$22,325
Attributed to Sturtevant J. Hamblin (ac. 1837-1856) Portrait of a Girl in Blue, probably Boston, c. 1840. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, the three-quarter view of a young girl wearing a gold locket necklace holding an off-white and blue decorated fan in her right hand as she sits beside a gray column and gazes directly at the viewer, wearing a blue dress trimmed with white, in an appropriate mahogany veneer frame, 21 1/4 x 15 1/2 in. Condition: Unlined, repairs. Note: Sturtevant J. Hamblin's sister married William Matthew Prior in 1824. The Hamblins belonged to Portland, Maine family that had worked as painters for several generations. The Priors lived with Sturtevant Hamblin while both men worked as portrait painters in East Boston, beginning when they moved there in 1840. The similarities between portraits done by the brothers-in-law seem striking. However, it is clear that Hamblin's faces have more restrained brushwork and his hands usually are pointed and tapering, whereas Prior's are wider and more rounded.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2003-06-08
