Lot 915
Joseph Giuseppe Fagnani (American/New York, 1819-1873), "Portrait of John William Draper (1811-1882)", oil on canvas, illegibly inscribed within a banner lower-middle right, 44 1/4 in. x 34 in., in an elaborate gilt wood frame. Provenance: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Note: Born in Naples, Joseph (Giuseppe) Fagnani worked in Italy, France, and Spain before immigrating to the United States in 1849 Fagnani established himself as a portrait painter in Washington, D.C. where he painted such luminaries as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Samuel F.B. Morse, and President Fillmore. English born, John William Draper (1811-1882) is considered an American of great significance for his many interdisciplinary contributions to the fields of science, philosophy, history and photography. In the portrait offered here, Draper is presented in his role as historian. Draper is surrounded by several of his literary accomplishments. He authored The History of the Intellectual Development of Europe (1862), shown in this portrait; a three volume History of the American Civil War (1867-1870), two spines of which are seen on the writing desk; and a History of the Conflict between Religion and Science (1874). Reference: Peter Hastings Falk (editor), Who Was Who in American Art.
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