American School, 19th Century Pair of Portraits of Daniel Aikens and His Wife Rhoda (Richmond) Aikens of Barnard, Vermont.

Description:

American School, 19th Century

Pair of Portraits of Daniel Aikens and His Wife Rhoda (Richmond) Aikens of Barnard,Vermont. Unsigned, the reverse inscribed with the names and ages of the sitters, Daniel, age 27, Rhoda, age 16, and also their dates of birth, marriage (1832),and death, inscribed in a different hand. Oil on panel, 25 x 20 in., unframed. Condition: Panels bowed, age crack at center on Rhoda's portrait, scattered abrasions and retouch.

Note: These portraits are probably related to a portrait sold at Skinner on August 12, 2001, Sale 2092, Lot 173, depicting Rollin Richmond (the brother of Rhoda, the woman portrayed here) of Barnard, Vermont, and which was dated February 1831 on the reverse. At the time it was sold, the portrait was attributed to Asahel Lynde Powers, an itinerant Vermont folk portrait painter, however, it was thought by the purchaser of the portrait to be the work of folk painter Amanda Powers, a relative of Asahel and possibly his sister.

These portraits were painted in 1830, two years before the sitters were married. According to William M. Newton, History of Barnard, Vermont, with family genealogies, Vol. II (Burlington: Burlington Vermont Historical Society, 1928),Captain Daniel Aikens was born on September 24, 1802, in Barnard, Vermont, the fourth child of Elijah and Rebecca (Tupper) Aikens; Elijah was a farmer who kept a country inn.

Daniel married Mary Vanlora (1804-1832),and after her death, he married Rhoda Briggs Richmond, the daughter of Maj. Lemuel and Joanna (Briggs) Richmond, who was born November 8, 1814, in Barnard, and died December 19, 1876. Daniel owned the saw and grist mill in Barnard village. He was a captain in the militia, was town clerk from 1845 to 1848, and attended the Vermont constitutional convention in 1850. In the 1850 census Daniel was listed as a farmer living in Barnard with his wife Rhoda and four children, and as a carpenter in the 1860 census. He died on August 25, 1882, in Boston.
Estimate $8,000-12,000


The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.

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