Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828)

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Winter Pop-Up Auction

By Keno Auctions

Jan 31, 2016 - Feb 1, 2016

Set Reminder 2016-01-31 13:00:00 2016-02-01 13:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Winter Pop-Up Auction https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/keno/winter-pop-up-auction-1259
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• Lot Description

  Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828) Nicklin Portrait of George Washington (Vaughn Type) Oil on canvas 28 ½ x 24 ½ inches Estimate: $150,000-250,000 Provenance: Philip Nicklin; Estate of Julianna Nicklin, Philadelphia, Pennsyvania, 1845; Chester Harding, Boston, Massachusetts, 1845 (acquired from the Nicklin Estate Sale); Moses Kimball, Boston, Massachusettes (acquired from the above); Margaret Kimball, Boston, Massachusetts (his daughter and sold: Leonard’s Auction Rooms); Alonzo H. Evans, Boston, Massachusetts (acquired from the above sale); William E. Nickerson, Boston, Massachusetts (gift from the above); Torrey Little, Boston, 1938 (acquired from the family of the above); Robert B. Campbell, Boston, Massachusetts circa 1940; Count Ivan N. Podgoursky, New York, February 5, 1945 (acquired from the above); By descent in the family to the present owner, 1962. Exhibited: Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Museum 1846 Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Portrait Panorama: An Exhibition of Portraits by Artists of Six Centuries, September-October 1947, no. 11 Tom Yost Report Mason Chamberlin -The Life and Works fo Gilbert Stuart Stuart painted three distinct life portraits of Washington in Philadelphia between 1794 and 1796, which subsequently served as models for further replicas. The Landsdowne portrait, thought to have been commissioned by wealthy Philadelphia merchant William Bingham as a gift for William Petty, the first Marquis of Landsdowne, shows Washington at full-length with his right hand out in gesture. Commissioned by Martha Washington for Mount Vernon but never finished, the Athenaeum portrait reveals only a bust-length portrayal of Washington with his left shoulder forward. The Vaughan type, named for Philadelphia merchant John Vaughan, depicts a waist-length view of Washington with his right side facing forward.1 Long believed to be the result of the first sitting with the president, the Vaughan portrait served as the model for the portrait featured in this sale. Stuart’s treatment of the background’s red tones, the carefully added details around the mouth and eyes, and even the shirt ruffle, reveal nearly identical similarities between this portrait and the Vaughan Washington. Although cut down slightly since its creation, the portrait has lost very little in terms of height and width, as it is slightly larger than some of Stuart’s other Washington portraits. On April 20, 1795, Gilbert Stuart compiled “a list of gentlemen who are to have copies of the Portrait of the President of the United States.” Although this original list is presumably no longer extant, Stuart’s daughter Jane later published a direct copy in 1876.2 Incorrectly spelled as “Mr. Necklin,” the owner of this portrait, Philip Nicklin, is listed among the names of prominent patrons such as Benjamin West, Viscount Cremorne, John Jay and John Vaughan. A wealthy merchant in Philadelphia, Nicklin and his wife Julianna commissioned Stuart to paint portraits of their own likenesses in 1795, along with a copy of the Vaughan portrait.3 Strong ties to fellow members of this list and Washington most likely prompted their interest, as Julianna’s family was one “with which he (Washington) was most intimate in Philadelphia.”4 Chief Justice Benjamin Chew had a lifelong friendship with Washington, even after Chew openly opposed the Declaration of Independence. In a letter Washington wrote to Stuart on April 11, 1796, he claims that he is “under promise to Mrs. Bingham to sit for you tomorrow at nine o’clock.”5 Julianna’s own sister, Harriet, supposedly accompanied Washington to provide conversation and a source of amusement.6 The “Mrs. Bingham” refers to the wife of William Bingham, a friend of the Chew-Nicklin family and fellow Philadelphia merchant, and the commissioner of Stuart’s Lansdowne portrait. 1 Barratt, Carrie Rebora and Ellen G. Miles. Gilbert Stuart. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. 166-176. 2 Stuart, Jane. “The Stuart Portraits of Washington.” Scribner’s Monthly, 12, no.3 (July 1876): 373. 3 Lawrence, Park. Gilbert Stuart: An Illustrated Descriptive List of His Works, Vol. II. New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1926. 551. 4 Griswold, Rufus. The Republican Court, or, American Society in the Days of Washington. New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1856. 329. 5 Stuart, 374. 6 Griswold, 355.

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