Description:

José Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza (Mexican/New Orleans, c. 1750-1802), "Portrait of a New England Gentleman", oil on canvas, unsigned, 40 1/4 in. x 31 1/4 in., framed. Note: The canvas offered here by Jose Francisco Xavier de Salazar y Mendoza, reputedly acquired by a Maine collector from an estate in Newburyport, Massachusetts, features a handsome gentleman in a late 18th century-style frock coat and cravat. The work typifies the archetypal portrait Salazar painted at the turn of the 18th century with its telling red ochre background as well the characteristic pose and composition often used by the artist. Salazar was known to have painted top military figures, sea captains, and wealthy merchants, many of whom had come to New Orleans from other locales for business and political purposes. The portraits were frequently sent back to the prominent families in the Northeast from which the sitters originated, likely the history of this work. The standing portrait at waist-length with one hand in the sitter’s coat had become an iconic pose by the late 1700s, and Salazar implemented it often for his prominent sitters. Three known paintings by Salazar, Colonel Thomas Butler, Jr., sold in these rooms in February 2017, Miguel Dragon, located at the Louisiana State Museum, and the Portrait of a Bristol, Rhode Island Gentleman, all have nearly identical poses, as well as the same trompe l’oeil painted oval seen in the painting offered here. Ref.: Gontar, Cybe?le T. Salazar: Portraits of Influence in Spanish New Orleans, 1785-1802. New Orleans: Ogden Museum of Southern Art, 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 17, 2018 10:00 AM CST
New Orleans, LA, US

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$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $9,999 $250
$10,000 $49,999 $500
$50,000 $999,999 $5,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $10,000
$2,000,000 $2,999,999 $15,000
$3,000,000 + $20,000