Oil on canvas (lined), circa 1840s, unsigned, presented in a period gilt frame with brass gallery plaque.

Stretcher size 29 x 36 in.; Frame dimensions 34 1/4 x 41 1/2 in.

While best known for his classical sculptures, Thomas Ball began his artistic career as a miniaturist and portrait painter. He served a brief apprenticeship with the Boston engraver Abel Brown before opening his own studio. During the 1840s, his bilblical and literary paintings were exhibited in venues throughout Boston and New York. Ball transitioned from painting to sculpture in 1851. In 1854, he and his wife left the United States for Italy. He would spend most of his life moving between Florence and the States, working on numerous private and large scale public commissions.

Light abrasion along right edge of canvas; rubbing to edges of canvas from framing; minor chipping to frame.

$1,000 - 3,000