$5,228
Robert Salmon (England/Massachusetts, 1775-1848) Portrait of the Corsair, John Paul Jones (1747-1792) Signed, dated and inscribed "No 627, Painted by Robert Salmon/1828" (on the reverse) Oil on panel, 17 x 16 in. , in a giltwood and gesso frame. Condition: Inpainting in two vertical lines, scattered spots, and several small areas. Literature: John Wilmerding, Robert Salmon, Painter of Ship & Shore (1971), pp. 26, 33-34, 90, illus. p. 26. Exhibited: Robert Salmon, The First Major Exhibition , no. 35 Note: This painting, reportedly the only known portrait by Robert Salmon, is recorded as a portrait of "Paull Gomes" (reportedly a mis-transcription) in Salmon's Catalogue of Paintings . Salmon would have been educated on the British view of Jones: one of traitorous villainy, a view which persisted for decades after Jones's attack on Whitehaven in 1778. As Salmon emigrated to the United States in 1828, he reportedly painted this engraving-ready portrait "on spec," thinking it might appeal to (and form a bond with) his new American audience. It seems that he overestimated the market for works depicting Jones, who, though still very well-known in England, had been long-forgotten in America. Information provided by the consignor (which is the source of much of the above) is avaible for review.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2016-11-19
