CHARLES PEALE POLK (AMERICAN, 1767-1822), ATTRIBUTED, SHENANDOAH VALLEY OF VIRGINIA, BRISCOE FAMILY PAIR OF PORTRAITS, (updated 6/17/22) oil on canvas laid to board, each a three-quarter length depiction of subject seated in a French-style upholstered chair with tasseled curtain and Classical column in the background, partially pulled back to reveal a distant rural landscape, she with bonnet, black lace collar, and white fichu, an open Bible turned to "Psalms" on her lap and a pair of spectacles in her right hand, he with reddish-brown coat bearing brocaded buttons, a pamphlet in his right hand titled "Treatise on Agriculture", no signature(s) located. Each housed in period, possibly original, molded frame bearing later gold surface with original black underneath. Reserve. 1799. 35 1/4" x 26 1/4" sight, 40" x 31" OA.
Provenance: From the collection of H. C. Stuart and Emily Cochran, Stuart House, Staunton, VA. Property descended in the family of Archibald Stuart (1757-1832).
Catalogue Note: The present pair of portraits are one of three versions painted by Charles Peale Polk (1767-1822) in 1799 at the request of Gerard Briscoe (1737-1801), a wealthy landowner in Frederick Co., Virginia. It is presumed that Briscoe commissioned the three copies from Polk in order to give each of his daughters a pair. Eleanor, one of the Briscoe daughters, received this pair from her father and mother, and brought them with her to Staunton, Virginia upon her marriage to Archibald Stuart. The portraits have since descended directly in the Stuart family.
The appearance of the present pair of portraits on the open market represents a rare opportunity for collectors and institutions, given the scarcity of documented 18th-century portraits from the Virginia backcountry. Indeed, the Briscoe portraits offered here represent two of the very few Charles Peale Polk portraits of Virginia sitters still in private hands.
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Good as-found estate condition with minor craquelure and moderate overall discoloration to varnish, heavier in areas. Scattered minor inpainting to both figures and backgrounds. Margaret with minor areas of surface loss around neck, lace shawl, and adjacent areas of background. Frames with wear and likely later surface.