$3,555
American School, 19th Century Four Sheaff Family Portraits. Unsigned, the subjects identified in inscriptions applied to or written on the backing panels. Watercolor on paper, the first a pair of portraits, painted c. 1838, one depicting William John Sheaff (1813-1849), the other depicting William's wife Eugenia F. (Heister) Sheaff, and their two daughters Katherine E. (1834-1871) and Ellen F. (1837-1915), 10 3/4 x 9, in matching period molded walnut frames with gilt liners; the next is a pair of portrait miniatures, unsigned, depicting George Sheaff and his wife Katherine Muhlenberg, sight size 3 x 2 1/4 in., mounted in a later single gilt-gesso frame. Condition: Toning, minor foxing, the second pair not examined out of frame. Note: According to inscriptions on the backs of the paintings, Eugenia F. Heister was the granddaughter of both Joseph F. Heister (1752-1832), the Governor of Pennsylvania in 1820, and Frederick Muhlenberg (1750-1801), who was speaker of the first American Congress.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2012-08-12
