Oil painting on canvas landscape painting, depicting a dense forest in the foreground with a calm lake behind and cloudy sky. Frames in a heavy, highly ornate Rococo revival gilt frame. Signature 'H D Martin' in red paint.
Dimensions given are for painting not including frame.
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-01-31
Condition Notes
Painting needs cleaning; surface is very dirty and there is crazing of paint.
Object ID
W.1989.109.001
Notes
Homer Dodge Martin was born in Albany, NY in 1836. A pupil, for a short time, of William Hart, his earlier work, similar to this painting, was closely aligned with the Hudson River School. During the 1860s he spent the summers in the Adirondacks, Catskills and White Mountains, and painted landscapes from his sketches.
Watercolor painting of Susquehanna River near canal at Columbia.
Tiny watercolor done in shades of white, gray and black on rectangular, light brown paper. Scene depicts the town of Columbia as seen from the north side, with the canal leading up to the town, large chimneys belching smoke at center and the bridge crossing the Susquehanna River at right.
Newly framed by donor in gold frame. Mounted on heavy pink paper with 1/4" border extending beyond all four sides. This paper is then mounted on a background paper of dark green.
Inscribed on reverse: "Susquehanna at Columbia/ Lloyd Mifflin/ 1846-1921/ c. 1870." (Written by Wendell Zercher)
Two small scenes drawn/painted by Lancaster County artist, Lloyd Mifflin, mounted together in a modern frame. 2 parts: Paris scene in pencil at top (A) and grey-to-black watercolor at bottom (B).
(A) Pencil sketch on paper, looking up Seine River in Paris with city on either side, boats in water and arched bridge in distance. Sign at bottom left: "L.M. Paris '72" 3.875 inches wide by 1.875 inches high.
(B) Monochromatic grey-to-black watercolor, except for white paint applied to sun on horizon and white highlights to main trunk to trees. River scene, with trees, hills in distance, and sun on horizon. Unsigned. 3.25 inches wide by 2.3125 inches high.
Newly framed on light blue background with white under matting; glass covered; greenish wood frame with black speckles. Written by Wendell Zercher.
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.
Sticker glued to lower left corner in back in typing: Aaron Kepler/ son of A.C. & M.M. Kepler/ 1872-1878/ Painted by Rheingruber
Oil painting within a painted oval of a child with short brown hair, seems parted on left. Brown eyes. Shoulders partially revealed, wearing short-sleeved white top with detailed stitching. Elbows and waist are hazy. Background is varying shades of what may have been blue.
Canvas on stretcher, no frame. Wood is painted brown in back.
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2022-02-16
Condition Notes
Some cracks especially in white garment child is wearing. Some small pieces missing revealing white underneath. Bubble and crack on right side at level of child's neck. Some other bubbles without cracks.
Seems a cleaning would reveal brighter colors, especially for background.
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.
A: Watercolor on wove paper of J. Crump Tannery, Marietta, Pa, depicting a panoramic view of the Klumpp Tannery and residence, viewed from Front St. The white 2-story frame house with one-story addition is in the foreground on the left with a man and woman by the front door. The tannery complex with smokestack is on the right, set further back from the street with the tanning operation underway. A man in a small horse-drawn carriage is in the street in the front and a boy chasing 2 chickens is in the yard between the house and tannery. A brick church is in the background center.
John C. Klumpp's Tannery was built by P. Moyer on Locust Street between 2nd St. (now E. Market) and Prospect Alley in 1815. Klumpp acquired the tannery in 1874 and operated it until his death in 1901. The tannery occupied lots 69-70-71-72, Strawberry Alley ran beside the Klumpp residence on the left. To the rear of the dwelling, behind the fence can be the kitchen garden and outhouse.
Signed bottom left, in ink, "P. Meissner./18/1/76."
2 photographs of tannery:
B: Black and white photo showing roughly the same view as A, although closer to ground level. The house is on the left and the tannery on the right. At least five people are sitting/standing on the porch of the house facing the yard. The buildings appear mostly unchanged from the watercolor. The date "1908" is written in the lower left corner in ink.
C: Black and whit photo of the tannery from the back. Four separate buildings of varying design can be seen in a row, with the smokestack extending up out of frame slightly right of center. A stone bridge over a creek is at extreme right, with creek running around the buildings to the left. The date "1929" is written in the lower left corner in blue ink.
The photographs appear to be photographic copies of the originals. They were attached to the paper backing covering the frame of the watercolor.
A: watercolor has brown staining all over, especially apparent in the sky. Further discoloration along the top edge. The pieces was cleaned (dry and wet), mended, and flattened by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia in 1991.
B,C: Photos. B is browned and faded at the edges and curves inward. Both B and C have tape and backing residue on the reverse. They were dry cleaned, mended and flattened by the CCAJA in 1991. Further details available in file.
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.
