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THBTheobald Chartran (French, 1849 - 1907)
About Seller
1155 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02909
United States
Vallot Auctioneers was founded in 2003 as a fine art specialty auction house in Tribeca, and recognized as one of the first fine art specialty auction galleries in Manhattan. Now based in Providence, RI, the auction house continues the excellence in focusing on bringing fresh quality lots to the mar...Read more
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About Auction
LiveFeb 18, 2022
ART / DESIGN / RARE AUDIO Vallot Auctioneers info@vallots.com
View Full Catalog (229)
- Lot Description
"C.J.B. d apres Theobald Chartran." (French, 1849 - 1907)
A Portrait of: Anna Hausch Pfizer (Pfizer Corporation.) Oil on canvas. Signed, dated (1895) and inscribed upper left. 40 x 29 7/8 inches; 50 1/2 x 40 1/2 inches (overall) framed.
Description: There are many questions surrounding this Gilded Age portrait of Anna Hausch Pfizer, the wife of Charles Pfizer, founder of Pfizer the multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.
The portrait had been offered publicly in 2015 but without the identification of the sitter, which we have identified, and possibly without the correct attribution for several reasons.
The signature and inscription, in the upper right corner uses the French "d apres," traditionally indicating that it is a portrait "after" another. Presumably, then, it is a portrait after a portrait by Theobald Chartran (French,1849 - 1907) whose signature appears below. However, in this case and for the reasons we outline, the inscription "d apres" may have been used in another sense, "according to," which could indicate the portrait was according to Chartran, or that Chartran worked off the portrait of another artist, presumably an artist with the monogram "C.J.B." which is also part of the inscription.
Knoedler Gallery records (Getty Research Institute), Chartran's gallerist in the 1890s, record commissions for Chartran portraits of: William McKinley, Henry Frick, Andrew Carnegie and approximately 40 others; however, we could not locate a gallery commission for Anna Hausch Pfizer.
A portrait of Anna Hausch Pfizer, listed online at Immigrant Entreprenuership.org (Courtesy of Pfizer), bears a close resemblance to the portrait being offered and forms the basis for our identification of the sitter in the portrait as that of Anna Hausch Pfizer. What we can tell from reviewing the online image in the Pfizer repository is that the offered portrait is very close to that one in terms of Anna Pfizer's pose, expression, dress, corsage, necklace, earring, lace, hair part and many other details. Perhaps though, and in our opinion, Anna Pfizer is portrayed in the offered portrait in a more youthful manner (e.g., aging traits, physique, hair pigmentation, etc.) than in the cited Pfizer portrait.
Chartran did have a history of painting portraits for sitters that the sitters dismissed as not acceptable likenesses. The most famous example being his portrait of Pres. Theodore Roosevelt. The portrait has been said to be so disliked by President Roosevelt that Roosevelt had it destroyed and a commission for a new portrait was then given to John Singer Sargent. Newspaper accounts similarly engage a debate about "good likeness" vs. "good picture" in regards to Chartran portraits. The Hanford Journal, September 1907, notes an incident in which Chartran destroyed the portrait of a lady after her husband, at his wife's behest complained about the likeness, and Chartran was reported to have destroyed the painting in anger in front of the man.
Other possibilities about the offered portrait include that the Pfizer family had it done or redone to hang in another location, for instance their summer residence, Linden Gate, Newport, Rhode Island.
We would also like to point out that the "Chartran" signature on the offered portrait does appear both in terms of formation, direction, and rise to be Chartran's; though, and also in our opinion, another talented painter could potentially paint, even in a series of fast strokes, the convincing signature of another artist.
As to the identity of "C.J.B."(we are assuming the middle stroke to be a "J"), we could not locate another artist with the skill and reputation to have produced such a portrait. Therefore, we offer this portrait, circa 1895, to be of Anna Hausch Pfizer, circa 1895, but without further attribution.Old professional restoration. Nothing evident under blacklight. Canvas was relined. A few horizontal lines (largest approximately 6 inches) evident under raking light. (Please note, this is not a full condition report. Please email us at: info@Vallots.com for a detailed condition report or for additional photographs. Every lot is sold as-is.)Condition
- Shipping Info
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We are not offering packing and shipping services in this auction. Shipping can be expensive, please consider obtaining estimate(s) prior to bidding. We have provided the following list of shippers as a courtesy and we will assist you with your third-party shipping needs, however, we assume no liability for any shipper you use or any loss or damage occasioned in transport or otherwise as a result of shipping: PACKING AND SHIPPING: The UPS Store* 22 Parsonage Street Providence, RI 02903 401-369-7029 Store6708@theUPSstore.com The UPS Store* 11 S Angell St Providence, RI 02906 (401) 751-6245 store3114@theupsstore.com *Pick-up from us and drop-off to either service is available. FURNITURE, FINE & DECORATIVE ART Scott Cousins* North South Art Transfer 978-491-9353 ScottCousins22@aol.com Ben Anderson* Outward Bound Courier Logistics 7 Park Terrace Dalton, MA 01226 413-854-3676 OutwardBoundCL@yahoo.com U.S. Art* 78 Pacella Park Drive Randolph, MA 02368 781-986-6500 *Providing arrangements have been made within five (5) days after the auction, we will store the item for a reasonable time to accommodate your shipper’s schedule. Please contact us for additional shipping recommendations or to answer your questions.
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