Likely New York State
(Ralph Curtis, 1808-1885)
The artist enjoyed a long career mostly in Upstate New York and a period in the Midwest, and Pennsylvania [there are no extant works from his years in Pennsylvania]. With one exception, all known portraits are painted on hand-hewn tulipwood, pine, and poplar wood panels. Curtis’s oeuvre is distinctive, the outlines of the faces, noses, and bushy eyebrows are boldly emphasized; noses are often elongated, foreheads are prominent. The philtrum, [dimple in the upper lip], is often deep. Some of the artists’ subjects feature a subtle, graduated nimbus effect centering the head and upper body. Most always the thumbs are hidden behind books, tucked into clothing, or otherwise disguised.
Item Date: Circa 1825-1830
Measurement: View: 30" x 23.25"
Material: Oil on Cleated 3-board Panel
Item Condition: Insignificant touchup to areas of shrinkage.
Literature: See J. E. Jelinek, “Ralph D. Curtis: A Nineteenth-Century Folk Artist Identified,” The Magazine Antiques, November 2009.
Price: $6,800
SKU 1515-2
For More Information, Please Contact David Hillier at 978-597-8084 or email drh@aaawt.com.
Please click on images to expand.
