Two Early Portraits of a man and women, oil on board, unsigned, ht. 13 1/2, wd. 11 1/2. Provenance: from the estate of Louis Prang. Louis Prang (1824-1909) was one of the most prolific and influential print publishers of the 19th-century. His Boston-based firm specialized in chromolithography, a technique of printing multi-color lithographs that eliminated the need for labor- and time- intensive hand-coloring. He was known for printing the first Christmas cards in America and was personal friends of many of the leading artists of his day including Winslow Homer. His output ranged from reproductions of paintings and maps to album cards, business cards and greeting cards, and he is credited with being the first publisher of Christmas cards. These publications feature typically Victorian subjects such as flora and fauna, animals, angels and cupids, and children. Prang would be influential in founding the Arts and Crafts Movement in America and was considered the Ruskin of America.