Description:

Attributed to Henry Eldridge (British, 1769-1821), "Sir John Thomas Coghill, Second Baronet (1766-1817)", watercolor, unsigned, "Frost & Reed, Bristol and London" label and remnant of "Alphonse Giroux / 7, rue du Coq-Saint-Honoré, Paris" label en verso, 23 1/2 in. x 18 in., framed. Note: Henry Eldridge, whose work in miniature portraits was much admired by Sir Joshua Reynolds, began his artistic career with an apprenticeship to engraver William Pether, followed by studies at the Royal Academy in the late 1780s. Eldridge developed his distinctive style, which combined miniature painting depicting the likeness of his sitter with elegant draftsmanship portraying the background and personal effects of the subject. This portrait of Sir John Thomas Coghill impeccably displays Eldridge’s characteristic technique, with strong lines in ink defining the architecture and delicate shading of the figure and his surroundings created through multiple washes of watercolor. Eldridge’s meticulousness is apparent in the fine details throughout the picture, particularly the maps – one rolled and held in Coghill’s hand and one unrolled on the table beside him – which show areas of land that Coghill had recently purchased from the Marquis de Lafayette. The lands included 4000 acres in Point Coupée, as indicated at the bottom of the rolled map, and a small tract of land north of New Orleans near Lake Pontchartrain, to which Coghill is pointing. Coghill, along with Alexander Baring and Henry Seymour, had purchased these lands from Lafayette in March of 1812 for 60 francs per acre. Lafayette, who was gifted the property by the United States government in gratitude for his assistance during the Revolutionary War, required funds to settle his substantial debts, and he decided to part with his Louisiana property in order to do so. Coghill must have been enthusiastic about his recent purchase when he commissioned such a skilled artist as Eldridge to commemorate the occasion with this superb watercolor. Ref.: Abbey, Kathryn T. “The Land Ventures of General Lafayette in the Territory of Orleans and State of Louisiana.” La. Historical Quarterly, 16 [1933]: 359–73; Paul V. Lutz. “Lafayette’s Louisiana Estate: The Unusual Dealings between the Marquis and Three Wealthy Englishmen.” La. Studies, 6 [1967]: 333–60; “Madison and Lafayette’s Louisiana Lands, 26 Oct., 1809 (Editorial Note).” Founders Online. Mar. 2, 2002. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/03-02-02-0046. Accessed Oct. 16, 2018.

  • Condition: All lots are sold “As is” and “Where is”. Neal Auction provides condition reports on items with a low estimate over $500 as a courtesy to aid in your bidding decision. No statement regarding age, condition, kind, value, or quality of a lot, whether made orally at the auction or at any other time, or in writing in this catalogue or elsewhere, shall be construed to be an express or implied warranty, representation, or assumption of liability. Completed condition reports are posted as an additional image with the lot. Neal Auction does not give refunds.

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November 16, 2018 2:00 PM CST
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