Description:
Catharine Wharton Morris Wright (American, 1899-1988)
Floating Leaves, alternatively titled The Pergola, Ontalauna, 1920
Titled and signed or inscribed "...by C.M. WRIGHT, A.N.A./FOX HILL FARM/JAMESTOWN,
R.I./1920/PROPERTY OF MRS. HARRISON S. MORRIS/PHILA PA." on the stretcher.
Oil on canvas, 25 x 28 1/4 in. (63.5 x 71.8 cm),in a Stanford White-designed Newcomb-Macklin frame.
Condition: Tear, losses, canvas deformations, craquelure.
Provenance: The artist to her mother Anna Wharton Morris (1868-1957) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; by family descent to her sister Joanna Wharton Lippincott (1858-1938) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; by family descent to the present owner.
N.B. Wright was the granddaughter of prominent Quaker merchant, industrialist, scientist, and philanthropist Joseph Wharton, Esq. (1826-1909) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Conanicut, Rhode Island. The work depicts the pergola on a pond at Ontalauna, Joseph Wharton's country estate north of Philadelphia. Three photographs of the pergola in summer and winter accompany the lot.
Estimate $4,000-6,000
Tear to u.l. quadrant measures approx. 2 1/2 in. length; surface grime--would benefit from a cleaning; no additional condition issues to report. Outer frame dimensions 33 x 36 x 1 in.