Questroyal 2009

The pairing of nineteenth-century paintings with eighteenth- to twenty-first-century documents may seemdiscordant, but Questroyal has found them to be happy bedfellows. Our historical documents foster the same appreciation for American culture, history, and a shared heritage that our paintings awaken in each viewer. To this point, our collection has encompassed writings that bear witness to the emotional struggles of America’s commander in chief at Valley Forge; the Constitutional Congress and the torment it wreaked upon John Adams’s 5 ' 7 " stature; the ill-fated but un- swerving conviction of abolitionist John Brown; the strengthened dedication to defeat pro-slavery forces by a Springfield, Illinois, upstart named AbrahamLincoln; and a general rallying his troops before their brave departure for a distant shore. These are the letters and documents that created and sustained an America for our artists to depict. Questroyal is dedicated to the preservation of these documents and to making them available to our clients. Like any of our paintings, the letters are suit- able for display and provide viewers with a chance to examine up close what they would normally find in major historical institutions.The intrinsic value of these documents is also equal to their financial value: as time increases, so does their monetary worth. Take the most famous of American documents for example––at its first printing (the Dunlap broadside), the Declaration of Independence was distributed for free; now a first- run copy is worthmore than eight million dollars. This may be a special instance, but as a group historical letters perform well as both investments and part of a cherished American history and paintings collection. We ask that you review the following documents with a sense of their place in our shared American narrative. Each word, sentence, and paragraph may uniquely strike its reader; we look forward to knowing your reaction. — jlw fig. 10 A 2009 advertisement for Questroyal Fine Art’s historical documents and paintings