$5,036
John Samuel Blunt (American, 1798-1835) Portrait of a Gentleman and His Wife. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, c. 1834, 33 1/4 x 28 in., in veneered molded frames. Condition: Both are relined; the male portrait has restoration. Literature: According to Folk Painters of America by Robert Bishop, Crown Publishers Inc., New York, Blunt was a New England folk artist who moved from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Boston in 1831. There he had a studio on Cornhill and exhibited at The Boston Atheneum until his death in 1835. He is remembered for his portraits, seascapes, ship portraits, winter scenes, and genre scenes. Both are relined, frames with some veneer loss; both have a masking varnish on bodies and background excluding the faces and hands. The gentleman has extensive retouch to areas around hairline and sideburns, under eyes , iris'' either side of and under the nose, upper lip repainted, minor small spots on forehead, cheeks, chin, left facing jacket sleeve and jacket, few spots on upholstry, background edges of canvas; the woman has minor retouch to minute spots on forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin, an area just under brooch, a few spots on bodice ans sleeves, and a few areas in the background around the canvas edges.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2008-11-01