$19,975
Attributed to Matthew Pratt (American, 1734 - 1805) Portrait of Colonial American Patriot James Otis. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, 28 1/4 x 21 in., in a contemporary molded giltwood frame. Condition: Relined. Note: Born in West Barnstable, Massachusetts, James Otis (1725-1783), was a prominent attorney, orator and pamphleteer. He graduated from Harvard College in 1743 and settled in Boston in 1750, where he became a highly respected lawyer. He started out as a political conservative, and was appointed in 1756 as an advocate general in the vice admiralty court by the British Empire. He resigned this appointment when "the writs of assistance" was enacted to provide general search warrants that enabled customs officials to enter business and home without advance notice, probable cause, or reason given, in the hope of finding contraband. He was elected by an overwhelming margin to the House of Representatives a month later and subsequently authored several important patriotic pamphlets, served in the Massachusetts legislature and was a leader at the Stamp Act Congress. Artist Matthew Pratt was born in Philadelphia, and was a well-known portraitist and sign painter during the Revolution period of Colonial America.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2006-11-04
