James Buchanan shown from waist up, sitting in red upholstered chair. Wearing black suit, white shirt and white bow tie, high collar. Eyes looking right and body turned to left. Right hands holds document-may be the constitution. See notes for letter rem
Provenance
William McMaster
To - Mrs. C.E. McMaster (wife of)
To - Edward Y. Buchanan (1/1892)
To - Mrs. Eric DelSpoelberch (great-granddaughter of E. Buchanan)
Painting is very dirty; requires cleaning 05/31/2023
Gesso & wood frame is damaged in several areas requires conservation.
Object ID
W.1945.001.001
Notes
The following original letter is in the accession folder. Letter from back of Painting: ' Phila. Jan. 1892 - This is the original portrait of James Buchanan painted by Wm. E. MacMaster of New York in July 1856, by personal sittings given him during his stay at Wheatland.
Painting of girl with lamb. Gilt frame with ogee molding on outer and inner edge. Corners have applied molding. Picture is multi-colored and shows a young girl with golden -brown hair in curls, black head band, peach and blue flowers also in hair, blue eyes. Subject is Saint Agnes, the patron saint of children and the Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality.
Charlottesville Seminary, Albany, NY [According to Wikipedia, Charlotteville Seminary (1850-1875) was in Charlotteville, Schoharie County, New York.]
Oval picture set in rectangular frame. James Buchanan is shown wearing a blue jacket with white buttons, tan vest, and white shirt and tie. Hair is brown. 3/4 front and turned to his left. Frame has scroll-work inlay, black and red. Back of frame is 'Lou
Framed oil painting on canvas. 'Two Men Fishing From Rowboat.' Men in rowboat in foreground, mountains and trees in the background. Plain, gold-colored frame.
Water color portrait of a young man on wove paper. The subject depicted in full-length profile, facing to the viewer's left, with right foot in front of left. He has short black hair and is wearing a dark blue coat, white shirt with high collar, blue and white checked vest, dark gray pants and black boots. He is holding a top hat upside-down in his right hand.
The background is dominated by a blue sky with a few clouds, an orange or light brown horizon, blue-green hills and bushes (probably faded green) and brown ground.
According to the sellers, the subject is one of the Reitz (or Ritz) brothers. Catherine Reitz was the great-great grandmother of the seller, Guiles Erisman Costolo. For more info on the provenance see the file.
Artist Jacob Maentel (1763-1863) was an important itinerant portrait painter in watercolor who worked extensively in northwest Lancaster County during the first quarter of the 19th century.
Some horizontal buckling on left side, vertical buckling along top edge, but otherwise in good condition.
Conservation treatment and matting done in Feb. 1989 by CCAHA in Phila. Mat must have later been removed, so this piece was matted and framed by conservator Brian Howard in 1996.
Water color portrait of a young man on wove paper. The subject depicted in full-length profile, facing to the viewer's right, with the left foot in front of the right. He has brown hair that curls up at the neck and is wearing a dark blue coat, white shirt with high collar, blue and white checked vest, dark gray pants and black boots. He is holding a top hat upside-down in his right hand.
The background is dominated by a blue sky with four white clouds, an orange or light brown horizon, blue-green hills and bushes (probably faded green) and brown ground.
According to the sellers, the subject is one of the Reitz (or Ritz) brothers. Catherine Reitz was the great-great grandmother of the seller, Guiles Erisman Costolo. For more info on the provenance see the file.
Artist Jacob Maentel (1763-1863) was an important itinerant portrait painter in watercolor who worked extensively in northwest Lancaster County during the first quarter of the 19th century.
Some slight buckling down left side. Some small brown spots in upper left corner, below the cloud; also spotted across the non-blue portion of the sky. There is a crease running from the extreme right edge (at approximately the height of the subject's hand) to the bottom, ending slightly less than an inch from the lower right corner.
Conservation treatment and matting done in Feb. 1989 by CCAHA in Phila. Mat must have later been removed, so this piece was matted and framed by conservator Brian Howard in 1996.
Oil painting of Mrs. Alexander Hood seated on red chair with draped red curtain behind. Her dark brown hair is parted in the center and she is wearing a white covering with ruffles along sides covering her ears. The two wide sashes/ties hang down to her waist. A dainty lace collar piece, unattached, is around her neck with opening in front. She wears a black dress with gathers from a front vertical seam that ends in a point below her waist. Long sleeve visible on her left arm has two sections of gathers on the upper arm. Her left hand rests on her lap.
Artist: Arthur Armstrong, American portrait painter (b.1798-d.1851).
Some crackling overall. Some paint rubbed off above wooden edges. Some fine vertical streaks on woman's dress, left elbow. A small spot on right side of painting above red chair. Canvas nailed to stretcher bars in tact.
Framed theorem of stencil-painted fruit on light brown cotton velvet. Painting is a still life of variously colored fruits: melons, peaches, apricots, a half-eaten pear, grapes with leaves, plums and a pomegranate. Composed on a blue-colored base or table. An insect is depicted near bottom center below grapes.
There is no border signature or date. Frame is a flat-profiles with walnut veneer facing.
Provenance
Found in the Slaymaker attic among other framed objects, in very dirty conditions. Unknown maker, but possibly done at a Moravian school such as the one at Lititz. See Slaymakers at Linden Hall on page 147 of Slaymaker history.
Taken to Dottie McCoach for conservation June 1, 1998. Returned Sept. 17, 1998. See report in this file. After treatment the piece is still dark, stained and moisture damaged along the bottom.
3/4 profile bust portrait of "James Sproul of Octoraro . 1781 -1847 ." Subject's face towards viewer. See notes for additional information regarding date of gift and donor.
According to the "Papers Read Before the Lancaster County Historical Society, February 1, 1907, Minutes of the February meeting:
The following donations to the Society were announced by the Librarian: A large frame photograph of James Sproul, once a prominent citizen and iron master on the Octoraro Creek, below Christiana, donated by his grandson, Hon. W. C. Sproul, of Chester Pa.
The presentation of the Sproul portrait was made by Dr. J. W. Houston, who accompanied it by an address of considerable length, in which the career of Dr. Sproul was sketched, showing him to have been a man of mark in the earlier period of the county's history.
William Cameron Sproul (September 16, 1870 – March 21, 1928) was the 27th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1919 to 1923. He also served as a state senator from 1896 until his election as governor in 1919.
