Newly acquired antique prints and maps or items of particular interest
Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) was a Philadelphia born artist and photographer, but before going to Paris to study art with Jean-Léon Gérôme in 1866 he was a student at both the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as well as Jefferson Medical College. Upon his return to Philadelphia in 1870, he began painting portraits, mostly of family and friends, as well as his famous rowing scenes on the Schuylkill. In time he was also appointed as the assistant to Dr. W.W. Keen, professor of anatomy at both Jefferson and PAFA.
In 1875, as his entry into the competition to exhibit at the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, Eakins began his most ambitious work to date, “The Gross Clinic.” The painting was rejected for the art exhibition at the Centennial, though it was displayed there in mock hospital ward, in an outlying section of the huge exhibition. Though Eakins was immensely proud of the painting, it was found to be grotesque and unnecessarily gory, by critics and Victorian era art lovers.
In 1889, the graduating class of the university of Pennsylvania’s Medical School approached Eakins to paint what became “The Agnew Clinic,” as a tribute to their revered teacher and surgeon, Dr. David Hayes Agnew, whose retirement was to coincide with their graduation in that year. Eakins was able to complete the large painting in three months’ time in order to be presented at the graduation ceremony held at the Academy of Music. He was known to have made sketch studies of all the persons depicted in the painting, though these have not survived. Interestingly, Eakins himself appears at the far right of the painting, in conference with a doctor at Penn, Frederick H. Milliken. The portrait of Eakins was painted by his wife, Susan Macdowell Eakins, at least in part in order to expedite the painting’s completion.
Besides the preliminary portrait studies of the many persons depicted, Eakins also painted a black and white version of the painting specifically for the purpose of its being photographed. As a photographer himself (he had used photos as studies for many of his paintings of Schuylkill scenes), Eakins knew that warm tones especially appeared too dark in photographs of that period, hence his second achromatic painting of the subject. It was probably the black and white painting that was photographed in order to produce this halftone print. “The Agnew Clinic” was exhibited at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, and its reception was similar to that of “The Gross Clinic” nearly 20 years earlier, still offending late Victorian sensibilities. $525
Jacques Coelemans after Jean Benoist Castiglione (surnomme Le Benedette). "OMNIA VANITAS." Paris: Mariette, 1744. 17 x 21 3/4 (platemarks). Line engraving. Full margins. Fold at center as expected. Time toning. Strong impression.
The print was made for a portfolio by Coelemans (b. Anvers 1654-d. Aix-en-Provence 1735) in celebration of the paintings and drawings in the collection of Jean-Baptiste Boyer d'Aguilles (1645-1709). Besides being a painter and engraver in his own right, Boyer was the head of a powerful family, and after his death, his wonderful collection of Renaissance art remained in the family. Jacques Coelemans being from the same provence wished to commemorate his colleague's collection and flatter the family by including engravings of his pictures in the portfolio entitled Recueil d'estampes d'apres les tableaux des peintres des plus celebres d'Italie, des Pays-bas et de France (Paris: Pierre-Jean Mariette, 1744). The entire work is a beautiful and impressive compendium of fine art that also would have elevated French national pride in the age of Louis XV. The copy of this rare portfolio which we examined in The Free Library of Philadelphia was once owned by Joshua Reynolds, so it could have inspired similar works such as John Boydell's Houghton Gallery with its rich variety of prints after paintings in another great estate.
"Omnia Vanitas" quotes from Ecclesiastes and with rich meaning for cultured men of Europe. Enjoyment of material things is vanity, but exercised in a proper fashion, the worldly pleasures are good. The scene contrasts two groups. In the foreground is a lovely, healthy dancer surrounded by symbols of art and learning such as musical instruments, literature, a painter's palette, flowers, a game bird, armour, mathematical instruments and a geographer's globe. The dancer is accompanied by handsome men playing wind and string instruments. In the background, by contrast, is a bacchanal in a stark setting with only tambourines for music. An important message for subjects of the Sun King. $850
Jacques Coelemans after Francisque Milet. "BACCHANALE." Paris: Mariette, 1744. 13 1/2 x 16 (platemarks). Line engraving. Margins. Time toning. A few abrasions on surface.
The print was made for a portfolio by Coelemans (b. Anvers 1654-d. Aix-en-Provence 1735) in celebration of the paintings and drawings in the collection of Jean-Baptiste Boyer d'Aguilles (1645-1709). Besides being a painter and engraver in his own right, Boyer was the head of a powerful family, and after his death, his wonderful collection of Renaissance art remained in the family. Jacques Coelemans being from the same provence wished to commemorate his colleague's collection and flatter the family by including engravings of his pictures in the portfolio entitled Recueil d'estampes d'apres les tableaux des peintres des plus celebres d'Italie, des Pays-bas et de France (Paris: Pierre-Jean Mariette, 1744). The entire work is a beautiful and impressive compendium of fine art that also would have elevated French national pride in the age of Louis XV. The copy of this rare portfolio which we examined in The Free Library of Philadelphia was once owned by Joshua Reynolds, so it could have inspired similar works such as John Boydell's Houghton Gallery with its rich variety of prints after paintings in another great estate.
In "Bacchanale" the old god Bacchus lies intoxicated in a garden designed around a statue of Priapus. This picture by Francisque Milet (Anvers 1644- Paris 1680) is an ebullient emblem of the stupor induced by the pagan fertility cult. Ariadne (fruitful mother of barley) helps Bacchus hold his wine goblet while to the right a satyre rides away on an ass (symbol of lust), and to the left cherubs mount a ram (symbol of aggressiveness). The entire scene is ensconced with fruitful symbols of fertility such as grapes, wheat, nuts and an oak cluster on Bacchus' head. $600
"Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat LEXINGTON In Long Island Sound on Monday Eveg. Jany. 13th 1840, by which melancholy occurrence; over 100 PERSONS PERISHED." Drawn by W.K. Hewitt. New York: N. Currier, Jan. 1840. Version 2, State V. Broadside: full sheet 17 7/8 x 13 1/2; image 8 3/8 x 12 1/8. Some repaired tears and rubbing to text area. Very good condition for separately issued broadside. C:328. Ref: Brust & Shadwell, "The Many Versions and States of The Awful Conflagration of the Steam Boat Lexington," Imprint, Vol. 15, No. 2.
On January 13, 1840, the passenger steamer Lexington on its way from New York to Stonington, Connecticut, burned in Long Island sound. There were only four survivors from among the 150 passengers and crew members. This spectacular catastrophe was disastrous for many, but proved a boon for a young New York lithographer named Nathaniel Currier. The news of this tragedy reached New York two days later, and the next day the New York Sun came out with a broadside about the disaster which included a lithographed image of the disaster. The sensation caused by the burning of the Lexington continued for weeks, spurred on by the repeated reissued of updated versions of this broadside. One week after the first publication, a new, more accurate lithographed image appeared on the broadside, this one attributed to artist W.K. Hewitt and lithographed by Nathaniel Currier. With its correct nighttime imagery, giving it a much more dramatic appearance, this broadside kept interest in the tragedy alive. In the days before photography and television, the combination of fast reportage and a dramatic lithographed image made this Sun Extra a big success. The popularity of the broadside inspired Nathaniel Currier to take over its publication after the Sun stopped its involvement, and he issued another three versions thereafter. This is the second version, with Currier the publisher responsible for both text and image. According to Harry T. Peters, the popularity of his Lexington lithograph is what firmly established Nathaniel Currier as a financial and popular success, and allowed him to build his firm (later Currier & Ives) into the dominant American printmaking company. $3,800
George Caleb Bingham. "Stump Speaking." New York: Fischel, Adler & Schwartz, 1856. 22 x 30. Engraving by Gautier. With a dedication to the "Friends of American Art, by the Publishers." Very good condition. Wide margins with some surface wear from old matting. One word in dedication worn. Professionally conserved. Image and overall condition is very good. Ref.: McDermott, p. 437, #9.
George Caleb Bingham is one of the greatest American genre painters of the middle of the nineteenth century. In his large canvases he showed daily life from American heartland. A number of these were made into prints, of which this is one of the most desirable and rare. The image is an icon of American art and politics. A group of voters (all men, the only enfranchised citizens at the time) gather beneath an oak tree on a Missouri farm to listen to the candidates present their positions and qualifications. The speaker leans forward for emphasis, while an imposing, opposing candidate sits behind listening and another makes notes on a pad. This latter individual is thought to be Bingham himself, who was involved in politics for a number of years. Though based on actual events witnessed by Bingham, the scene is general and iconographic. The mix of ages and social classes thoughtfully considering the candidates is an ideal image of American democracy. $6,200
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