Charles Cohill (American/Philadelphia, born c. 1812, active 1835- 1860), a pair of portraits, "Portraits of Lieut. Col. and Mrs. William Massey Huddy", oil on canvas, His inscribed en verso "Lieut. Col. W. M. Huddy/ to His Excellency/David R. Porter Governor/ State of Penna./commissioned/ Dated Feb. 25th, AD 1842/C. Coghill Painter", hers inscribed en verso "Mrs. W.M. Huddy/Painted by C. Coghill 1842", both 26.75in. x 21 .75in. E6000-8000 Note: On February 25th, 1842, David Rittenhouse Porter, the Governor of Pennsylvania, appointed William Massey Huddy, in recognition of His devotion to the Militia, as Aide-de-Camp of the City of Philadelphia with the rank of Colonel. This portrait of Huddy by Charles Cohill bears this date inscribed on the reverse. In addition to being an active member of the Volunteer Militias, the Philadelphia Grays, and later, the National Greys, Huddy was a noted artist, publisher and lithographer. Huddy was a very important figure in American military art of the nineteenth century, both founding and publishing The United State zinc in 1839 ( first published as the Military Magazine and Record of the Volunteers of the City and County of Philadelphia). Together with His partner, P S. Duval, Huddy printed and published a great many prints of the soldiers of the Volunteer Militia around the United States. Their magazine received a high level of acclaim from all levels, and their prints were noted for their accuracy in portraying the uniforms of the different companies. William Huddy died in 1846 at the age of thirty-nine. References: Johnson, Allen and Dumas Malone, Dictionary of American Biography, Volume XV, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1937 Garrett, Edwin Atlee III, William Massey Huddy 1807- 1846/Artist Soldier, Publisher and Lithographer, unpublished thesis, copyright 1970