Attributed to John Brewster Jr., (American, 1766-1854) Pair of Portraits of Dr. James Hall and His Wife Lavinia.

Description:

Attributed to John Brewster Jr., (American, 1766-1854)

Pair of Portraits of Dr. James Hall and His Wife Lavinia. Unsigned. Circa 1800-1815. Oil on canvas, Lavinia wears a lace bonnet and collar, John wears a black jacket with a white jabot and cravat, 25 x 20 in., in period frames. Condition: Professionally conserved.

Note: John Brewster was born in Hampton, Connecticut. He was a deaf-mute who worked successfully as an itinerant portrait painter along the New England coast. He learned to communicate through writing. In 1817 he enrolled as a member of the first class of the Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb in Hartford where he learned lip reading and speech. He spent his last years in Buxton, Maine. Included in the lot is a photocopied note from a descendant of the Halls relating the location of these paintings as they were passed from one family member to another.
Estimate $20,000-25,000

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