ELLEN BURPEE FARR (American, 1840-1907). ORANGE TREE, signed and dated '88 lower right. Oil on canvas - Unframed, 15 in. x 26 in. Estimate $3,000-5,000
This lot was originally presented as a gift from the artist to William Woodruff Niles, Bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire from 1870 until his death in 1914, and his wife Bertha Olmsted Niles, sister of Frederick Law Olmstead, the founder of American landscape architecture. Ellen Burpee Farr lived with her husband, Evarts W. Farr, a Civil War hero, lawyer and politician in New Hampshire during the mid-1800's, where the Niles and Farrs enjoyed a friendship. Upon the death of Bishop Niles, the paintings passed to his niece, Frances Perkins Fox, who spent her adolescent years living in the Niles' home. Mrs. Fox then gifted the paintings to her daughter, Agnes Fox, in the 1950's, who, in turn, passed them on to her daughter, the current seller.
