Circa 1834, oil on canvas (lined), unsigned, half-length portrait of the gentleman dressed in a dark jacket juxtaposed against a snowy white cravat and collar, housed in the likely original gilt frame with sanded ground and applied composition ornament to corners, the lower stretcher bar retaining a label from the picture restoration house of Rougeron of New York.

SS 29.5 x 24.5 in.; DOA 39 x 34 in.

From the Estate Collection of Jim & June Nance, Washington, NC

John Burke Bispham, the eldest son of Stacy Budd and Ann Newbold Bispham, was born in Philadelphia on October 3, 1812. He matriculated at Yale College at the age of 15 in 1827 and graduated in 1830. After graduation he returned to Philadelphia and studied law in the office of John M. Scott, Esq. He passed the bar and married Martha Lawrie on his 21st birthday in 1833. They left Philadelphia for Detroit in 1837, but returned again in 1840. In addition to his law practice, Bispham was also an avid adventurer and businessman, investing and participating in several shipping ventures. He and his family left Philadelphia again in 1848 for San Francisco aboard the barque "Ralph Cross." The above biographical information was culled from "The History of the Bispham Family" compiled and edited by William Bispham of New York and published in 1890. In that same biographical sketch, Mr. William Bispham notes that Mr. John Burke Bispham was a "lover of the drama" and was a particular friend and admirer of Mr. Charles Kean, whom he met "very frequently in the studio of the painter Sully, a most promising artist, who was at that time engaged in painting of Mr. Bispham's portrait." Further research led to "Thomas Sully's Register of Portraits" in which Mr. Sully records painting a portrait of Mrs. Collins "for her son Mr. Bispham" and Mrs. Bispham "for her husband (John Bispham) both in 1834. Although Mr. Sully does not record painting Mr. Bispham's portrait in his register, it is well-known that the register is not exhaustive, and considering Sully does list Mrs. Collins and Mrs. Bispham, it is very likely that he painted Mr. Bispham's portrait the same time.

All over stable craquelure; obscuring varnish and minor re-touch to temple, corner of mouth, and lapels visible under UV light; frame with later gold paint.

$1,000 - 3,000