234
Henry Kirke Brown (1814-1886), A Rare Bronze Portrait Medallion Of George Washington (1732-1799)
Estimate: $5,000-$7,000
Sold
$4,250
Live Auction
American Furniture, Folk and Decorative Arts
Description
Henry Kirke Brown (1814-1886), A Rare Bronze Portrait Medallion Of George Washington (1732-1799)
Dated, "1852"
inscribed "H.K. Brown/ Sculptor/ June 1852."
Diameter 9 3/4 inches.
Condition
with a nice dark patination, having some mild rubbing to face; with some light scratches present, to lower face, forehead, and neck, and with some scratches to medallion, particularly along edges; a couple minute knicks along edge; a solder repair visible to backside- behind base of ponytail
Provenance
Provenance:A Midwest collection.Literature:Thayer Tolles and Thomas B. Smith, The American West in Bronze, 1850-1925 (Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, 2013), pgs. 150-151.Note:It is probable that Brown cast this example himself, considering the high level of finishing and the fact that it is not stamped with a foundry mark. He was one of the first American sculptors to cast bronze in the United States.