Early 19th Century Portrait of Naval Captain William Compton Bolton

Late 18th to Early 19th Century Portrait of a Sea Captain, by Charles Delin (Netherlands: 1756-1818), circa 1810, a fine period oil on canvas quarter-length portrait of Captain Mellens, an elegant gentleman in navy blue woolen double breasted sea coat, with high starched collar shirt and neck cloth, unsigned; retains an old collection label on the reverse identifying the artist and subject. The painting remains in fine condition, in its original carved and gilded frame. Although identified by name, we could not find any additional information on the sitter. The name and clothing indicates that the captain was American or English. The artist Charles Delin was highly regarded in his day and specialized in sea captain portraits...

Early 19th Century Portrait of the Marsh Family Twins, by Thomas Arrowsmith (English: 1772 - 1834), circa 1830, an oil on canvas group portrait of the celebrated five children of the Marsh family of Boston. The two pair of twin girls and their younger brother became well known on both sides of the Atlantic in their day, because sets of twins were pretty rare, and these children were so ridiculously cute. Apparently the greatest artists of their day were all clamoring to paint their portraits. The Magazine Antiques ran an article on the children and their popularity about 20 years ago. The short hair cuts sported by the girls are quite striking, and are actually not as odd and rare as many people assume. While longer hair enhanced with ringlets and other curls were very much the popular fashion, a good number of parents did boldly break away with these daring short bobs. Perhaps they were the "bohemians" of their day. The style grew in popularity, even among adults, following the French Revolution: dubbed "Guillotine Haircuts" they declared sympathy for the deposed royals. In this particular instance, I believe the short hair was chosen because it focused more attention on the beautiful faces, and lessened the variations in height and hair color to make them all look even more alike. A delightful painting, slightly Romantic School, a touch Folk Art, in excellent condition and signed on the reverse. Thomas Arrowsmith was a highly regarded artist who worked almost entirely in miniature. Such artists who created such amazingly detailed tiny portraits on ivory...

An English 19th century portrait of a gentleman, oil on canvas, original frame and stretcher, crackle paint typical of older pain...

Portrait of Augustus Schwartze, Founder of the Union Manufacturing Company, Baltimore, Maryland American School, c. 1810–1820 This striking early 19th-century American portrait depicts Augustus Schwartze (1785–1844), prominent Baltimore industrialist and founder of the Union Manufacturing Company, one of Maryland’s earliest and most important textile mills. Executed in oil on canvas and attributed to an unidentified yet accomplished hand within the American Federal portrait...