🔥 Historic Antique Los Angeles California Gold Rush Portrait Oil Painting, 1864 for Sale

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🔥 Historic Antique Los Angeles California Gold Rush Portrait Oil Painting, 1864 For Sale

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🔥 Historic Antique Los Angeles California Gold Rush Portrait Oil Painting, 1864:
$2750.00

This is a fascinating and well-done pair ofHistoric Antique Los Angeles California Gold Rush Portrait Oil Paintings on canvas, depicting two early settlers of Los Angeles in the 1860\'s. These works are by the hand of the immensely talented 19th c. Cincinnati Ohio painter, George W. White (1826 - 1890.) The first portrait depicts a handsome gentleman, with a tall white collar and large black bowtie. On the verso, this work reads: \"Geo. W. White. Hamilton, O....Edmund Stone, Los Angeles 1864.\" The second portrait depicts a young auburn-haired woman, who stares intensely at the viewer with a pensive and serious facial expression. She wears an ornate lace collar and an intricate jeweled brooch. The verso of this painting reads: \"Maude (Dawson?) Stone, Los Angeles 1864.\"Each painting is approximately 19 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches (including frame.) Actual artworks are approximately 14 x 17 inches.Each painting has various condition issues, such as minor paint loss, light craquelure, small pinhole tears, and moderate scuffing, edge wear, and gilding loss to the 100+ year old Civil War era gilded wood frames (please see photos.) These figures were likely early California settlers heading from the east coast to California during the 1860\'s Gold Rush Boom and visited George W. White on their way to the Western Frontier to get their portraits commissioned. I could not find much information on these individuals, but perhaps you know more about them? These historically significantand fine American portrait paintings are priced to sell. Acquired in Southern Texas, United States. If you like what you see, I encourage you to make an Offer! Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks!
About the Artist:
George WhiteBorn:1826 - Oxford, Ohio
Died:1890 - Hamilton, OhioKnown for:Portrait
George White began his career as an artist in 1843. For a time he also worked as a traveling minstrel. In 1847 he returned to Cincinnati where he settled. He was an early member of the Artist\'s Union. He is remembered for his portraits of General Grant and General Sherman.

Source: Cowan\'s sales Inc, May 2005White, George W.

George W. White, the well-known artist of this city, was born on the 8th of November, 1826, at Oxford. His father, George G. WHITE, was a native of Virginia, and emigrated at an early age to Ohio, settling in Fairfield Township, near Black Bottom, in the year 1800. In 1824 he became postmaster of the village of Oxford, continuing in office some twenty-five years. Here George W. WHITE began his first attempts at painting, which it is believed, are mostly destroyed. Mr. HIGGINS, who resides in the village, was the first to encourage him in the idea of becoming a painter, and gave him a lump of crude umber, gamboge, and Prussian blue, with some white lead. With these crude appliances he began a picture on a piece of unprepared bed-ticking, and placing it on the house-top to dry. His first essay at painting heads was made in Hamilton, in the year 1840, with S. S. WALKER, under whose direction he was placed a short time, when he became ill from close confinement, on recovery being sent to the Miami University as a student, Prof. MOFFATT, seeing his predilection, advised him to continue the study of art. Although his father was unfavorable to this course of life, he supplied his son with means to go to Cincinnati, where he entered upon an artist\'s career in 1843. He met with but little encouragement. The painters all assured him that the life of an artist was \"a starving one,\" and he was obliged to catch up what instruction he could from the others, not being able to afford regular lessons.

His scanty means were soon exhausted and he began traveling as a negro minstrel. This was then new, and he went through the country with Webb\'s Serenaders and Sable Sisters, following this with a trip on the Ohio and Mississippi with a show company, comprising minstrels, tumblers, and athletes. At New Orleans the company disbanded in trouble, and WHITE returned to Cincinnati and engaged with Rockwell\'s Amphitheater, on the site where the Gazette office now is. Here he sang and played nightly in the saw-dust of the arena, under the cover of burnt cork. This was his last appearance in public in this capacity. He resumed the pencil, and returned for a season to his native village, where he painted cabinet heads of all who would sit, at five and ten dollars a head. He returned to Cincinnati in 1847, and took rooms in the Apollo Building, at the corner of Fifth and Walnut, which was at that time the retreat of several meritorious artists, amongst who we might name BEARD, BRANNON, MILLER, EATON, DUNCANSON, WHITTRIDGE, JOHNSON, Tom JONES, the sculptor, and others. Mr. WHITE had his room-mate W. L. SONNTAG, the landscape painter, who is now living in New York City. The first picture which Mr. WHITE ventured to place before the public was a half-length portrait of Julia Dean HAYNE. She was then the city\'s favorite, and her picture attracted wide attention. She was represented as Virginia in the play of Roman Father. From that time on he continued to paint portraits, landscapes, and so on; in fact, any kind of work was gladly received. Some of these canvases were the joint productions of WHITE and SONNTAG, who, when not engaged in painting, were skirmishing about for something to eat. They suffered keenly from the distresses and difficulties which usually attend this class of young and undistinguished painters, and were forced to do whatever offered. Occasionally they decorated omnibuses and railroad cars, and at other times painted scenes in the Museum Theater.