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, the
following brief biographical sketch of Church is reprinted:
“Known for his decorative work
with a sense of fun and humor, especially of anthropomorphic animals,
Frederic Stuart Church was a native of Michigan who had a long career in New
York City. He had in-depth knowledge of animal anatomy, which was evident in
the depictions of this subject in oil, watercolor, and etchings. His first allegorical
compositions were produced in the mid-1870's. Although he was a strong
believer in academic training, Church did not visit Europe until late in life
and felt that foreign art had little to teach Americans. He was directed by his parents
toward a business career, and worked from the age thirteen to seventeen for
the American Express Company in Chicago. He did a lot of drawing in his spare
time. For three years, he served in
Union artillery during the Civil War, and then returned to Chicago where he
studied at the Chicago Art Academy with Walter Shirlaw. In 1870, he moved to New York and
studied at the National Academy of Design with Lemuel Wilmarth and at the Art
Students League. Early on, he earned his living as a commercial artist
including illustrations for “Harper's Weekly.” His illustrations often
featured black and white drawings of animals. He also worked in watercolors and
oils and was especially skilled as an etcher. He was a member of the National
Academy of Design. Source: Michael David Zellman,
“300 Years of American Art” Note 2) Stuart's works of art are
owned by 20 relatively prominent American museums, including: Metropolitan
Museum of Art, NYC, NY, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian Museum of
American Art, both of Washington, D.C., Newark Museum of Art, Newark, NJ, The National Museum of American Illustration, Newport, RI, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit MI, and Smith College
Museum of Art, Northhampton, MA. Note 3) This Church painting
should be very appealing, as it involves a beautiful damsel feeding 5 cute
little bunny rabbits in a meadow, which is typical of Stuart's subjects,
except that Stuart painted similar subject matter of animals being fed by
young women in different compositional settings, but preferred flamingos,
swans, deer and tigers. This is a rare Stuart subject matter, as out of the
125 Stuart works of art that have been offered at auction from 1982 to the
present, per Askart.com, not one Stuart painting has depicted bunny rabbits
being fed by a young woman. The only Stuart painting that even has any
rabbits in it is the following very unusual and somewhat bizarre composition.
Thus, this Stuart painting, which
is being offered at auction, should have broad appeal because of its
featuring cute, little bunny rabbits, may be a unique, or, at a minimum, very
rare subject in Stuart's oeuvre; and thus; offers an opportunity to purchase,
at a minimum, a very rare and attractive Stuart composition. The above
estimates for this Stuart painting are consistent with the foregoing
considerations and the auction prices obtained for some of Stuart's most
appealing paintings set forth below. It is curious that Stuart used
essentially the same composition of a kneeling damsel in a meadow tending
animals, however, it is also bizarre as the damsel is tending tigers in the
same kind of bucolic meadow, as appears in the Stuart bunny rabbit painting.
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Some other relevant Church auction
sales supporting a conclusion that the above presale estimate of $5,000-$7,000
is reasonable and justifiable are:
Title/Subject: Maiden
with Flamingos Signed. Oil on canvas.
22 in. x 16 in. sold for $5,975 on 11/10/2010 at Heritage Auctions, Dallas, TX
Title/Subject: The Blue Bird Signed on verso. Oil on canvas. 22 in. x 16 in.
sold for $6,325 on 12/06/2008
at Illustration
House, Inc, NYC
Title/Subject: Allegory
of Love or Spring Signed. Oil on
canvas. 10 in. x 17 in. sold for $5,428 on 07/15/2008-07/16/2008 at Jackson's Auctioneers & Appraisers, Cedar Falls, IA
Title/Subject: Maiden
with flamingos Signed. Oil on canvas.
20 in. x 16.25 in. sold for $5,250 on 09/05/2007-09/06/2007 at Christie’s, NY
Title/Subject: Fairy
on a Branch with Owls Signed. Oil on
canvas. 10.70 in. x 18.50 in. sold for $6,600 on 12/14/2005 at Sotheby’s, NY
Title/Subject: Tiger
having eaten professor, 1905 Signature information not available. Watercolor on
paper. 15.20 in. x 23 in. sold for
$9,350 on 11/06/1999 at Illustration
House, Inc, NYC