Gray's to auction Civil War Painting Gray’s July 28 auction of Fine Furniture, Paintings and Decorative Arts celebrates the sesquicentennial anniversary of the start of the Civil War by presenting lot 177, a vivid Naval painting (1865).
News-Antique.com - Jul 21,2011 - On July 28, Gray’s Auctioneers will be selling lot 177, a rare Civil War painting from1865 entitled ‘Our Flag is There’. The signature is indecipherable however the Gray’s appraisal team has discovered a sketch by Thomas Nast which was featured on the cover of Harper’s Weekly, February 13, 1864. The sketch is an exact study for the painting. Thomas Nast famously caricatured political figures of his day and was declared the father of the American cartoon for his work at Harpers. He is credited with the creation of the modern version of Santa Claus, and Uncle Sam, as well as the political symbols of both major United States political parties: the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey. His early oil paintings are rare and all have historical and political significance. Of his paintings the most notable is ‘The Halt’ painted in 1864, depicting a Union soldier getting a drink of water from a sympathetic mother and baby, which sold at Doyles in 2007 for $252,000.
Lot 196 is another discovery for the specialists at Gray’s. A watercolor gouache on handmade jute paper, it is a portrait of Raja Balwant Dev Singh on Horseback, after the great master Nainsukh of Guler, with one line of Sanskrit text inscribed along upper edge and verso. A partial translation of the inscription on the front reads as follows: "Tasveer Maharaj Adhiraj Maharajshri Balwant Singh (JI)". This is from the collection of a local Ohio collector.
Gray’s are delighted to present lot 176, a coastal seascape by the renowned coastal artist Thomas Lorraine Hunt (1882-1938). Painted in 1922 while he was still living in Cleveland, Ohio it is also the property of a local collector. The painting has been in the family since it was purchased by the current owner’s grandparents.
Furniture design in the late 19th century flourished with the American Revival styles epitomized by the Rococo Revival style which focused almost exclusively on the style's ornamental motifs—shells and rocailles, scrollwork, acanthus leaves, and other flora and fauna, often in symmetrical compositions. Lots 6 – 32, consigned from a prominent mid-west estate, are furniture lots including lot 9 a monumental, German, heavily carved, walnut and oak buffet, which stands at 9 feet, 3 inches high, 5 feet, 6 inches wide and 2 feet deep. This extraordinary collection of furniture also features lot 15 a French provincial, heavily carved oak bed and armoire decorated with carved panels depicting the stages in the life of a married couple. Lot 13 is notable for its detailed carving, it is a 19th century Gothic Revival heavily carved oak and walnut partner’s desk in the manner of R.J Horner. There are more than twenty lots in this very interesting collection of furniture.
This auction features a collection of bronzes including lot 65, the Archer by Victor Heinrich Seifert (1870-1953). Seifert was prolific in the early part of the 20th century and his war memorials, statues and bronzes can be found in cities and towns throughout Germany. Lots 43 –
