Aside from the quality and relative rarity of the painting, what makes this offering truly special is the casework. The case is gold and gold on silver and hinges so that the miniature is enclosed on both sides by the metal. The front and back are done with different guilloche (engine turned)designs...
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: Sturgeon, active 1825-1835, is by no means a well-known artist in spite of having exhibited at the American Academy of Fine Arts in N.Y...
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES:
1. From "The Smithsonian Art Museum": Benjamin Trott (c1770 - 1843), thought to have been born in Boston, ranks with Edward Greene Malbone and Charles Fraser as one of America's best miniaturists...
The sitter is Sir Dugald Stuart, 2nd Baronet of Ardmaleish and Bute and the painting is signed, dated and inscribed on the reverse: "From a drawing on/Vellum of Sir Dugald/Stuart, father of the first Earl of Bute;/in the possession of/the Marquess of Bute/at Mount Stuart/by H M. S...
The painting is in excellent condition, as is its original velvet travel case, although the photo is not of the highest quality...
The condition of the miniatures is excellent, with no issues to speak of. Each is under glass, with card backing, gilt metal matting, and gilt foil edging. They are presented in a A.P. Critchlow & Co. case which still retains its original label and is also in excellent condition...
The condition of the case is excellent, as is that of the painting, which has no chips, cracks, bowing...
The reverse of the gold case deserves special mention, having a tailed circlet of...
The painting is presente...
The condition of the painting is excellent, as is that of the case. The hairwork on the reverse has some disturbances. Sight size is 2" by 1 5/8...
Condition of the painting and the case are both excellent, without problems. Sight size is 2 5/8" by 2 3/8" and the case size is 2 7/8" by 2 5/8".
NOTE...
Few miniatures by Tisdale are known to exist, and with very rare exception, are, as is the case here, unsigned.
Tisdale was born in CT around 1771, then moved to and worked in NYC from 1794 to ...
Although it is clear, based on the style and artistic techniques, that the painting was done by Trott, a fragment of one of his business cards was also found in the case the miniature is housed in.
The c...
Condition is excellent, with strong colors and no cracks, chips, paint loss, bowing, or restoration. The wood frame is also in excellent condition. Sight size is 3 1/2" by 2 7/8", wit...
The painting is in wonderful condition, with no issues. The period gilt wood frame has some expected and fairly unobtrusive wear but in person looks much better than it appears in the photo. Sight size of the painting is 3" by 2 1/2", with a framed size of 4 5/8" by 4 1/8...