Marcus Mote Folk Portrait, ca. 1849

Appraised on: July 23, 2011

Appraised in: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Appraised by: Allan Katz

Category: Folk Art

Episode Info: Tulsa, Hour 1 (#1601)

Originally Aired: January 2, 2012

IMAGE: 1 of 2  

Appraisal Video: (2:14)

GUEST: It's a painting of twins that was probably done posthumously because they died a week apart in 1849. And they were the twin sons of my late husband's great-great-grandfather, who was a physician in Lebanon, Ohio.

APPRAISER: And you also have, and you brought with you, the funereal notice.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: For the older son, William.

GUEST: That was the custom, to send an invitation to the funeral. And it was for the older son, William, the first born. And then the other one died a week later.

APPRAISER: And that is dated 1849.

GUEST: That is 1849. They were 22 months old at the time of their death.

APPRAISER: Well, we think we know the artist that painted this wonderful portrait. There is a well-documented and well-researched painting of the father, Dr. Chardis, by an artist by the name of Marcus Mote, who was from Ohio. He was born in 1817, and he does not have a large body of work, but he is completely self-taught. By 20 years old, he was doing miniature portraits on ivory.

GUEST: Oh.

APPRAISER: And he painted the doctor about the same time that the children passed away. So we're fairly certain that while he was painting the portrait of the father, he also did this for the family. The frame for sure is period to the piece, so there is no reason to think that it's not the original frame. We love the clothing of the two little boys.

GUEST: Yes.

APPRAISER: And their toys and this wonderful little bunny rabbit. It's so charming. Pieces like this tend to be valued in a regional way. So as a Marcus Mote attribution, I think that an Ohio collector would probably pay a retail price somewhere in the $6,000 to $8,000 range.

GUEST: Oh! Wow! That is an awesome ending to a very sad story.