Pair of Portrait Miniatures of Oliver S. and Martha (Nasm) Sanford

Description:

Pair of Portrait Miniatures of Oliver S. and Martha (Nasm) Sanford, attributed to Alvin Clark (American, 1804-1887),c. 1845, the subjects' names inscribed on paper backing on the reverse, watercolor on ivory, depicting half-length oval likenesses of Martha wearing a black dress, white lace fichu, and a colorful shawl, and Oliver wearing a black jacket, vest, and cravat, with landscape background, 3 1/4 x 2 1/2 in., in a brown leather case with brass mats. Condition: Very good, losses to cases.

Note: According to inscriptions on the paper backing, the portraits were taken in 1845, Oliver was born October 18, 1819, in Newark, New Jersey. He married Martha Pray Nasm June 4, 1845, and died Oct. 31 1906, in Wellesley, (Massachusetts). Martha was born in Augusta, Maine, in 1824, and died in Wellesley in 1898. They were the grandparents of Charles P. Gorely Jr.
Alvin Clark was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, was a self-taught artist, opened a studio in Boston in 1836, and exhibited his works in Providence, Boston and New York. His work is distinguished by painting the women wearing brightly colored garments and the men in more subdued tones. He and usually painted his subjects three-quarter length, as was done in these portraits.
Estimate $4,000-6,000

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