Oil on canvas, unsigned, half-length portraits of a lady and gentleman, each depicted against a dark ground often found in portraits from PeckÕs early Vermont period and those he painted after first moving to Illinois in the 1830s. Each housed in the original mahogany frames with lap joints.

SS 29 x 24.25 in.; DOA 36.5 x 31 in.

Private Collection, Pittsboro, North Carolina Jim & Bernice Miller of Miller Antiques, Appleton, Wisconsin (a letter from Bernice Miller states that "Also, Gail Savage, who has written articles on early artists for Antiques magazine, has seen these portraits and absolutely declares them Sheldon Peck portraits.") Carnegie Museum of Art deaccession

This pair is similar in somber style and brushwork to the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Elmore Tyler in the Chicago History MuseumÕs collection, as well as the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. William W. Welch (circa 1837) in the Art Institute of ChicagoÕs collection.

$10,000 - 20,000