Rembrandt Peale (American, 1778-1860) First Sketch, Portrait of Charles Harmer

Description:

Rembrandt Peale (American, 1778-1860)

First Sketch, Portrait of Charles Harmer, c. 1850
Unsigned, inscribed "First Sketch for Portrait of Charles Harmer/Purchased from
Uncle Rembrandt/by Mary J. Peale" and identified on a partial label on the reverse.
Oil on canvas mounted to a panel, 20 1/2 x 16 3/8 in. (52.0 x 41.5 cm),framed.
Condition: Retouch, fine craquelure, surface imperfections, frame abrasions.

Provenance: Mary Jane Peale; Mrs. Andrew Weisenberg (great-granddaughter of Rubens Peale); Kennedy Galleries, 1967.

N.B. Mary Jane Peale, whose inscription appears on the reverse of the lot presented here, was the daughter of Rubens Peale and niece of Rembrandt Peale. Following the Peale family tradition, Mary Jane was also an artist, and it is known that she studied with her uncle, Rembrandt. The portrait sketch at hand is recorded in Mary Jane Peale's "List of Paintings I Own," a manuscript from 1884 (#28) that is in the Peale-Sellers Manuscript Collection at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia (B/P31/52c).
Estimate $8,000-12,000

Keywords