Nicola Marschall (Prussian/Alabama, 1829-1917), "Portrait of a Gentleman", 1902, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower center, partial "Hubbuch Bros., Louisville, KY" label on stretcher, 30 1/4 in. x 25 1/8 in., original frame, overall 39 1/2 in. x 34 3/8 in. x 3 1/2 in. Provenance: Owsley Costlow, grandson of the artist, Louisville, KY; Private Collection; thence by descent. Note: Nicola Marschall immigrated from Germany to the United States in 1849, arriving first in New Orleans and then Alabama. Due to the economic depression caused by the Civil War, Marschall moved his family to Louisville, Kentucky in 1873. Throughout the late nineteenth century, Marschall gained a reputation as a premier portraitist painting influential people and often fellow Kentuckians.In the portrait of an unknown gentleman offered here, Marschall portrays a religious man, judging by the small cross in his cravat. Likely painted in Louisville and depicting one of the city’s prominent citizens, the stretcher of the work still retains the label from Louisville’s Hubbuch Brothers, seller of wallpaper, carpets and picture frames. Marschall presents the sitter’s austere visage against a dark background, the highlights in his eyes replicated in the glinting cross at his neck and crisp white of his collar, giving life to an otherwise somber portrait.

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