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) Askart.com provides the following information on Mora by Lynne Pauls Baron, author of F. Luis Mora: America’s First Hispanic Master (bold face added) and a few other biographical sketches, from one of which is taken the listings below:

"F. Luis Mora 1874-1940:

F. (Francis) Luis Mora was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on July 27, 1874. His father, Domingo Mora (1840-1911), was a Spanish architectural sculptor. His mother, Laura Gaillard, had two sisters who married into the extended Bacardi rum family of Santiago de Cuba, and Luis Mora was their nephew. His brother was Joseph Jacinto Jo Mora (1876-1947), who would become a noted California artist.

In 1880, Domingo Mora accepted a position as Director of Design for the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company in New Jersey. Luis Mora was raised in Perth Amboy, receiving his first art instruction from his father. The family moved to Allston, Massachusetts where Luis Mora graduated from high school.

F. Luis Mora entered the Boston Museum School of Fine Art in 1889, when he was fifteen years old. His teachers were Frank Benson and Edmund Tarbell. In 1893, Mora returned to New York to work as an illustrator and to study composition with H. Siddons Mowbray at the Art Students League.

In 1900, Mora married Sophia Brown Compton, daughter of the Mayor of Perth Amboy, NJ. The couple lived in New York City, and the artist also kept a studio in Perth Amboy. Luis Mora quickly became a successful figural painter, portraitist, muralist and illustrator.

Mora’s life-long artistic goal was to adapt the techniques of the Spanish Old Masters into American modern painting. Mora frequently traveled to Spain to visit his extended family, and to paint. He also copied masterpieces by Diego Velázquez in the El Museo del Prado in Madrid. His patrons for Spanish scenes were Alfred Stieglitz and William Macbeth. He had a solo show of Spanish paintings in 1910 at the New York Watercolor Club.

In 1904, Mora was elected an Associate at the National Academy of Design, and became a full member in 1906. He was the first Hispanic to be elected to the NAD, and he became an exhibition jury member in 1907. Mora was also a member of The National Arts Club, The Art Students League, The Salmagundi Club, The Pen and Brush Club, The Architectural League, The American Watercolor Society, and many other art societies.

Mora won three medals at National Academy competitions, and he also won medals at the St. Louis World's Fair Exhibition in 1904, and at the Panama-American Exhibition in San Francisco in 1915.

He was a popular teacher of figural drawing and painting, known as "Life Classes." He taught at William Merritt Chase's Chase School of Art, the renamed New York School of Art, at the Art Students’ League, the Art School at the Ethical Culture Society, and the Grand Central School of Art.

Mora's first mural was commissioned by the trustees of the Lynn, MA Public Library in 1900. He also painted the dome of the Missouri State House, St. Louis in 1904, panels for Columbia College in 1909, murals and portraits for the Governor's Mansion of New Jersey in 1911 and a monumental mural for The Red Cross in 1919 in collaboration with Major Joseph Kitchell. In 1937 he created the mural “Our Christian Era” for Dunn & Bradstreet for the 1939 World's Fair, as a commentary about wars waged among nations.

Mora was a prolific illustrator, often winning cover competitions. His illustrations appeared in Harper's Magazines, Collier's, The Century, The New York Tribune (now the NY Times), Red Cross Magazine, and many other publications.

Mora painted posthumous portraits of President Warren Harding and Andrew Carnegie, and dozens of eminent Americans and their children.

In 1912 Mora bought 28 acres in the Litchfield Hills, Gaylordsville, CT, where he and his wife Sonia completed their summer home and studio in 1922. Their only child, Rosemary Mora, was born in 1918 in New York City. Sophia Mora died suddenly in 1931 in Danbury Hospital, CT.

Mora 's second wife was May Safford, the widow of Ray Safford, an officer and director of Scribners Publishing Company.

Luis Mora died at age 64 in June 1940 at May’s apartment.

Today F. Luis Mora's paintings are held by thirty-four major art museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian Museum, The Newark Museum, The Hood Museum (Dartmouth University), The San Diego Art Museum, The Butler Museum of American Art, and The National Gallery of Canada.

Written and submitted July 2008 by Lynne Pauls Baron, author of F. Luis Mora: America’s First Hispanic Master (Emphasis added).”

Askart.com provides the following listings regarding Mora, which is a testament to his artistic skills and great energy and involvement with a wide variety of artistic media and artists' organizations

"Exhibitions:
Art Institute of Chicago, 1902-1936
National Academy of Design, 1901-1941
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1898-1913

Memberships:
Allied Artists of America
American Federation of Arts
American Watercolor Society
Architectural League of New York
Art Students League of New York
Ceramic Society
National Academy of Design
National Arts Club
National Association of Portrait Painters
New York Water Color Club
Salmagundi Club
Society of American Etchers
Society of Illustrators (Emphasis added)."

Askart.com lists 26 museums holding Mora's work. Ms. Baron asserts above that Mora's works: "are held by thirty-four major art museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art [New York], The Smithsonian Museum [of American Art, Washington, D.C.]], The Newark Museum, [ New Jersey]The Hood Museum (Dartmouth University) [New Hampshire], The San Diego Art Museum [California], The Butler Museum of American Art [Ohio], and The National Gallery of Canada [Ottawa]." In addition, some of the other major museums include: Museum of Modern Art, New York, National Academy of Design, New York,, Oakland Museum, California, Toledo Museum, Ohio, White House, Washington, D. C., New York Historical Society, New York, Chrysler Museum of Art, Virginia and High Museum of Art, Georgia.

Note 2) This painting was one of Mora's favorites, as it featured his daughter Rosemary and her friends in an artistic activity and enjoying themselves greatly. Rosemary was a favorite painting subject for Mora many times, and he sold a number of paintings featuring Rosemary in all kinds of activities, poses and moods. However, Mora never sold "The Children's Pantomime," and it was in his estate when he died. It is a very large, complex and beautiful composition and the subject matter is delightful. The painting has been recently cleaned. It and its original gold leaf period frame are in very good condition. If one peruses Note1) with care, he or she should recognize that Mora was a very active and well accepted and recognized as a top flight artist in a variety of mediums during his lifetime. Nonetheless, Mora's auction prices have been historically low, given the quality of his artistic skills and the ostensible appeal and beauty of his paintings. Mr. Fastov believes that Mora's continuing inappropriate and relatively low prices is directly attributable to the fact that his figural paintings, that feature Hispanic/Latino subject matter, dress, customs and activities almost always, with rare exception, brought at auction prices that Mr. Fastov believes are far too low, given their manifest beauty and excellent artistic techniques and composition and the strength of Mora’s outstanding biographical profile, which puts a damper on the auction prices of his non-Hispanic/Latino paintings.

When Mr. Fastov bought this painting approximately 25 years ago, he was very impressed with the length and quality of Mora's biographical notes in the relevant "Who's Who In American Art" annuals during his lifetime; hence, given "The Children's Pantomime's" great visual appeal and size and marvelous gold frame, he paid a great deal of money for the painting to a collector on Long Island, believing that Mora's auction prices would skyrocket in the ensuing years, which has not as yet occurred. The presale estimate of $20,000-$40,000 is totally in line with the auction records set forth below, bearing in mind that many of his smaller paintings bring in the $20,000 range, and the "Children's Pantomime" is a very large painting (36" x 48”) and a magnificent painting, which is far superior in quality and esthetic appeal to many of these paintings. Thus, the presale estimate of $20,000-$40,000 reflects a calculation based on these disparities in size and quality and is a relatively conservative estimate. Mr. Fastov believes, however, a collector who buys this painting within the presale estimate of within $20,000- $40,000 presale estimate will have a blue chip, almost guaranteed high rate of return in the ensuing years, as America becomes more and more Hispanic/Latino in its population and more and more wealthy Hispanics/Latinos begin to collect art seriously and compete with new and existing other collectors thereof to buy Hispanic/Latino art. Lynne Pauls Baron, relatively recently book, published in 2008, which was entitled: "F. Luis Mora: America’s First Hispanic Master (bold face added).” The short Baron biographical sketch of Mora (above) makes two highly relevant statements that support the claim that Mora was, in fact, America’s "First Hispanic Master." First: "In 1904, Mora was elected an Associate at the National Academy of Design, and became a full member in 1906. He was the first Hispanic to be elected to the NAD, and he became an exhibition jury member in 1907 (Emphasis added).” Second, Baron states below: "Mora’s life-long artistic goal was to adapt the techniques of the Spanish Old Masters into American modern painting. Mora frequently traveled to Spain to visit his extended family, and to paint. He also copied masterpieces by Diego Velázquez in the El Museo del Prado in Madrid. His patrons for Spanish scenes were Alfred Stieglitz and William Macbeth. He had a solo show of Spanish paintings in 1910 at the New York Watercolor Club." Given the foregoing observations and the information contained in Notes 1) and 3), a collector of Mora or Hispanic/Latino art or a "smart Anglo" collector should decide that the above presale estimate for Mora's "The Children's Pantomime" is reasonable and justifiable and should vigorously pursue bidding on it, even to the extent that such winning bid exceeds the high estimate of $40,000.

Note 3) All of the foregoing considerations, including Mora's very impressive biographic credentials and the following Mora auction records warrant the conclusion that the presale estimate of $20,000-$40.000 is reasonable and justifiable:

Title/Subject: On the Raritan, Perth Amboy, New Jersey Signed. Oil on canvas. 18 in. x 14 in. sold for $16,800 on 10/28/2010 at Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers, Milford, CT

Title/Subject: American Gladiators Signed. Oil on canvas. 70 in. x 52.50 in. sold for $52,800 on 4/26/2012 at Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers, Milford, CT

Title/Subject: The Card Players Signed and dated “1905” Oil on canvas. 14 in. x 10 in. sold for $22,500 on 9/25/2008 at Christie’s, NY

Title/Subject: Still Life Signed. Oil on canvas. 29 in. x 21.50 in. sold for $57,600 on 05/24/2007 at Christie’s, NY

Title/Subject: Endless View Signed. Oil on canvas. 35.50 in. x 60 in. sold for $61,600 on 03/31/2007 at Scottsdale Art Auction, Scottsdale, AR

Title/Subject: The Little Army Oil on canvas. 14 in. x 9 in. sold for $13,305 on 8/4/2006 at Barridoff Galleries, Portland, ME

NB: MORA'S DAUGHTER, ROSEMARY, WHO IS A CENTRAL FIGURE IN "THE CHILDREN'S PANTOMIME," IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS SMALL PAINTING, PAINTED SEVERAL YEARS BEFORE, WHEN SHE WAS YOUNGER

Title/Subject: Woman with Shawls Signed. Oil on canvas. 16 in. x 12 in. sold for $21,150 on 10/23/2003 at Shannon's Fine Art Auctioneers, Milford, CT

Title/Subject: In the Shadow of the Main Sail Signed. Oil on artist's board. 7.50 in. x 9.20 in. sold for $17,265 on 06/13/2001 at Christie’s, NY

Title/Subject: Mercedes Signed. Oil on canvas. 30 in. x 25.20 in. sold for $36,800 on 05/26/1999 at Christie’s, NY