Description:

GILBERT STUART (American 1755-1828) A PAIR OF PAINTINGS, "Mr. and Mrs. Edward and Hannah Tuckerman," CIRCA 1810,
oil on panel; each 28" x 23 3/4", framed 35 1/4" x 30".

  • Provenance: Mr. and Mrs. Orton Clark; Vose Galleries, Boston, Massachusetts; An Eastern Foundation; Christie's, New York, Important American Furniture, Silver, Prints, Folk Art and Decorative Arts, January 18, 1992, sale 7398, lot 346; Alan Miller, Quakertown, Pennsylvania; George S. Parker II, Janesville, Wisconsin; Sotheby's, New York, The Highly Important American Collection of George S. Parker II from the Caxambas, January 19, 2017, lot 2179. Estate of Donald James Douglass, San Antonio, Texas. Proceeds to benefit the Douglass Foundation.
  • Exhibited: Boston, Massachusetts, Boston Athenaeum, Exhibition of Portraits, Painted by the Late Gilbert Stuart, Esq., August 1828, nos. 125, 142; San Francisco, California, Palace of the Legion of Honor.
  • Literature: George Mason, The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart, New York, 1879, p. 272; Lawrence Park, Gilbert Stuart, New York, 1926, vol. II, nos. 855, 856, pp. 768-70, illustrated vol. IV, pp. 534-35; George Parker, "Merchants and Planters: American Portraits of the Colonial Period and the Early Republic," Wisconsin Academy Review: A Journal of Wisconsin Culture, vol. 43, no. 4, Fall 1997, pp. 28-29, illustrated.

    Note: The Tuckerman family of Boston, Massachusetts begins with the grandparents of the sitter, Edward Tuckerman (1699-1751) and Dorothy Kidder (1715-1793). The sitter's father, Edward Tuckerman II (1740-1818) and his wife Elizabeth Harris Tuckerman (1747-1805) produced three daughters and eight sons. Edward Tuckerman III (1775-1843) was born February 13, 1775, approximately one year before the American Declaration of Independence was signed and ratified, July 2-4, 1776, and most notably during a time when his father was an active member of Sons of Liberty from 1774-1776, as well as serving in the Boston area militia. Edward Tuckerman III celebrated his first birthday approximately two months before his father's fellow compatriot, and Son of Liberty, Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride from Boston on April 18, 1775. Edward Tuckerman II was a three time elected Massachusetts senator, and originally apprenticed to be a baker. An American patriot, the sitter's father joined the Boston Artillery Company in 1765, and later served as a part of the indelible revolutionary war supply chain, providing flour to revolutionary war soldiers. Edward Tuckerman III father's invention of a biscuit which did not decay or rot for extended periods of time eventually provided the wealth and comfort the family enjoyed. Called a "durable bread," the biscuits were used by sailors and travelers on long trips. The Tuckerman family of Boston were also known to support education, expanding medical access, fair labor, and even instrumental in reviving the theater arts; helping to establish the Federal Street Theatre in 1794. Edward Tuckerman III's personal history is sparse, but his sister Elizabeth Tuckerman Salisbury provides some details about the family's experience in sitting for portraits with the great American portrait artist Gilbert Stuart. The record shows that Edward Tuckerman III was neither the first or second sibling to sit for Gilbert Stuart, with sessions beginning for his sister in 1810. The cost for a bust length portrait by Gilbert Stuart was reportedly approximately $64.83, while the three-quarter length portrait was $150. The present paintings are likely wedding portraits; Hannah and Edward Tuckerman were married in 1798, and she sadly perishes in 1814. The present portraits were likely executed sometime after 1811, but not anytime after 1814. Hannah is painted in a high fashion veil of embroidered lace cascading over a pale blue satin empire waisted dress with pointed guipure lace trim and a white gauze linen underdress; she sits on a red upholstered armchair. The veil and chair both can be found in Gilbert Stuart's work from this period with graceful variations. Though Edward Tuckerman III remarries in 1817, the portraits are historically paired and presented herein. One of the most important aspects of the present pair of sitters is their proximity to early American Revolutionary war history. Despite his quiet existence, Edward Tuckerman III's life hinged on the remarkable efforts of his father and other American Revolutionary war heros. Edward Tuckerman III should be considered within the aforementioned context, and celebrated for his role as one of, "America's first sons" to enjoy the protection, "...of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
  • Condition: Both paintings have been expertly conserved in the past. The paint and the supports are stable and in good condition and the surfaces are clean. Some retouching is visible in the face of Edward Tuckerman. Under UV both portraits show a few scattered touches of inpainting.

    Statements by Simpson Galleries regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Simpson Galleries. All lots offered are sold "AS IS."

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