: There is a small area of paint loss at the upper edge and an approximately 1 inch horizontal line of paint loss in the foreground at left. Under UV light, no apparent inpainting.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.
Inscribed “Biskra, 1905” this is the earliest known work Coffin painted in Algeria, which she visited several times in the first decades of the twentieth century. Likely painted from life, the unidentified boy is draped in white, wearing a red felt cap, and sitting on a wall looking off into the desert landscape with a view of the village in the background. A landscape with a horse-drawn hay wagon is sketched on the back, attesting to Coffin’s economical use of materials while working abroad.