Gustav Muss-Arnolt (1858-1927) Two Setters

About Auction

Live

The Sporting Sale 2016

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 24, 2016 - Jul 25, 2016

Set Reminder 2016-07-24 10:00:00 2016-07-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2016 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2016-1579
Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

View Full Catalog (472)

• Lot Description
  Gustav Muss-Arnolt (1858-1927)
  Two Setters, 1901
  signed and dated "G. Muss-Arnolt. p. 1901" lower right
  oil on canvas, 24 by 36 in.
  
  This painting depicting two setters in the field was commissioned in 1901 by Samuel Henry Vandergrift. Samuel, born in 1866 in Oil City, Pennsylvania, was the son of Captain Jacob J. Vandergrift, an American industrialist who rose from cabin boy to oil industry tycoon. Historian John T. Flynn writes, "After the war he moved to Oil City, drilled for oil, and built a refinery. He was a pipe line pioneer, building a four-mile carrier_which by additions and extensions was one day to expand into that far-flung tangle of pipes owned by the Standard. Captain Vandergrift was the Vice President of the National Refiners' Association to John D. Rockefeller's President, and his cooperation was key to forming Standard Oil. Among other pursuits, J.J. was also a principle investor in the Apollo Iron and Steel Company. A planned community for his workers, Vandergrift, PA, bears his name.
  
  Samuel entered the family oil and banking businesses, including Apollo, the Pittsburgh Trust Company and Keystone Bank, among others. He managed the family estate and pursued his gentlemanly hobbies of yachting, shooting, fishing, and power boat racing. He was a member of the American Ornithologists' Union, and in 1903 he won the Herron Hill Gun Club Championship. Vandergrift entered his setter, David Copperfield, in the all-ages stakes of the Monongahela Club's field trial in 1898, with the dog, "ranging and hunting in a stylish and merry way, which produced favorable impressions as to his work_After over an hour's trial they were ordered up. He was on the board as a founding member of the Duquesne Kennel Club and was also an active member of the New York Yacht Club, the Thousand Islands Yacht Club, and the Nittany Rod & Gun Club.
  
  In the same year the painting was created, Vandergrift bought land on Grindstone Island, part of the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River. His palatial summer home was located at Long Rock. He was active in the development of the Thousand Islands, serving as a donor and a director of the Thousand Island Park Golf Course. Vandergrift died in 1930. Vancroft Kennel was a highly decorated, prize-winning operation run by Vandergrift's brother Joseph. In 1902, the New York Times reported, "Vandergrift, also of Pittsburg, owner of the Van Croft Kennels, swept everything before him in the English setter classes, the leader being Champion Barton Tory, pronounced by Eastern judges at the New York show to be the finest type of English setter in the world. The kennel imported setters from abroad in the early 1900s, including "Queen's Place Pride and "Queen's Pride.
  
  Gustav Muss-Arnolt specialized in the depiction of hunters and their dogs. He worked as a judge in dog shows, served on the board of the American Kennel Club from 1906-1909, and demonstrated an incredible knowledge of a variety of sporting breeds in his paintings. Throughout his career, Muss-Arnolt's illustrations were published in many magazines such as "Harper's Weekly" and the "American Kennel Club Gazette.
  
  Provenenace: Samuel Henry Vandergift
  By descent to the present owner
  
  Literature: "Monongahela Club's Trials, Forest and Stream, December 3, 1898, Volume 51, p. 455.
  Albert Frederick Hochwalt, The Modern Setter, 1919, p. 203.
  Pittsburg Leader, "The Book of Prominent Pennsylvanians: A Standard Reference, Pittsburg, PA, 1913, p. 150.
  "Prize Winning Dogs in Pittsburgh, New York Times, March 7, 1902.
  John T. Flynn, "God's Gold: The Story of Rockefeller and His Times," New York, NY, 1932, p. 177.

  Condition

  In original frame
• Shipping Info

  • Shipping info

    Copley Fine Art Auctions does not handle the shipping of any items. Shipping is the sole responsibility of the buyer. Once your payment has cleared, and we have received your authorized shipping release form items may be released for shipment. Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC shall have no liability for any loss or damage to such items. Buyers should allow up to four weeks for shipment.
     
    PLEASE BE AWARE THAT INTERNET BIDDERS MAY NOT PICK UP THEIR ITEMS AT THE SALE SITE. ITEMS CAN BE PICKED UP BY APPOINTMENT OR SHIPPED STARTING FIVE DAYS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE SALE

• Buyer's Premium

  • Hammer Price	Premium (%)
    $0	20.00
    $1,000,000	15.00