Neal Auction 2012

W denotes the lot is illustrated at www.nealauction.com 83 351. An American Late Classical Carved Mahogany Drum Table , 19th c., segmented top above two frieze drawers, columnar stem, circular plinth, molded sabre legs, brass paw feet, casters, height 30 1/2 in., diameter 35 3/4 in. $1200/1800 352. An American Federal Mahogany Wing Chair in the Sheraton Taste , c. 1800, arched back with shaped wings, scroll arms, straight seat rail above turned legs, casters. $1500/2500 353. Attributed to Rembrandt Peale (American, 1778-1860) , “Portrait of Mary Davenport Kimball”, oil on canvas, inscribed label en verso, 21 in. x 17 in., unframed. $6000/8000 Note: Working in the Neoclassical style of artists such as Jacques-Louis David, Rembrandt Peale followed in his father’s footsteps as a portraitist. Among his sitters are such notable figures as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Marshall; however, his main clientele were wealthy patrons from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and the surrounding areas. In his portraits of our nation’s leaders and its citizens, Peale infuses dignity, emotion, and a sense of gravitas, which can be noted in the current lot, a portrait of Mary Davenport Kimball (1814-1868), wife of Stephen Kimball (1807-1870). The Kimballs were a wealthy Philadelphia family with three children, George Peabody Kimball, Edward Stephen Kimball, and Anna Harper Kimball; in the 1870 United States Federal Census, the Kimball children, having inherited their father’s estate, are listed as living in the 24th district of Philadelphia. Edward Kimball is known to have enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania in 1860, although he left during his first year (most likely to join the war effort). This lovely portrait of their mother, Mary, illustrates many of Peale’s strongest qualities in portrait painting. The indistinct background with a halo of light around the sitter’s head, the emotional expression in the eyes, and the red, heart-shaped lips all bear a resemblance to Peale’s portrait of his daughters Rosalba and Eleanor in his 1826 painting The Sisters . 354. Conrad Wise Chapman (American, 1842-1910) , “River Landscape”, 1882, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 24 in. x 41 in., period frame. $6000/8000 Note: The son of American artist John Gatsby Chapman in 1842, Conrad Wise Chapman was exposed to art and culture at an early age. When Conrad was young his father moved the family to Italy to paint. Chapman returned to America in 1861 to fight on the side of his native Virginia during the Civil War. Some of Chapman’s most important works were created during this time, including a series of thirty-one paintings of the war as he witnessed it while stationed in Charleston Harbor. Now in the collection of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia, this important group of paintings give us a glimpse of the war’s destruction as well as a rare view of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley . The rugged terrain of the landscape depicted here with its bustling boat traffic and moody clouds shows Chapman’s adeptness in handling large scale panoramic scenes. While the location of the painting is unidentified, Chapman traveled widely in his post-war years, including Mexico, France, Italy and Northern Virginia. 531 352 353 354