$10,073
Alfredo Helsby (Chilean, 1862-1933) A Muddy Road (near Santiago) Signed "Alfredo Helsby" l. l., titled in pencil on the stretcher. Oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 36 1/4 in. (73.0 x 92.0 cm), in a 1926 Carrig-Rohane frame. Condition: Craquelure, surface grime. N.B. In 1903 Boston painters Charles Prendergast and Hermann Dudley Murphy, along with the carver and gilder Walfred Thulin, joined together to start a framing business. Begining in 1906, the business was known as the Frame Shop of Hermann Dudley Murphy. It was incorporated in 1911 as the Thulin-Murphy Company. In 1914, the name was changed to the Carrig-Rohane Shop, after the Irish village of Murphy's father. In 1915, Murphy turned management of the business over to Robert C. Vose. At its peak, the shop employed fifteen people and provided custom frames to museums, galleries, and collectors throughout America. In 1939 the corporation was dissolved, and the operation moved to the Vose Galleries' premises. These notes are based upon information from the Smithsonian Institution's catalogue entry for the microfilm records of Carrig-Rohane Shop. The craquelure is prevalent but stable. The work would benefit from cleaning. Frame is handcarved on the back with the following inscription, "19M26/Carrig - Rohane Shop Inc/R.C. Vose" l.c. and "#4533" l.r. It is inscribed in pencil "Mrs. H. M. Gage/(HELSBY/South American Scene)" u.r.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2010-09-24
