LUCY PEYTON (WEST VIRGINIA / KENTUCKY, 1870-1936) FOLK ART PAINTING, watercolor on paper, an interesting naïve depiction of what is reported to be the back of the courthouse in Louisville, KY. Signed and dated lower right "LP / 1887". Old typed note verso describing the artist as "Miss Lucy Peyton, A PIONEER RESIDENT OF Ronceverte, W. Va." and the scene of the "Court House in Louisville" executed "while she was in school". Old Cincinnati framer's label verso. Housed under glass in a period frame. Circa 1887. 17 1/2" x 11" sight, 25 1/4" x 19 1/4" OA.
Provenance: Property of a West Virginia private collector.
Catalogue Note: Lucy Peyton (1870-1936) was the daughter of Lt. Col. Charles Stephen Peyton (1841-1923), who served with the 19th Virginia Infantry and was heavily engaged in "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg. The 19th Virginia suffered tremendous causalities in the battle, and, consequently, Charles Peyton advanced in rank rather quickly over a period of hours. He began the famous battle as a field officer (Major), and ended as a Lieutenant Colonel in command of the entire unit. This charming painting, completed by a seventeen-year-old girl from an important West Virginia family, provides us with a glimpse of an iconic Kentucky structure in the Reconstruction era.
Condition
Minor toning to paper. Frame (unstable) with damage and losses.