The following description has been prepared entirely by the current owner, Roberts S. Fastov, Esq., and, at the collector’s request, has not been edited by Sloans & Kenyon

Note 1): Per askart.com: “A painter of landscapes and a minister, George Burton Drake was born August 3, 1870, in Eagle, New York. An only child after the death of his brother, he was enlisted early on to assist his father, whose injury during fighting the Civil War left him without the use of his right arm. He took up painting while a student at Pike Academy, and learned working in oil, watercolor, as well as pencil sketching. Drake was also a gifted carpenter and tinsmith. He attended Ridgeville College in Indiana, where he met his future wife. They married in 1891, and Drake pursued a career as a minister. His wife died in 1893, and in 1894 he moved to South Wardsboro, Vermont, to work as a congregational aide. Here he met his second wife to be, and together they moved to New York State to take care of his ailing father, and then to Kansas and Western Grove, Illinois, where he served as minister of the Old Orchard Church. He typically signed his art work as GB Drake, often using accentuated vertical strokes in the signature. His landscapes usually depict an individual in a serene setting.” Note 2) Drake’s work is very rare, but his skill as an artist is clearly manifested in this watercolor. Askart.com and Artprice.com do not record a sale of a Drake water color. On September 20, 2012, Steve Palm Vintage was offering on EBay the Drake watercolor (illustrated below), which is described as follows: Signed, sight image: 17 3/8" x 27 3/8"; beautiful antique frame gold finish; overall: 27 1/2" x 37 1/2" for the price of $1,400, plus $168.11 for standard shipping. This price for this Drake watercolor supports the conclusion that the presale estimate of $300 to $500 is reasonable and justifiable.