AUGUST DAY (American, 1800-1834, act. Philadelphia). PROFILE PORTRAIT BUST OF GENTLEMAN, CIRCA 1803, Signed "Day Fecit", lower right. Graphite on paper. In the oval. Original gilt-wood rectangular frame with eglomise mat.
- Paper size: 4 1/2 in. x 3 1/2 in. Estimate $500-800
LITERATURE Ellen G. Miles, Saine-Memin and the Neoclassical Profile Portrait in America (Washington, 1994), p. 111, fig. 5:32. PROVENANCE Marjorie F. Verden, Lewes, Delaware, 1972 NOTES Augustus Day (1800-1834) specialized in profile portraits and, in an effort to meet the growing demand for profile portraits, he patented a version of the physiognotrace, an instrument, designed to trace a person's physiognomy to make semi-automated portrait aquatints, on June 14, 1803 with his partners William Bache (1771-1845) and Isaac Todd (active 1803-1810).
