The George Washington Family Engraved by John Sartain After Edward Savage - $650 - (Skokie, IL)
The George Washington Family Engraved by John Sartain After Edward Savage Details A Print of the Washington Family, Premium Print For Sartain's Union Magazine Is faded from age and edges are torn, see photos. Is glued to cardboard backing. Without type, print measures 23 5/8"x 16" Object: MezzotintAccording to one historian, “a mezzotint is a distinctive tonal print made using a copper plate that is worked or ‘grounded’ using a semi-circular fine-toothed hand tool known as a ‘rocker’ so that the entire surface is roughened by tiny pits.” The plate can then be covered with ink before being pressed against paper to produce a print. According to the dictionary, a mezzotint is the method referred to as well as the print produced from such a plate. This mezzotint, one of two in Wilton's collection, was made from an engraving by John Sartain in 1840 which he based on a painting by Edward Savage completed in “Philadelphia in the year 1796." Under the proper right corner of the print is: “Painted by Edward Savage," in the center “Published by Wm. Smith 3rd St. Philadelphia,” and under the proper left corner of the print: “Engraved by J. Sartain.” Underneath the print are the names of those depicted in painting, from the viewer’s left to right: George Washington Parke Custis, General George Washington, Eleanor Parke Custis, Martha Washington, and William Lee. The print depicts Washington as he sits at a table with his right arm resting on the shoulder of George Washington Parke Custis, who stands behind him. Across the table, on which is a map, sits Mrs. Washington pointing a folded fan to part of the map. Standing to her right is Eleanor Parke Custis. Standing behind Mrs. Washington is “Billy Lee, who was Washington’s body servant throughout the war” and “in the background is the noble aspect of the Potomac River as seen from Mt. Vernon.” The mezzotint is lacking in a detailed view of the Potomac River, as is the case with the print fr…
ADVERTISEMENT
From ebay.com - 1 month ago