1845 Jane Anthony Davis Portraits
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GUEST:
It was in my grandmother's hope chest, and when she passed away, I found it. It's my great-great-great- grandmother and -grandfather. They lived in Willimantic, Connecticut...
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
I'd kind of like to know who the artist is, and if he did other paintings in the area.
APPRAISER:
Right. This is a fascinating watercolor. You said, "I'd like to know more about him," as the artist-- is that it's not a him.
GUEST:
(gasps) Oh, it's not?
APPRAISER:
It's not. It's a, it's a she.
GUEST:
Ohhh.
APPRAISER:
And the artist's name is Jane Anthony Davis.
GUEST:
Oh, my.
APPRAISER:
And she was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1821, and she died of consumption in 1855. And she was an itinerant artist, and she traveled around the areas close to her birthplace in Rhode Island, in Willimantic and other towns in Connecticut, painting portraits of the common folk. These were not expensive things to be done.
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
But they were important things to be done, because they were the primary way that people had images of their families. What's really nice about this particular Davis is, you've got the mother...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And her baby girl, and her husband, and there's the mother-in-law, right there.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Elisabeth Fisk.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And what's really nice about this one is not only that it's three generations, but it's fully inscribed. Beautiful calligraphy, which shows the names of the subjects-- there's the name of the town in which they were painted, the date, August the 9th, 1845-- and here's the artist's signature, J. A. Davis. And a photograph of them in Nebraska later on.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
So this is an incredible family document, and a wonderful example of a rare woman artist.
GUEST:
Oh, well, I never thought about a woman at all.
APPRAISER:
I know, most people don't.
GUEST:
Never crossed my mind, that's...
APPRAISER:
So I guess the only piece of the puzzle that's missing right now is the value. This unusual triple portrait and the single portrait would be $25,000 to $35,000.
GUEST:
Oh... that's very nice. I-- my husband will be very surprised.
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