Tennessee Highlights

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture, “The Preacher”, depicting a minister with his left arm raised with a Bible in hand, open eyes and mouth, and attired in a long-tailed coat and bow tie, standing on a pedestal. 23 1/2″ H x 12 1/2″ W x 8 1/4″ D. This sculpture appears in an Edward Weston photograph of Edmondson’s yard taken in 1941. Ref. Edmund Fuller, “Visions in Stone,” p. 11. Illustrated, ibid, p. 36. Exhibited 1981, the Tennessee State Museum inaugural exhibit titled “William Edmondson: A Retrospective” and featured in the exhibition catalog of the same name on page 38, catalog entry #8. Also exhibited at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, “The Art of Tennessee”, 2006 (and full page illustration in the catalog, p. 281). Edmondson’s choice of a preacher as subject matter speaks to the prominence of the church not only in black communities in the early 20th century, and the role of the preacher as a community leader, but also to the importance of spirituality in his own life. It was a directive from God at the age of 57 which Edmondson (a former janitor and railroad worker with no formal art training) said prompted him to pick up a chisel and begin sculpting limestone figures. His work was noticed by Nashville art patrons who introduced him to Harper’s Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe’s now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1937 Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art. At least three other Preacher figures by Edmondson are known, including one in the collection of the Newark Museum and another in the collection of the McClung Museum of Art at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Provenance: Private Southern Collection, acquired circa 1990 from the son of Myron King, owner of Nashville’s Lyzon Art Gallery and one of Edmondson’s earliest supporters. A notarized certificate of authenticity dated 2002, signed by Myron King Sr. and stating he purchased this sculpture directly from William Edmondson in about 1948 and gifted it to his son, will be provided to the winning bidder. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. CONDITION: Overall good condition with old patina. Minor wear to base, particularly at corners and lowermost edges. Subtle and very early repaired break to upper left arm, said to have been repaired by Edmondson himself. By oral history, Myron King first viewed the sculpture in Edmondson’s yard and the break to the arm had already occurred. King suggested Edmondson would improve the durability (and marketability) of his sculptures by limiting his projecting appendages, advising him that “If it can’t roll down a hill without something breaking off, don’t carve it!” Whether Edmondson took this advice to heart or not is debatable; certainly his angel images and birds included projecting elements subject to breakage. However, his Preacher figure in the collection of the McClung museum has a much more closely-carved arm and Bible, and the Preacher in the collection of the Newark Museum holds aloft a much smaller Bible, suggesting Edmondson was working out ways to create a more stable design. [See more photos →]

Beauford Delaney (American/Tennessee, 1901-1979) large-scale vertically oriented oil on canvas painting presenting an abstraction comprised of horizontally lined brushstrokes in varying widths and set against a variegated and tactile background. The artist anchors the image with a rectangular shape in the lower half of the image, which includes two mirrored color centric arcs, one slightly larger than the other. The artist creates a viewer's scrim through an applied overall splatter pattern in off-white and raw umber. Unsigned. 63 3/4 x 51 1/4 inches. Circa 1972. Provenance: The Estate of Lois Imogene Delaney, Knoxville, Tennessee. Note: Beauford Delaney's studio practice has been characterized as a linear path from modernist urban scenes in New York City to atmospheric abstractions when he moved to Paris in 1953. Numerous late paintings by Delaney, such as this circa 1972 canvas, suggest that the artist used an inventive and experimental approach during the last 5-10 years of his career. During this period, he expanded his studio practice to include monoprints, screenprints, and lithographs. Additionally, he worked in a realist style, as in his series of portraits of Civil Rights-era leader Rosa Parks, while simultaneously producing non-objective compositions made up of swirling bands of color applied with a variety of tools. These and other stylistic and technical experiments attest to Delaney's remarkable energy and wide-ranging aesthetic interests during the latter part of his career. The painting being offered with a composition in muted, intuitive color choices possibly points to the American Modernist influence of Marsden Hartley. A Beauford Delaney oil of similar size dated 1974 with centric arches and horizontal stripes can be viewed in the San Francisco MOMA collection: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/beauford-delaney-untitled-81. Additional note: A photographic image depicting the oil on canvas being offered is pictured in the Knoxville, Tennessee art storage facility with the artist's niece, Ogust Delaney Stewart, in the foreground. Courtesy credits: Case expresses appreciation to Stephen Wicks (Barbara W. and Bernard E. Bernstein Curator of the Knoxville Museum of Art), Derek Spratley (Administrator, Estate of Beauford Delaney), and Jane Jacob (President, Jacob Fine Art, Inc.) for their assistance on this Beauford Delaney oil painting. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM.
Condition: Unframed. Some scattered minor losses to paint to perimeter, mainly the lower edge, one area upper right edge. Canvas missing some applied nails to upper edges. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), “Miss Lucy,” carved limestone sculpture depicting a standing woman, wearing a high collared dress and a carved locket, with long elaborately braided hair, holding a purse in one hand and a book, presumably The Bible, in the other. 15 1/2″ H x 4 3/4″ W x 8″ D. 28.4 lbs, Circa 1930/1935. Exhibited, “Will Edmondson’s Mirkels,” the Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood (April 12 through May 21, 1964), and listed as #6 in the catalog, published by Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Artist’s Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Women, Biblical figures and animals were among his favored subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. Provenance: The estate of Janet Marsh Pruitt (Mrs. Earl Pruitt) of Pennsylvania, formerly of Nashville, Tennessee. By descent from her parents, Ross and Anna Marsh. Mrs. Marsh acquired the sculpture from a member of the Art Department – likely Professor Sidney Hirsch- while working for Peabody College in Nashville, just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived. Professor Hirsch (who frequently walked past Edmondson’s house) is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper’s Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe’s now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art.Ê Unlike many Edmondson figures acquired by Nashvillians in the days before Edmondson gained international fame, “Miss Lucy” was not kept outside as garden sculpture. Mrs. Marsh told her family the limestone figure was always used inside as a doorstop (which has helped the sculpture avoid surface bleaching and erosion). According to the exhibit catalog, which quoted the Marshes, “Miss Lucy” was a good member of Edmondson’s Nashville Primitive Baptist church who had been “uplifted to heaven.” CONDITION: Overall very good condition, one minor abrasion to lower section of hair, scattered wear to base, old chip to front left corner. Small area of abrasion to one side (arm area) from former use as a doorstop. Remnants of an exhibition tag and the number 6 written in marker on underside. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), “Miss Amy,” companion sculpture to “Miss Lucy,” sold in our January 2019 auction (lot #110). Carved limestone sculpture depicting a standing woman wearing a dress with square neckline; her bountiful hair is tied back, creating negative space between her back and her hair, and she holds a book in her left hand; her long skirt reaches all the way to the integral base. 14 1/2″ H x 4 3/4″ W x 7 3/8″ D. Circa 1930/1935. Exhibited, “Will Edmondson’s Mirkels” at the Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood (April 12 through May 21, 1964), and listed as #5 in the catalog, published by Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Additionally exhibited in “The Art of William Edmondson” at the Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood’s exhibit, January 28 – April 23, 2000 (which traveled to four other museums including the Museum of American Folk Art in New York and the High Museum in Atlanta); listed in the exhibition catalog “The Art of William Edmondson” on page 136, figure #23. Provenance: The estate of Janet Marsh Pruitt (Mrs. Earl Pruitt) of Pennsylvania, formerly of Nashville, Tennessee. By descent from her parents, Ross and Anna Marsh. Mrs. Marsh acquired this sculpture along with “Miss Lucy” from a member of the Art Department, likely Professor Sidney Hirsch, while working for Peabody College in Nashville, just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived. Professor Hirsch (who frequently walked past Edmondson’s house) is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper’s Bazaar photographer, Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe’s now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art. Unlike many Edmondson figures acquired by Nashvillians in the days before Edmondson gained international fame, “Miss Amy” and “Miss Lucy” were not kept outside as garden sculptures. Mrs. Marsh told her family the limestone figures were always used inside as doorstops (which has helped the sculptures avoid surface bleaching and erosion). According to the 1964 “Mirkels” exhibit catalog, which quoted the Marshes, “Miss Amy” was a good member of Edmondson’s Nashville Primitive Baptist church who had been “uplifted to heaven.” Artist’s Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Women, Biblical figures and animals were among his favored subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. CONDITION: Overall very good condition with old patina. Number 1 or 7 (underlined) written in marker on underside of base. Old tape residue to underside of base. Small whitish surface scratch to top of base, about 1/4″L. Overall minor wear particularly to right side in hair (abrasions from door when used as doorstop). Vertical line extending from base near subject’s right shoe appears to be natural variation in stone and does not illuminate under UV light inspection. Minor wear to base, particularly at corners and lowermost edges. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) “Lady with a Book,” carved limestone sculpture depicting a standing woman with short curly hair wearing a dress with bustle, holding a book in her left hand, her right arm bent upward at her waist. 12″ H x 3 1/2″ W x 7″ D. Provenance: the estate of Leah Levitt, Long Island, New York. While it is unknown exactly when or where Mrs. Levitt and her late husband, David Levitt, acquired this sculpture and the Edmondson “Critter’ sculpture in the following lot (#153), both have been in their collection for decades. (The “Lady with a Book” can be seen in the background of several of the Levitt family’s photographs taken in the late 1950s-early 1960s). It is possible Mr. Levitt became familiar with Edmondson, or at least with Edmondson’s work, in the 1940s when in preparation for his work in the Armed Services, he (Levitt) attended French Language training at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. By that time, William Edmondson was well known in his hometown of Nashville and beyond, having become the first African American artist to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937. Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life in Nashville as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as a chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. In the 1930s, his work caught the attention of Professor Sidney Hirsch, who worked at Peabody College in Nashville, located just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived (and adjacent to the Vanderbilt campus). Professor Hirsch is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper’s Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe’s now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art, resulting in the landmark 1937 exhibit. Although Edmondson’s earliest work was more utilitarian in nature, such as tombstones and birdbaths, as his style matured his subject matter grew to include female figures (frequently based on women he knew from his community), Biblical figures, and various animals. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. Slight circular loss to lower back of dress approx. 1/4″, some small losses to center of back base approx. 3/4″. Protective felt added to the base. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951), “The Nursing Supervisor,” carved limestone sculpture depicting a woman with long hair, long skirt and apron in a standing position, one arm folded slightly above the other. 13 1/2″H x 5″ W x 8 1/2″ D. Separate, later base 1 3/4″ H x 7 1/2″ W x 8 1/2″ D. Circa 1940. Sculpture (without base) exhibited and illustrated in Miracles: The Sculptures of William Edmondson, Janet Fleisher Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 1995. Plate #20, page 45 (note: reverse image was used in catalog photo). Also exhibited William Edmondson: A Retrospective, Tennessee State Museum, 1981 (refer to catalog, p. 53, #31). Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Women, Biblical figures and animals were among his favored subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. He is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. Provenance: The living estate of Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, TN. CONDITION: Old 1 1/2″ loss to lower left front corner of sculpture base, light overall surface patination from outdoor exposure. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) limestone "Critter" sculpture depicting a small animal sitting upright on its hind legs, with front feet cast downward, atop a rectangular integral base. 12 3/8" H x 5" W x 7 3/4" D. Provenance: Private Southern collection. Note: This "Critter" is stylistically similar to 2 sculptures sold by Case Antiques in 2011, Lot #190 and in 2020, Lot #153. While this form is most similar to the example sold in 2020 in the sculpting of the ears and the slope of the neck, this example has an elongated oval head more similar to the form sold in 2011. Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. Condition: Overall good condition with general wear to surface. Underside front corner of base with old chip. [See more photos →]

Anna Catherine Wiley (1879 -1958) impressionist oil on canvas painting, depicting seated mother and child in a meadow. The woman’s flower- adorned hat sits in the foreground and a bank of trees is in the background. Signed and dated “Catherine Wiley, 1913″ lower right. Sight – 28 1/2″ H x 32 3/4″ W. Framed – 34 1/2″ H x 38 3/4” W. Provenance: a private Blount County, Tennessee collection. Biography: Catherine Wiley was one of the early female students at the University of Tennessee, and taught art and drawing there from 1905 until 1918. She is credited with establishing formal art instruction at the school, and with making the program into one of the South’s best. Wiley also studied at the Art Students League in New York under Frank DuMond, and spent summers learning from major American impressionists such as Robert Reid, Jonas Lie, and Martha Walter. She won two gold medals at the Appalachian Exposition in 1910, and claimed the prize for best Southern artist at the Southwestern Fair in Atlanta in 1917. She served as President of the Nicholson Art League and director of the Fine Arts Department of Knoxville’s National Conservation Exposition. Her paintings – often depicting women in picturesque settings — were exhibited at many prominent venues including the National Academy of Design in New York, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1926, Wiley suffered a mental collapse which ended her painting career. She remained institutionalized until her death. Private Knoxville, TN collection. Condition: Overall very good condition with two visible spots of paint loss, one on a tree trunk in the background, the other in the bottom of the lady’s dress. Blacklighting does not reveal any repair or restoration. [See more photos →]

Anna Catherine Wiley (Knoxville, TN, 1879-1958), “The Pea Shellers,” impressionist oil on canvas painting depicting three women seated on the porch of an East Tennessee home, Wolf Creek, shelling peas. The women are seated in ladderback chairs, filling woven baskets with green peas while pods accumulate on the floor; sunlight filters through foliage in the background. According to oral history, the three women in the scene are Helen Peck Allen, Nell Allen and “Mary,” a housekeeper. Miss Wiley was a friend of the Allen family and spent summer weeks at the Allen family estate at Wolf Creek, visiting Helen Peck Allen (in whose family this painting has descended). It was during one of these visits that Wiley painted this scene. Wolf Creek was a summer vacation community located in eastern Cocke County, alongside the French Broad River and bordering the Tennessee and North Carolina state line. The Allen house was also known as the Wolf Creek Inn. Note: This painting was exhibited at the Knoxville Museum of Art’s as part of their ongoing exhibit, “Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee”. Wolf Creek was the setting for several Wiley paintings including “Farmstead” and “Indian Woman at Wolf Creek” both illustrated in the 1990 TN State Museum exhibit catalog titled “Southern Impressionist: The Art of Catherine Wiley”, pages 15 and 34. Housed in a later gilt wood frame with egg and dart molded rabbet edge. Sight – 19 1/2″ H x 23 1/8″ W. Framed – 24 1/2″ H x 28 1/2″ W. Provenance: the collection of Helen Peck Allen, by descent to her son David Allen Dashiell, by descent to Georgia Ryan Mott Dashiell. “The art of Catherine Wiley has long been considered one of the more beautiful manifestations of Southern impressionism. Her animated broken brush work, her colorful sun splashed fields and her endearing depictions of genteel ladies and well-dressed children at rest and play seem to suggest a life lived quietly and at peace with the world. Yet her life may well have been far more turbulent, and her descent into the state of madness, which removed her from the world for the last 37 years of her life, far more apparent in her art than simple summations of her importance would imply. Large numbers of women entered the art world towards the end of the 19th century, their pathway smoothed by the arts and crafts route which saw them ushered on from sewing circles and homebased kilns into actual studios where they were taught by the male masters of the day. Catherine Wiley was one of those. She studied at the Art Students League in New York with Frank Vincent Dumond prior to returning to her native Knoxville where she became an associate of Lloyd Branson, the most important local artist of the day. She was a pioneer instructor at the University of Tennessee Art Department and a frequent winner of citations for her work at regional exhibitions, notably acclaimed for most meritorious collection at the Knoxville Appalachian Exposition in 1910. The Pea Shellers, here offered for auction, can be seen as one of the more telling revealing moments in her progress as an artist. Compositional format in her early work is largely horizontal, her decorative figures placed mid-field without any implication of depth or forced perspective. But in The Pea Shellers her subjects have moved inside a shed and are actually at work. Gone is the wide spread vista, replaced by the tri-angular projection of the roof shed over which trailing vine drops into the scene, a spontaneous insertion of nature in motion, as yet untrimmed. Her palette, though still bright, is here more tonal, an essay in the close color harmonics of blue and green which impart a slight shimmer to the otherwise mundane occupation of the inhabitants. This painting is surely mid-career. By 1923 she was painting in a far darker mood. “Under The Arbor,” (Morris Museum of Art) has a well dressed young woman standing at dazed attention beneath a canopy of black leaves, out of place with her setting, even as the setting itself is distant from lush agrarian idealism. By 1925 her mind was gone. One of her final paintings, to be seen at the East Tennessee Historical Society, is so heavily thick with paint that the actual scene itself is unclear, a swirling abstraction lost in space. The Pea Shellers importance springs from what it tells the viewer about Catherine WileyÕs potential, as it seems to indicate that she was beginning to move on from pastoral post card reveries towards an artistic expression more concerned with life than with appearance. It is a painting that can be viewed as evidence that her full potential as an artist was never to be seen by we, her subsequent viewers, for which we are all poorer.”– Estill Curtis Pennington, art historian and author, “Southern Impressionist: The Art of Catherine Wiley,” exhibit catalog for the 1990 exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum. CONDITION: Overall good condition. Two old circular repairs are visible en verso near the upper and lower edges, one measuring 1 3/8″ diameter and the other measuring 1 1/2″ H x 1 5/8″ W. UV light reveals area of touchup to post at lower left corner and to two small areas of beam, upper center, and to a few spots of foliage, upper center. One tiny area of touchup to the area where hair meets upper cheek on the woman facing the viewer and a few tiny scattered spots to background. Some fine scattered cracquelure. [See more photos →]

Early labeled East Tennessee Federal desk by cabinetmaker, J. C. Burgner (John C. Burgner, Horse Creek Community, Greene & Washington Counties, Tennessee). Label inside prospect door inscribed with ink and decorative motifs, “Made by J. C. Burgner for William Paton September the 8 1819”. Cherry primary with tiger maple and various burl veneers, yellow pine and poplar secondary. Tiger maple top molding with wide band over one large drawer with a fitted butler’s desk interior over four graduated dovetailed drawers with cockbeading, transitioning into an elaborate shaped skirt with highly figured burl veneers, splayed French feet. The top desk drawer has figured cherry veneers with the center veneer panel having a circular burl pattern repeated on the interior prospect drawer and flanking candle drawers. The prospect drawer opens to a an upper compartment with a painted grill pattern and lower drawer. The underside of top set with a stringed instrument which can be strummed with a quill when the top desk drawer is opened. 50″ H x 43 1/4″ W x 18″ D. Notes – Five Burgner brothers, including John C., Jacob F., Henry, Christian, and Daniel F., were cabinetmakers primarily in the Horse Creek community of Greene and Washington Co., Tennessee from 1817 until 1902. John C. Burgner maintained a “waste book” detailing the daily operations of the business, including information on furniture forms produced as well as recordings for some of the pieces sold. The Burgners made pieces ranging from $8 to $50, in a wide range of forms. This cabinetmaking shop was known in the region for the incorporation of highly figured woods including curly maple, cherry, and walnut (source information courtesy Daniel Ackermann, Associate Curator, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts). Condition: Older refinished surface, wooden knobs are replacements. Rear right foot previously broken and glued with minimal loss, compartments inside the prospect door indicate a shallow upper compartment drawer is now missing, minimal loss to cockbeading on molding and drawers, some of the drawers with slight build up on drawer sides, some losses to bottom edge of desk drawer where brass brackets have rubbed, a few strings on the underside of stringed instrument missing. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (American, 1913-1993) acrylic on board pointillist painting titled, “The Landlady,” depicting a smiling lady in vivid yellow dress and brown hat, center foreground, with thirteen other well-dressed women, men and children clustered around the porch of a two-story wood farmhouse in the background. Rose bushes and other green foliage and trees under a sunny sky, and the porch on the fan, suggest the setting is a warm summer day. Signed lower right; additionally signed, titled, and dated 1980 en verso. Weathered wood frame with linen liner and gilt rabbet edge. Sight: 28″ H x 39″ W. Framed: 34″ H x 45″ W. Provenance: Private Nashville collection, ex-Dr. Benjamin Caldwell, ex-Forum Gallery, New York. Note: Video footage of Carroll Cloar at work on this painting is featured near the end of a documentary on his life and work, “Friendly Panthers, Hostile Butterflies,” produced by WKNO-TV and currently available to view on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-CMx3NbF3w . Biography: Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scenes. The artist often noted that literature, particularly by Southern Gothic writers such as William Faulkner or Eudora Welty, influenced his artistic approach. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and upon his return, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection/Memphis Brooks Museum of Art). PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. CONDITION: Overall excellent condition; a couple of insignificant flyspecks to sky area. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) limestone “Critter” sculpture of a small animal sitting upright on its hind legs, with front legs and feet cast downward, atop a rectangular integral base. 12 1/4″ H x 4 1/2″ W x 8 1/4″ D. Note: This example is stylistically similar to a sculpture sold by Case Antiques in 2011, Lot #190. Provenance: the estate of Leah Levitt, Long Island, New York. While it is unknown exactly when or where Mrs. Levitt and her late husband, David Levitt, acquired this sculpture and the Edmondson “Lady with a Book” sculpture in the preceding lot, both have been in their collection for decades. (The “Lady with a Book” can be seen in the background of several of the Levitt family’s photographs taken in the late 1950s). It is possible Mr. Levitt became familiar with Edmondson, or at least with Edmondson’s work, during the 1940s when in preparation for his work in the Armed Services, he (Levitt) attended French Language training at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. By that time, William Edmondson was well known in his hometown of Nashville and beyond, having become the first African American artist to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1937. Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life in Nashville as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as a chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. In the 1930s, his work caught the attention of Professor Sidney Hirsch, who worked at Peabody College in Nashville, located just a few blocks from where Edmondson lived (and adjacent to the Vanderbilt campus). Professor Hirsch is credited with introducing Edmondson to well-connected arts patrons Alfred and Elizabeth Starr and Harper’s Bazaar photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe. Wolfe’s now-famous photographs of Edmondson and his yard full of limestone sculptures brought him to the attention of the New York art world and gained him the acquaintance of Alfred Barr, Jr., director of the Museum of Modern Art, resulting in the landmark 1937 exhibit. Although Edmondson’s earliest work was more utilitarian in nature, such as tombstones and birdbaths, as his style matured his subject matter grew to include female figures (frequently based on women he knew from his community), Biblical figures, and various animals. PRE-APPROVAL IS REQUIRED TO BID ON THIS LOT. PLEASE CONTACT CASE ANTIQUES, INC. AT THE KNOXVILLE GALLERY FOR DETAILS. 865-558-3033 or BID@CASEANTIQUES.COM. CONDITION: Overall good condition. Old breaks and losses to front and rear corners on right side of base. Protective felt added to the base. [See more photos →]

Exceptional glazed and stamped redware jar by J. A. Lowe (John Alexander Lowe, 1833-1902), Greene County, Tennessee. A pottery site attributed to him has been located and excavated near the Harmon Cemetery. Hundreds of sherds were recovered from the site bearing the name J. A. Lowe. The 1860 census for Greene County shows Lowe as living nearby with Blue Springs as the Post Office. Lowe enlisted in the Confederate Army two days after Christopher Alexander Haun was hung by Confederate forces on December 11, 1861. Haun was a Union sympathizer who took part in burning the Lick Creek railroad bridge during the Civil War. This important event in East Tennessee’s Civil War history was initiated with a campaign by Union loyalists to burn 9 bridges. It was led by William B. Carter and strongly supported and encouraged by President Abraham Lincoln. Several potters from the Pottertown area were among the men who conspired and succeeded in burning the bridge. However, the Union loyalists allowed the guards to go free based upon their solemn promises to not reveal their identities. Union troops did not materialize as promised, and the Confederates were able to pursue and capture some of the perpetrators. The Confederate guards, who were allowed to live, were the very ones who served as witnesses to implicate the five men who were hung, four of them potters. Among those sentenced to hang was the potter Christopher Alexander Haun. His pots clearly speak for his having been a master potter. In a letter which Haun wrote to his wife in his last hours he said “have Bohanan, Hinshaw or Low to finish off that ware and do the best you can with it for your support.” It is highly probable that Haun was referring to J. A . Lowe in this letter. This decorated J. A. Lowe jar has very similar characteristics to known C. A. Haun jars. The general form of the jar, the appearance of the extruded handles with the decoration at the handle attachments and the stamp design around the shoulder of the jar with the name of the potter are all similar to marked C. A. Haun jars. J. A. Lowe was almost 29 years of age when Haun was hung. Whether Lowe apprenticed under C. A. Haun is not known at this time. Lowe’s Confederate Certificate of Disability for Discharge dated February 21, 1862 (Courtesy of Donahue Bible) records his occupation as potter. It is also not known if Lowe ever potted again after being discharged from the military. He and his family were living in Indiana by 1865. They had moved to Arkansas by 1880. He died in Arkansas. At this time this jar is the only known example of J. A. Lowe’s work. Condition – overall very good condition with a few old chips to the rim. Height 13 5/8″, circa 1860 (research and description assistance courtesy of Carole Wahler). [See more photos →]

Caroline Dudley (Tennessee, 1802-1832) important watercolor miniature portrait painting, depicting Chickasaw Native American dignitary Kinheche in bright garb and headdress holding a bow and arrow. Inscriptions identifying subject as “Kinhichi”, en verso of interior paper liner, and as “Kinhishee” on the exterior of the back of the frame. Housed in a wooden frame with gilt metal sight edge and oak leaf hanger. Sight: 2 3/4″ H x 2 1/4″ W. Framed: 6″ H x 5″ W. Circa 1830. Note: this portrait was painted in Franklin, Tennessee in August of 1830 during the landmark treaty summit between President Andrew Jackson and the Chickasaw Nation, conducted at the city’s Masonic Hall. Caroline Dudley was the daughter of a prominent Middle Tennessee settler and leader, Guilford Dudley; both were among the spectators invited to witness the treaty event. According to family history, Miss Dudley was so impressed by the appearance of Kinheche or Kin-hee-shee (who according to some accounts may have been a son of the chief), that she was inspired to paint his likeness. Miss Dudley may have been a teacher of art or other similar subjects at the Young Ladies Boarding School run by her mother, Anna Bland Eaton Dudley on the West Harpeth River in Williamson County from 1809-1840 or at Mrs. Long’s School on West Main Street in Franklin, which was run by her sister, Judith from 1826-28 and 1834-37. After Caroline Dudley’s death just two years later at the age of 30, the painting was inherited by her sister Frances and descended in the family to its last private owner, Mary Bright Wilson of Lincoln County, Tennessee. Historical background: “After his Indian Removal Act was passed in May of 1830, President Andrew Jackson invited the Chickasaw Nation to a treaty council to be held the following August in Franklin, Tennessee. During their stay, the Chickasaw delegation met Jackson in the Franklin Masonic Hall, a National Historic Landmark which still stands at 115 2nd Ave South in Franklin. This would be the first treaty negotiation under the Removal Act and a successful outcome was important to the President, who was a charismatic and influential figure among the Chickasaw. Some of the older minkos (chiefs or headmen) had served under Jackson’s command at the Battle of New Orleans and the Creek War, during the War of 1812. They called him “Sharpe Knife”. Jackson appointed John Coffee and John Eaton as treaty commissioners. Coffee was a long time friend who had also served with Jackson in 1812. Eaton, Jackson’s Secretary of War, lived in Franklin. The Chickasaw delegation was led by Levi Colbert – Itawambe Miko (Bench Chief), and included George Colbert, James Colbert, John McLish, Captain William McGilvery, Captain James Brown, Isaac Alberson, Topulka, Ishtayatubbe, Ahtokowa, Hushtatabe, Innewakche, Oaklanayaubbe, Ohekaubbe, Immolasubbe, Immohoaltatubbe, Ishtekieyokatubbe, Ishtehiacha, Inhiyouchetubbe, and Kinheche…” President Jackson met and welcomed the Chickasaw delegation when they arrived in Franklin on August 20, 1830. During the next several days, support for Chickasaw education, Removal expenses, and other related details were worked out. On August 31 the treaty was signed. The Chickasaw agreed to exchange their remaining land in Mississippi and Alabama for land “West of the territory of Arkansaw”, with a stipulation that they could examine the land beforehand. If they didn’t find suitable land, the treaty would be null and void. A supplemental treaty concerning other details was signed the next day, September 1, and “thereupon, the council broke up.” The Chickasaws sent several delegations west of the Mississippi to look for land over the next two years, but nothing suitable was found. In the meantime, the signing of the 1830 Franklin treaty caused a land rush of white squatters anxious to stake their claims before the Chickasaws had even left. By 1832 the Chickasaw Nation was being overrun, even though the Franklin treaty was supposed to prohibit such intrusions. Article 3 extended the protection of the United States to the Chickasaws, but the federal government did nothing to stop the invading squatters – apparently Jackson had let his blade grow dull, at least when it came to protecting Chickasaw land. Since the Chickasaws found no suitable land in the west, the Franklin treaty was considered null and void and was never ratified by Congress. In October, 1832, President Jackson sent John Coffee to the Chickasaw Nation to negotiate a new treaty. Coffee met 65 Chickasaw leaders at the Chickasaw council house on Pontotoc Creek, near present day Tupelo, Mississippi. On October 20, the Chickasaw leaders signed the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek with the United States, agreeing to sell their remaining homeland in Mississippi and Alabama. The Chickasaws became dissatisfied with the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek, believing John Coffee had misrepresented the terms during the negotiations. In 1834 they sent a delegation to Washington, D.C., to amend the treaty. Levi Colbert, then 75 years old, began the journey but became ill and died. Before his death he dictated instructions for the delegation, which included his brother George, who had also been present at the Franklin treaty council. George Colbert and the rest of the delegation then traveled on to Washington and negotiated the desired amendments. In 1837, under the provisions of the Treaty of Doaksville, a treaty between the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, the Chickasaw bought a section of Choctaw land in Indian Territory. The people whose allegiance and friendship arguably prevented the destruction of fledgling Nashville and the other Cumberland settlements, and helped shape the map of the southeast to the benefit of the United States, finally left the soil of their birth and removed to the west.” Source: The Native American History Association (http://www.nativehistoryassociation.org/franklin_treaty.php) Note: This portrait miniature was the subject of a 1932 article in the Franklin, TN Review Appeal by Park Marshall, cousin of Mary Bright Wilson. A copy is available on request and we thank Williamson County Historian Rick Warwick for providing it. We also wish to thank Janet Hasson of the Tennessee Sampler Survey for providing information on the Young Ladies Schools operated by Caroline Dudley’s mother and sister.

PROVENANCE: Property of the Lincoln County Museum, Fayetteville, TN; Bequest of Mary Bright Wilson (1909-2004), formerly of Fayetteville, and descended in her family.

CONDITION: 1��� separation to upper right edge (near corner), otherwise overall good condition. Frame is old, but may or may not be original. [See more photos →]

Important African American “TVA” Quilt, designed by Ruth Clement Bond and made by an unknown quilter working in the TVA dam sites at the juncture of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, circa 1937. The hand-stitched cotton quilt with cotton batting depicts a young black man with government-uniformed white arm on his right shoulder and a fiddle or guitar in his left hand, held by a woman whose face appears in partial profile upper right foreground and whose form is suggested by two partial curves in the foreground, right edge. The man’s head is turned toward his right with his knees bent, against a background of sinking sun and light green foliage. Pale brown border with quilted vine and bud stitching and solid light orange backing. Unsigned. 81″ H x 62″ W. Note: This is one of five known surviving quilts in this pattern, named one of the top 100 quilts of the 20th century by judges elected from the Alliance for American Quilts, the American Quilt Study Group, the International Quilt Association, and the National Quilt Association. This lot includes a 1978 photograph of the quilt taken at “Seay-Me-Home,” the vacation home of its then-owner, Maurice Seay, along with a copy of a typewritten document dated 1976 found with the quilt, describing Seay’s connection to the quilt. It states this quilt was given as an expression of gratitude by workers at the Pickwick Dam Village to Maurice Seay, director of the educational program at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dam sites during the Depression era. It was designed by Ruth Clement Bond (1904-2005), an African American educator, civic leader, and designer who “helped transform the American quilt from a utilitarian bedcovering into a work of avant-garde social commentary” (Source: The New York Times obituary of Mrs. Bond, Nov. 13, 2005 – https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/13/obituaries/ruth-clement-bond-101-quilter-and-civic-leader-is-dead.html ). Bond accompanied her husband, Dr. J. Max Bond, to the TVA dam construction sites where he had been hired in 1934 as a personnel manager to work with the black construction workers. He was, at the time, the company’s highest ranking African American official. Mrs. Bond supplied wives of the workers living at the various sites with quilt designs, many rich with symbolism, including this one, which exhibits elements reminiscent of paintings by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas (particularly his mural series, “Aspects of Negro Life,” 1934). This is one of five quilts in this particular pattern known to exist along with one smaller related textile. The smaller textile is in the collection of the Museum of Art and Design in New York, one quilt is in the Michigan State University African American quilt collection, and a second quilt is in the private collection at TVA Headquarters. The whereabouts of the other two, both documented prior to 1990 by author and quilt researcher Merikay Waldvogel, are unknown. A detailed discussion of these so-called “TVA Quilts” can be found in Waldvogel’s book, “Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression” (Rutledge Hill Press, 1990). It contains information from interviews with Bond and two of the quilters, Rose Marie Thomas and Grace Tyler. All offered slightly differing titles and meanings for the quilt. Bond herself stated “The man with his banjo is full of frivolity. He is between the hand of the government [TVA] and the hand of a woman. He must choose between the government job and the life he has known…we wanted to show that he chose the TVA job. It has a hopeful message…things were getting better and the black worker had a part in it.” (p. 80). Note: The Seay paperwork dated 1976 (which appears to have been compiled for an exhibit at Western Michigan University the same year) indicates this quilt was made in Northeastern Mississippi, however, the other surviving quilts all have strong ties to the Wheeler Dam construction site in North Alabama. CONDITION: Central image in very good structural condition with even fading and a 3″ area of tiny scattered stains lower left; a couple of tiny areas of separation in stitching at lowermost edge of guitar and on subject’s left lower leg at edge. Border with overall fading in addition to discoloration and significant color loss along lower section. Scattered smaller areas of border have barely noticeable discoloration (largest is 1″L, positioned along right edge). Documentation with this lot includes a note from this quilt’s original owner, Maurice Seay, dated 1988, stating that the bottom of the quilt “was stained and faded as it hung on the north wall in the cabin.” [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (American/Tennessee, 1913-1994) framed acrylic on board titled “Weeping Willow,” depicting a solitary older man sitting on the porch of a white Victorian house, under a bright sky, with verdant and immaculately clipped lawn in the foreground. An expansive weeping willow encroaches on the left side of the house, creating shadows across the porch. Signed lower left “Carroll Cloar” and additionally signed, titled, and dated July 1967 en verso. Housed in the original painted wooden frame with gilt liner. Sight – 22 1/2″ H x 33 1/2″ W. Framed – 29″ H x 39 1/2″ W. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful “magic realist” scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled “Backwoods Boyhood,” and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting “Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse” was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. CONDITION: Painting overall excellent condition. Frame with some chips to corner. [See more photos →]

Beauford Delaney (American, 1901 – 1979) oil on canvas of his mother, Delia Delaney. Subject attired in green with a white collar, yellow background. Signed lower right corner, “Beauford Delaney 1963” (or 1964). Executed in Paris, Beauford painted this oil on canvas of his mother from memory. Author David Leeming writes, “Beauford Delaney’s early life was dominated by the powerful figure of his mother, Delia Johnson Delaney, a strict, proud woman who upheld what she saw as the Christian virtues. She punctuated lessons on forbearance, patience, self-control, and turning the other cheek with songs.” (Amazing Grace: A Life of Beauford Delaney). In 1865, Delia was born into slavery in Richmond, married and had 10 children in the Knoxville, TN area (only 4 children lived past the age of 20 years old). Delia Delaney died in 1958. This work was exhibited in “Beauford Delaney: A Retrospective”, The Studio Museum in New York, 1978, with a full page color illustration in the exhibition catalog, #10. This work is also referenced in “Hidden Treasures: Beauford and Joseph Delaney of Knoxville, Tennessee”, Volume 24, Number 1 (1997). Verso on central stretcher support, “Mother’s portrait” in black marker script, “Beauford” label, Ollendorf Fine Art moving label, and other inventory annotations. 25 1/8″ x 20 7/8″ sight, 26″ x 21 1/2″ framed. Provenance – Delaney Estate, Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, court-appointed administrator. CONDITION: Minor exfoliation above head, light lifting of paint to hair above left ear, background around head. [See more photos →]

The only known lifetime oil portrait of Bonnie Scotland, premier stallion of Belle Meade Plantation, with chief groom Robert “Uncle Bob” Green, painted and dated 1879 by Herbert S. Kittredge (American, 1853- 1881). The iconic painting depicts Bonnie Scotland standing in a field under a partly cloudy blue sky, beside Green, who is attired in a white apron, dark pants and a hat; two trees and a fence are visible in the background. Housed in a molded giltwood frame with title placard front center. Sight – 24″ H x 28″W. Framed – 33 1/2″ H x 38 1/2″W. Provenance: The Harding Family of Belle Meade Plantation, by descent to present consignor. Note: Most of the Kentucky Derby winners of the twentieth century, and a significant number of other important thoroughbreds, can trace their lineage to Bonnie Scotland. The stallion was foaled in 1853 in Malton, England by Iago out of Queen Mary by Gladiator, and originally owned by William l’Anson. Bonnie Scotland overcame an injury at age 2 and went on to win the Liverpool St. Leger, but collapsed while winning the Doncaster Stakes, and was retired to stud at the age of 3. His great fame ultimately came not as an English racehorse, but as one of America’s great sires. He was imported to New York in 1857 by Captain Cornish of Massachusetts and stood at John Reeber’s Fashion Stud in Lancaster, Ohio, and Col. W.F. Harper’s farm Nantura in Woodford, Kentucky. Other owners included J.C. Simpson of Chicago, Illinois, and C.C. Parks of Waukegan, Illinois. Although the Civil War disrupted the sport of racing in America, Bonnie Scotland spent the early 1860s siring runners that would go on to successful track careers, including Dangerous, Malcolm, Bourbon Belle, and Frogtown. In 1872, General William Harding purchased Bonnie Scotland and brought him to Belle Meade, where the stallion was bred with higher quality mares and established one of the most important sire lines in America. According to American Classic Pedigrees, he was the leading sire in America (1880 and 1882, runner up in 1868 and 1871), and “his progeny were known for good looks, balance, and overall soundness.” Clio Hogan’s Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 credits him with 21 stakes winners. Some of the famous horses from his line include Bramble, Man-O-War, Sea Biscuit, War Admiral, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, and most recently, California Chrome. Bonnie Scotland died at Belle Meade in 1880, one year after this portrait was painted, having helped build Belle Meade’s reputation as one of the great thoroughbred horse breeding nurseries in the world. Robert (Bob) Green was in charge of all the thoroughbreds at Belle Meade, a position which earned him international recognition. Born a slave, he was brought to Belle Meade in 1839 and thanks to his skill with horses, he soon became General Harding’s right hand man, with four grooms working under his supervision. Green is credited with saving several horses from injury during an ill-fated railroad trip to New York, which was jeopardized by the Johnstown Flood of 1889. Following emancipation, Green became Belle Meade’s highest paid employee, declining an offer from Fairview Farm in order to stay on with the Hardings. He led President Grover Cleveland on a tour of Belle Meade in 1887. According to Belle Meade Plantation’s website, near the end of his life, Green was forced to move from the property where he had lived and worked for decades. His request to be buried there was granted in 1906, and he rests on the grounds today in an unmarked grave. Artist biography: Herbert Kittredge’s untimely death at the age of 28 cut short a blossoming career in sporting art. Little is known about his youth and training. According to the book “Animal and Sporting Artists in America,” in 1876, “the noted American thoroughbred breeder Randolph Huntington encouraged [Kittredge] to make equine portraiture his career while living on Huntington’s stud in New York. Kittredge was commissioned to execute drawings of Leopard, an Arabian stallion, and Linden Tree, a Barbary stallion, both presented to General Ulysses S. Grant by the Sultan of Turkey in 1879.” Kittredge’s death at the age of 28 was reported in Wallace’s Monthly, which stated in an editorial that “his first serious attempt to delineate a horse, so far as we know, may be found in the MONTHLY for October 1878.” The young artist had come to the Wallace offices that year with a letter of introduction from Powell Bros. of Springboro, PA, and amazed the editors with his proofs of engravings of a Powell horse and several others. In fact, the magazine called Kittredge “the greatest and truest of all horse delineators the the world ever produced. We have studied the great masters, ancient and modern, and with the single exception of Rosa Bonheur we have never seen one who could equal Kittredge.” (Vol. 8, p. 694). The Hardings of Belle Meade were known to have commissioned works from America’s finest sporting artists. Edward Troye (1808-1874) was an early favorite. After Kittredge’s death, they engaged artists including Thomas Scott (see lot #111 in this auction) and Canadian-American painter Henry Stull (1851-1913) to paint portraits of their best horses. CONDITION: Painting is in very good condition with no areas of concerning deterioration. Fine to moderate craquelure overall, and canvas has been relined and trimmed. Blacklighting indicates areas of inpainting located near man’s arms, under horse, and to right side of sky. Various pinhole losses across top of sky and minor loss to top left corner. Stretcher crease length of canvas 2 ¾” from bottom edge. [See more photos →]

(3 items) – Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) acrylic on board painting titled, The Waiting, depicting figures standing in an open field, a brick building in the background covered with FS Chapell The Rabbit’s Foot Minstrel show advertising posters and a solitary seated figure in the foreground, wearing a bee keeper’s head gear/suit and eating an apple. Signed lower right Carroll Cloar. Titled, signed and dated 1-83 en verso, label for New York Forum Gallery. Housed in a silver-gilt molded frame. Sight – 22″ H x 33 1/8″ W. Framed – 29″ H x 40 1/2″ W. Also included with this painting is the original pencil study for the painting, signed and dated by the artist, 23″ H x 33″ W. Note: This painting was featured in the exhibit and used as the catalog cover for CARROLL CLOAR: TIMELESS TALES OF THE SOUTH at Belmont University in Nashvillle, May 22-July 13, 2003. A poster for the exhibit accompanies this lot, 24″ H x 33″ W. Provenance: The estate of Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, Tennessee. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. CONDITION: Painting: Very good condition. Darker areas of varnish indicate that the varnish layer may not have been applied evenly. Frame with minor scattered abrasions, primarily lower left corner. Study: Pin-pricks to upper corners. Poster: Some bending top and bottom margins, 1/2 tear lower margin, pin-pricks to corners. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (Tennessee, c. 1884-1951) limestone “Varmint’ sculpture of a small animal sitting alert on its back haunches with both front feet together, paws cast downward. 12-1/2″ H x 5″ W x 7 3/4” D. Provenance: purchased directly from the artist in the 1940s by the consignor’s parents, Howard Chandler Jordon and Whitley Jarman Jordon Potter, who were friends and patrons of Edmondson. The consignor, who accompanied her mother on the visit to Edmondson’s Nashville home to purchase this piece, remembers Edmondson distinctly telling her that the subject was a ‘varmint.’ A photo of the consignor as a child, at home with the sculpture, is included in this lot along with an affidavit certifying provenance, signed by the consignor. Artist information: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Biblical figures, women, and animals were frequent subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937 Edmondson became the first African American to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. He is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century and his works are in several major museums. Condition: Overall excellent condition. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee,1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture of a squirrel, sitting on its haunches and eating a nut, atop an integral carved base. Exhibited, “William Edmondson: A Retrospective,” Tennessee State Museum, 1981 (see exhibition catalog of same name, Georganne Fletcher, ed., p. 65, no. 100). Sculpture measures 12-3/4″ H x 5″W x 8″D. Provenance: The collection of Robert and Deborah Street of Nashville, a gift from the artist to the late Mrs. Claude P. Street. Edmondson’s sister, Sarah, worked for the Streets, and the artist was a frequent visitor to their home. He gave this sculpture as a gift to Mrs. Street for her garden, where it remained for many years. Street family members exhibited a photograph of Sarah Edmondson in the same exhibit (see exhibit catalog, p. 92, no. 112). Affidavit from family members is included with this lot, along with additional paperwork related to the exhibition loan. Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. Biblical figures, women, and animals were frequent subjects, although he also produced more utilitarian items such as tombstones and birdbaths. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American to receive a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. He is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. Condition: Surface weathering, small chips and roughness consistent with the medium and as made. [See more photos →]

Pair of Tennessee portraits by Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl (1788-1838), unsigned, oil on canvas, depicting Thomas Claiborne Jr. (b. Petersburg, Virginia, 1780- d. Nashville, Tennessee ,1856) in white linen shirt with tie, waistcoat and brass buttoned coat and a woman, likely his wife Sarah Lewis King Claiborne (1786-1867); in lace bonnet with yellow and purple ribbon and emerald green dress. Both housed in original matching 19th century gilt wood and composition slope-molding frames with corner leaf and scroll decoration, European, one with original framer’s label verso. Both portraits measure: Sight – 29 1/2″ H x 24 1/2″ W. Framed – 42″ H x 37″ W. Circa 1825. Provenance: Descended in the Claiborne Family through Henry (Harry) Laurens Claiborne; sold to dealer Charles Elder of Nashville, Tennessee; sold to Dr. Benjamin Caldwell circa 1960s; acquired from the Caldwell auction in 2006 by a Maryville, TN collector. †These portraits were exhibited at the Tennessee State Museum’s Exhibit, “Portrait Painting in Tennessee,” in 1988 and are illustrated and discussed in the catalog of the same name (ref. The Tennessee Historical Quarterly, winter 1987, p. 210). They have also been exhibited at Cheekwood Fine Arts Center in Nashville (dates unknown). Note: Thomas A. Claiborne served as a major on Andrew Jackson’s staff during the Creek War and in the Tennessee House of Representatives for two terms, 1811-1815 and 1831-1833. He became a U.S. Representative to Congress for Tennessee 1817-1819. Claiborne was also a Mason, and served as Grand Master of Tennessee from 1813-1814. Biography (Courtesy of James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 1998): Ralph E. W. Earl was the son of Connecticut painter Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Earl studied under his father in Northhampton, Massachusetts, before traveling to London in 1809 to study under Benjamin West and John Trumbull. In 1817, Earl arrived in Nashville to paint General Andrew Jackson, the hero of the battle of New Orleans. Later that year, in Natchez, he met and married Jane Caffrey, Rachel Jackson’s niece. She died the next year, but Earl moved into the Hermitage and would from then on remain in Jackson’s circle, accompanying the newly elected president to Washington. During the next eight years, Earl turned out numerous paintings of Jackson. Politicians, especially Democrats, knew it “did not hurt to order a portrait of General Jackson from Earl.” He painted many of Jacksonís friends and a few of his foes. Earl returned to the Hermitage with Jackson in 1837 and died there in September 1838. CONDITION: 1st item (Mr. Claiborne): Relined. Overall craquelure. Heavy varnish. Areas of inpainting on face and blouse and some minor scattered inpainting in background. Frame: Top left corner area reinforced and top right corner molding repaired and reglued. 2nd item (Mrs. Claiborne): Relined. Overall craquelure. Heavy varnish. Areas of inpainting on face and background. Area of repainting in green dress at base of image, approximately 4″ x 1″ then 2″ x 10″. Frame: Losses to corners lower left, lower right (1″ x 2″) and upper right. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture of a rabbit with raised paws, sitting on its hind legs, atop a rectangular integral base. 16 5/8″ H x 5″ W x 7 1/2″ D. Rabbits were popular subject matter for Edmondson. A very similar rabbit is visible in the background of a photograph of Edmondson’s yard taken in 1941 by photographer Edward Weston (ref. Edmund L. Fuller, “Visions In Stone: the Sculpture of William Edmondson”, University of Pittsburgh Press, 1973, pages 7 and 9), and six rabbits were exhibited in the William Edmondson retrospective exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum in 1981 (ref. exhibit catalog, p. 64, for an example closely related to this one). Provenance: Private Pennsylvania Collection. Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17 year art career. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. CONDITION: Repaired break to subject’s right ear and very old, tight repaired break to subject’s right arm. General erosion and weathering, particularly to details of subject’s lower left front and rear paws, ear tips, and to subject’s right side. Small 1″ chip to lower right side of base. Moss remnants to surface. [See more photos →]

An important panoramic East Tennessee landscape oil on canvas by Thomas Campbell (1834-1914, born in England, active Tennessee). Titled on back “Tenn Mill and Mine”, showing a mill in the foreground and a large factory complex in the background right. Provenance – Calderwood Lodge of Calderwood Dam, Tennessee. Condition – overall excellent condition, uncleaned surface, a few areas with tiny flaking. Dimensions 39 1/4″ length x 21 1/4″ canvas, 29″ x 47″ carved gilt frame. Late 19th/Early 20th century. [See more photos →]

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Portrait of Andrew Jackson by William Stewart Watson (Scottish, 1800-1870), signed lower right ” Stewart Watson/Pinxt 1836″. Watson is believed to have painted in both America and Europe for several years before settling in Edinburgh. He is primarily known for his portraits, including miniatures, and paintings of historical subjects. Condition – Professionally conserved in 2001. Blacklighting reveals inpainting/restoration to areas around the eyes, nose, and forehead. A couple of areas fluoresce in the right hairline area, one small area fluoresces in the chest area, and one to the background. Conservation report available to the successful bidder. Sight – 27 1/4″ Height x 23 1/4″ Width. Framed – 34 1/4″ Height x 31″ Width. Provenance – By family oral tradition, a gift from President Jackson to Colonel Albert James Pickett(1810-1858) when Pickett visited Jackson at The Hermitage in 1837. The painting was given to his daughter Mary Pickett Harris and descended through her family. The great-grandchild of Mary Pickett Harris consigned the portrait with Christie’s in 2001 where the present consignor acquired the portrait. Albert Pickett was a prominent writer and Alabama historian who was influential in Alabama politics during the second quarter of the 19th century. Pickett was a Jacksonian Democrat who was instrumental in organizing a counter-response to a group of Alabama anti-Jackson States Rights legislators who were successful in 1835 in endorsing Judge Hugh White of TN for President over Martin Van Buren. President Jackson presented Pickett with this portrait as a result of his loyalty. [See more photos →]

Greene County, TN slip and copper oxide decorated redware jar by Christopher Alexander Haun, 1821-1861. Marked on upper rim with the stamped letters “C A Haun ” and compass flower stamping. Condition – old chips to one handle, abrasions and expected wear to body. One hairline crack from mouth about three inches in length. 13″ H. Note – Haun was a Union sympathizer during the Civil War and participated in burning a Confederate railroad bridge (Lick Creek) in Greene County, TN. This important event in East Tennessee’s Civil War history was initiated with a campaign by Union loyalists to burn 9 bridges. It was led by William B. Carter and strongly supported and encouraged by President Abraham Lincoln. Several potters from the Pottertown, TN area were among the men who conspired and succeeded in burning the bridge. The potters decided not to capture or kill the Confederate bridge guards but allowed them to go free based upon their solemn promises to not reveal their identities. Union troops did not materialize as promised, and the Confederates were able to pursue and capture some of the perpetrators. The Confederate guards, who were allowed to live, were the very ones who served as witnesses to implicate the five men who were hung, four of them potters. Among those sentenced to hang was the potter Christopher Alexander Haun. On December 11th, 1861, Haun was hung from the gallows in Knoxville, TN. Of the handful of marked C.A. Haun jars known, the combination of yellow slip and copper oxide decoration is unique to this example. For another marked example of Christopher Haun’s pottery, refer to the Art of Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, p. 115, figure 82. The relationship between Haun and another potter from Greene County, John Alexander Lowe (1833-1902), is not completely known at this time but a marked J. A. Lowe jar sold by this auction house in September 2008 displayed similar characteristics to known C. A. Haun jars. The general form of the jar, the appearance of the extruded handles with decoration at the handle attachments, and the stamp design around the shoulder of the jar with the name of the potter are all similar to marked C. A. Haun jars. In his last hours, Haun wrote to his wife and said ¨have Bohanan, Hinshaw or Low to finish off that ware and do the best you can with it for your support.¨ Whether Lowe apprenticed under C. A. Haun is not known at this time. Lowe enlisted in the Confederate Army two days after Christopher Alexander Haun was hung by Confederate forces. [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) acrylic on board painting titled “Black Angus”, depicting six black cows in an orange/brown grassy field with barn and barren trees in the background, all under a bright blue sky. Signed, dated and titled en verso “Black Angus/Carroll Cloar/May 1967/Acrylic”. Housed in an ebonized and parcel gilt wood frame. Sight – 11 3/8″ H x 15 1/2″ W. Framed – 16 1/2″ H x 20 5/8″ W. Circa 1967. Provenance: Painting was given by the artist to a friend who lived in Memphis, and has descended in her family. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful magic realist scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled Backwoods Boyhood, and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting, Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse, was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. CONDITION: Overall excellent condition. [See more photos →]

Christopher Alexander Haun (Greene County, TN, 1821-1861) lead and copper oxide decorated earthenware jar. Ovoid form with tapered rim edge, symmetrical extruded lug handles, bulbous midsection tapering to a beaded base. Unglazed bottom. Coggled band on upper shoulder with stylized lettering “C A Haun No. 1″ and elaborate tread stamp designs at the base of the handles. 13″ H x 10 1/2” dia. Provenance: Greene Co., TN Family. Note: One of a small group of marked C. A. Haun jars known, the stylized “C. A. Haun No. 1” script on this example varies slightly from other examples. The tread stamps on the handles are very similar to the tread stamp pattern on a C. A. Haun marked earthenware ring bottle sold by this auction house in July 2014. Historical Note: Christopher Alexander Haun was a Union sympathizer during the Civil War and participated in burning a Confederate railroad bridge (Lick Creek) in Greene County, TN. This important event in East Tennessee’s Civil War history was initiated with a campaign by Union loyalists to burn 9 bridges. It was led by William B. Carter and strongly supported and encouraged by President Abraham Lincoln. Several potters from the Pottertown, TN area were among the men who conspired and succeeded in burning the bridge. The potters decided not to capture or kill the Confederate bridge guards but allowed them to go free based upon their solemn promises to not reveal their identities. Union troops did not materialize as promised, and the Confederates were able to pursue and capture some of the perpetrators. The Confederate guards, who were allowed to live, were the very ones who served as witnesses to implicate the five men who were hung, four of them potters. Among those sentenced to hang was the potter Christopher Alexander Haun. In his last hours, Haun wrote to his wife and said “have Bohanan, Hinshaw or Low to finish off that ware and do the best you can with it for your support”. On December 11th, 1861, Haun was hung from the gallows in Knoxville, TN. CONDITION: Old chip near base (1 3/4″ width) with some smaller scattered chips in proximity to larger chip, old stain residue to midsection of vessel, interior with chips and glaze flaking. [See more photos →]

William Edmondson (American/Tennessee, 1874-1951) carved limestone sculpture or garden ornament in the form of a large dipper or cup of rectangular form, angled at the lower edges, with a trapezoidal handle, open in the center. The side opposite the handle features a shallow, molded, angular lip that echoes the lines of the body and handle. 20"W x 12"D x 7" H. Exhibited, "William Edmondson: A Retrospective," The Tennessee State Museum, 1981. The dipper is accompanied by a minimally hewn flat rectangular limestone base, measuring 4" H x 14 1/2" W x 13" D, acquired by the consignors' parents along with the sculpture directly from William Edmondson's yard in 1951. Biography: William Edmondson was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, the son of freed slaves, and worked most of his life as a railroad employee and janitor. A spiritual experience at the age of 57 prompted him to begin sculpting limestone using a railroad spike as a chisel, and he claimed divine inspiration for the works produced during his 17-year art career. In 1937, Edmondson became the first African American artist to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, and he is regarded as one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. Provenance Note: Dr. Virgil and Louise Lequire were influential members of Nashville's arts community. Louise Lequire (1924-2006), a talented painter in her own right, was a founding member of the Nashville Artist Guild and taught art at Montgomery Bell Academy and the Nashville Institute for the Arts. She was the first art critic for the Nashville Banner newspaper and a regular art columnist from 1960-1961, and Arts Editor for Nashville Life Magazine from 1993-1996. Her article on William Edmondson appeared in Smithsonian Magazine in 1981 and she was a contributor to the catalog for the Edmondson exhibit at the Tennessee State Museum that same year. Her photograph of this sculpture in her own garden (minus the base), taken at an unknown date, appears in black and white near the end of our sequence of photographs for this auction catalog.

PROVENANCE: By descent in the family of Dr. Virgil and Louise Lequire, Nashville, Tennessee.

CONDITION: The limestone is very granular and has scattered rust colored spots that are not stains but natural colorations, as well as some minor dark staining residue to the interior. There are some natural holes in the bottom of the cup that do not penetrate, The base has old, likely original worn away areas or losses at 3 of the 4 corners, up to 2" x 2 1/2", moss-staining and scuffing/scratching to the top. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee, Greene or Sullivan County, lead glazed earthenware jar with manganese splotched decoration, pulled loop handles, rim and upper shoulder with incised concentric lines, unglazed base with beaded foot. 15″ H. For a related form, refer to the article, “Earthenware Potters Along the Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee,” J. Roderick Moore, Antiques Magazine, September 1983, p. 532, plate IV. This form is one of the largest found from this group. Provenance: Descended through the Bireley Estate, Hamblen County, Tennessee. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee oil on fabric portrait of Judge John A. McKinney (1781-1845) by Samuel Shaver (TN, 1816-1878). The subject is attired in a dark suit and gold waistcoat and depicted seated in the “Napoleonic” pose. Housed in a carved mahogany veneer wood frame. Sight: 27 1/2″ H x 24″ W. Framed: 34″ H x 30 1/2″ W. Note: This portrait is illustrated in the Tennessee Portrait Project and referenced in “Portraits in Tennessee Before 1866,” page 78, entry #318. Note: Family history states that this portrait was completed circa 1842, making it one of the earliest known Shaver attributed portraits. Biography of the sitter: John Augustine McKinney emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1800. He married Elizabeth Ayer and moved to Rogersville, Tennessee to practice law. McKinney was a successful lawyer and landowner and built many prominent structures in Rogersville. In 1824-1825, he built the McKinney Tavern House which hosted three U.S. Presidents including Jackson, Polk, and Johnson. The tavern was eventually renamed The Hale Springs Inn which was famous for being the oldest, continuously run Inn in the state of Tennessee. McKinney tried cases in Hawkins, Hancock, Sullivan, Washington, Greene, Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, and Union Counties. He was appointed U.S. District Attorney by President John Quincy Adams and was chosen to represent his County in the State Constitutional Convention in 1834. Biography of the artist (Courtesy of James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society) Portraitist Samuel M. Shaver was born in Sullivan County, the son of David Shaver and Catherine (Barringer) Shaver. He may have been influenced by William Harrison Scarborough (1812-1871), a native-born Tennessee artist, four years Shaver’s senior, who did portraits of Shaver’s relatives. Shaver’s earliest known painting dates to 1845, but he was probably painting before that time. For the next quarter-century, he was East Tennessee’s standard portraitist. In 1851 Shaver was a professor of drawing and painting at the Odd Fellows Female Institute in Rogersville. In 1852 he advertised in Greeneville and Knoxville papers; for several years thereafter his whereabouts are unknown. The death of his first wife in January 1856 recalled him to Rogersville, where he remained until the Civil War. At the outset of the war, Shaver moved to Knoxville, where he became one of the founders of the East Tennessee Art Association. From 1863 to 1868 Shaver lived and worked near Russellville. About 1868 he joined his mother-in-law and family in Jerseyville, Illinois, near St. Louis, where he continued painting. He died June 21, 1878. The Estate of Alice Wright Summers Hale, Rogersville, TN. Condition: Conserved in the winter of 1989-90 by Cumberland Art Conservation in Nashville, TN. Relined with some light inpainting to subject’s forehead and new wax coating. A black light photo is included and an abbreviated conservation report is en verso of painting. [See more photos →]

Exceptionally rare and large Christopher Haun East Tennessee ring bottle, copper oxide and lead glazed earthenware with elaborate tread stamp designs and coggled band around outer circumference consisting of hexagonal and diamond star geometric designs and letters, “HAUN” (Christopher Alexander Haun, Greene Co., TN, 1821-1861). Christopher Haun was a Union sympathizer during the Civil War and participated in burning a Confederate railroad bridge (Lick Creek) in Greene County, TN. This important event in East Tennessee Civil War history was initiated with a campaign by Union loyalists to burn 9 bridges. It was led by William B. Carter and strongly supported and encouraged by President Abraham Lincoln. Several potters from the Pottertown, TN area were among the men who conspired and succeeded in burning the bridge. The potters decided not to capture or kill the Confederate bridge guards but allowed them to go free based upon their solemn promises to not reveal their identities. Union troops did not materialize as promised, and the Confederates were able to pursue and capture some of the perpetrators. The Confederate guards, who were allowed to live, were the very ones who served as witnesses to implicate the five men who were hung, four of them potters. Among those sentenced to death was the potter Christopher Alexander Haun. On December 11th, 1861, Haun was hung from the gallows in Knoxville, TN. Provenance – descended through the John Houston Cox family of Lenoir City, TN (b. 1863 – 1949). Diameter 10″, total length including spout, 10 3/4″. (Research courtesy of Carole Wahler). Note: one of the most elaborately decorated Southern ring bottles to surface, it is believed to be the only C.A. Haun ring bottle example extant, and is the earliest Tennessee ring bottle example by a known maker. Condition: Overall excellent condition. Condition: Overall excellent condition. [See more photos →]

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Framed oil on masonite painting depicting skaters at the Wohlman Memorial Skating Rink in Central Park by Joseph Delaney (Tennessee/New York, 1904-1991), titled “Central Park Skating”. The perspective of the painting is westward toward the famous Dakota Building. Signed and dated lower left, “Jos Delaney ’68”. Recently illustrated and discussed in the 2009 book, “The Life, Art and Times of Joseph Delaney, 1904-1991 by Frederick C. Moffatt” on page 148. This painting was also featured in the 2004 “Life in the City: The Art of Joseph Delaney” exhibit, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (illustrated in the 2004 catalog, p. 29) and the Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA. Overall excellent condition, original frame. Sight – 31 1/2″ Height x 29″ Width. Framed – 37 3/4″ Height x 36″ Width. Consignor purchased the painting directly from Joseph Delaney, Knoxville Collection. Biography (Courtesy of Frederick C. Moffatt) – Joseph Delaney was born in Knoxville in 1904, the ninth of ten children born to a Methodist Minister. He and his older brother, Beauford, discovered their interest in art by drawing on Sunday School cards. In 1930, Joseph left Tennessee for New York where Beauford was also working as an artist, and enrolled in the Art Students League under the tutelage of Thomas Hart Benton and Alexander Brooke. The subject matter he found there, including the city’s landmarks and its people, are the images for which he is best known. In 1986, Delaney returned to Knoxville to live and was artist-in-residence for the University of Tennessee Art Department until his death in 1991. Delaney’s works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Chicago Art Institute, The Knoxville Museum of Art, and The Smithsonian American Art Museum. [See more photos →]

Civil War Confederate States of America shell jacket worn by Colonel Tomlinson Fort, 1st Georgia Infantry, Company L, plus shoulder straps and albumen print, 4 items total. 1st item: “Butternut” Richmond Depot woolen single-breasted shell jacket with six-piece body, one-piece sleeves, and six button holes with one wooden and three cloth buttons, osnaburg interior lining with one pocket. Unmarked. Also includes three loose buttons, two (2) wooden and one (1) mother of pearl. 28 1/2″ H x 21 3/4″ W x 11″ D. Note: This is the coat that Colonel Fort wore on his return to his home in Milledgeville, Georgia. The brass buttons were cut off in Savannah and replaced by the ones now on it, as a law had been issued forbidding Confederate States of America (CSA) buttons to be worn. 2nd-3rd items: Two (2) gold tone metal and fabric Captain’s shoulder straps, manufacturer’s marks for James A. Smith, stamped en verso. 1 1/2″ H x 4″ W x 5/8″ D. 4th item: Early 20th century albumen print depicting a composite of three Civil War era cartes de visite (CDV) of the Fort Brothers: Colonel Tomilson Fort (1839-1910), lower right (depicted wearing the shell jacket and shoulder straps in this lot); Dr. George Fort (1828-1866), top center; and Lieutenant John Porter Fort (1841-1917). The three portraits are superimposed on a decorative shield dated “61-65” and flanked by two crossed Confederate flags, above, and two crossed sabers with a “CSA” canteen, below, with a row of ten stars, across the top of the shield. Fragmentary red “Art Department” label, en verso. Housed under glass in a black wooden frame. Print – 8 7/8″ H x 7 5/8″ W. Sight – 9 3/4″ H x 7 3/4″ W. Framed – 10 7/8″ H x 8 7/8″ W x 3/4″ D. Note: a CDV of Dr. George Fort and his surgeon kit are also included in this auction, lot 511. Provenance: Private Ringgold, Georgia collection; among items purchased in the 1960’s from the old location of the A. P. Stewart Chapter of the UDC (United Daughters of the Confederacy), formerly the Nathan Bedford Forrest UCV (United Confederate Veterans) home, St. Elmo, Chattanooga, TN. Note: The 1st Georgia Infantry regiment, also known as the 1st Georgia Regulars, was organized at Macon, Georgia in April 1861. The companies first named were twelve months’ troops, a majority re-enlisting for the war, while others were mustered out when the twelve months expired. The regimental commander, Col. Charles J. Williams, died on February 8, 1862. Now led by Col. William J. Magill, the regiment served in the Army of Northern Virginia in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. When Magill was wounded at Antietam, being part of Gen. G.T. Angerson’s brigade, the command developed to Cpt. Richard A. Wayne. The 1st Georgia was transferred to the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida in early 1863. In Gen. George P. Harrison’s brigade it participated in the Battle of Olustee. When Magill retired on September 3, 1864, Wayne was named as his successor. The regiment was surrendered along with Joseph E. Johnston’s army at Bennett Place in North Carolina on April 26, 1865. Biography: Colonel Tomlinson Fort (1839-1910) was born in Milledgeville, Georgia, to Dr. Tomlinson Fort (1787-1859) and Martha Low Fannin (1804-1883). Tomlinson Fort graduated from Oglethorpe University in 1857, and moved to Savannah, Georgia to practice law. Fort returned to his hometown to care for his father’s estate in 1859. At the beginning of the Civil War, Fort joined the 1st Georgia Infantry regiment and served throughout the war. Fort’s two brothers also served in the war; Lieutenant John Fort joined the 1st Georgia Infantry regiment and Dr. George Washington Fort was a surgeon, 53rd Regiment, Georgia Infantry. Fort was wounded five times during the Civil War including Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, and John’s Island, SC. Tomlinson Fort was captured in late 1864 until the remainder of the war. Fort moved to Chattanooga in 1865, and though he came to the city with very little, he quickly found work, and by the mid-1870’s, was one of Chattanooga’s leading businessmen. Fort served as city attorney, city recorder and served on the Board of Public Works before being elected Mayor in 1876. Fort’s election to the office marked a turning point for the city, as he was the first ex-confederate elected mayor and was able to improve the city’s financial status. (source: http://www.chattanooga.gov/about-chattanooga/history-of-mayors/1876-colonel-tomilinson-fort). See related lots 507, 511, 540 and 544. CONDITION: 1st item: Jacket is in stable condition with insect damage and age deterioration. Three-fourths of surface has holes, tears, abrasions, and/or unidirectional loss. Most significant damage: 1 1/2″ tear top right shoulder; 1″ hole top of left sleeve; 1″ tear with fraying left side top of collar; 2″ tear with fraying right side top of collar; 1″ unidirectional loss with fraying lower left edge on back; 3/4″ tear right side near arm hole on back. Heavy wear to buttons. Moderate soiling to end of sleeves and front opening. Interior lining discolored and weak seam with fraying right side top of button placket where wool joins lining. 2nd-3rd items: Overall good condition with surface grime, area of tarnish to metal, and holes, largest 1/2″ x 1 1/4″. 4th item: Overall stable condition with repaired tears, largest 8 1/8″ x 1 1/8″. Several pieces of white archival tape and scotch tape, minute foxing spots, en verso. [See more photos →]

Burton Harry Callicott (Tennessee/Indiana, 1907-2003) abstract oil on canvas paintingtitled "Outpouring No. 2" depicting a white central circle with radiating bands rendered in the primary, secondary, and tertiary shades of the color wheel. Signed and dated "Callicott '85" lower right. Title, date, artist's name, and additional information en verso. Housed in a white wooden frame with gilt trim. Sight – 59 1/2" square. Framed – 6 5/8" square. American, late 20th century. Biography: "Born in 1907 in Terre Haute, Indiana, Burton Callicott spent much of his childhood and his seventy-year career as an artist and educator in Memphis. Callicott graduated in 1931 from the Cleveland School of Art, where he began an exploration of the use of light and dark that would follow him throughout his life. He is perhaps best known regionally for his set of three large murals in the Memphis Pink Palace Museum titled The Coming of De Soto. Completing his training in sculpture at the Cleveland School of Art in the midst of the Depression, Callicott returned to Memphis, where his mother and stepfather, Michael Abt, resided. The director of the western division of Tennessee's Federal Works of Art Project, Abt played a major role in launching Callicott's career. He put Callicott to work immediately on Memphis Cotton Carnival floats and displays for other Memphis festivals while also helping him secure a commission for a Public Works of Art Project mural in 1933. Installed in the Memphis Museum of Natural History (now the Memphis Pink Palace Museum), the three-panel mural depicts Hernando De Soto's arrival in West Tennessee. Another of Callicott's most recognized works, The Gleaners (1936), was completed during the early years of his career and received much attention at the 1939 New York World's Fair. These early projects set Callicott off on a long and successful career in Memphis. Callicott became a founding faculty member of the Memphis Academy of Art (now the Memphis College of Art) in 1937. Callicott became professor emeritus in 1978. Callicott's works have been exhibited at various museums across the state and region, including the Cheekwood Museum of Art and the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, the West Tennessee Regional Art Center in Humboldt, the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Carroll Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University, the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, and the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia. Samples of his artwork are on permanent display at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the Memphis Pink Palace Museum. The Tennessee Arts Commission chose to honor the work of Callicott in 2000 with a specialty license plate for which he designed a rainbow with the caption, "art is…a rainbow." Callicott continued to live in Memphis until his death in 2003". (source: "Burton Callicott"by Elizabeth H. Moore,originally published October 8, 2017,https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/burton-callicott/).Provenance: The Guardsmark Collection, Lipman Holdings International, Memphis, Tennessee. CONDITION: Excellent condition. [See more photos →]

Rudolph Ingerle (American, 1879-1950), "Sundown on the Hollo", large oil on canvas landscape painting, bird's eye view of a mountain valley, likely the Smoky Mountains, in late afternoon sunlight. Birch trees bordered by evergreen trees stand in the foreground, overlooking a valley with winding river and cabins below, and sun-dappled mountains with profuse fall foliage in the background. Signed lower left "R. F. Ingerle". Housed in the original gilt carved and molded frame. Titled en verso upper left with old paper label with title, artist's biography, and awards; Chicago framing label stamp en verso of the frame. Sight: 37 1/4" H x 39 1/4" W. Framed: 43 1/2" H x 45 1/2" Q. Biography: Rudolph Ingerle, sometimes called 'The Painter of the Smokies', was born to a Moravian family, immigrated to the U.S. as a child and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. He was an early founder of the Indiana School of Painting in Brown County and the Society of Ozark Painters. Ingerle first visited the Smoky Mountains in 1920 and fell in love with Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. At that time, the natural beauty of the area was threatened by logging companies. Ingerle painted numerous landscapes there and is among the artists credited with raising awareness of the need for protection, which helped result in the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. When not painting in the mountains, Ingerle maintained a studio in Chicago from which he exhibited paintings in many major museums and galleries including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Pennsylvania Academy, and one man shows at the Mint Museum and Hickory Museum of Art during his lifetime. His work was featured in the 2006 Art of Tennessee exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and will also be featured in an upcoming exhibit on Smoky Mountain landscapes at the Tennessee State Museum.

CONDITION: Painting overall very good condition with some slackness to canvas noted at the corners. Light overall grime with very slight craquelure to upper left sky area. 1" x 3/4" area of inpainting over possible old repair, center. Areas of fluorescence to top of tree at center, largest 6 1/2" x 4", does not correspond to repair to canvas, possibly varnish layer. Light scattered expected wear to frame. [See more photos →]

Fred Greene Carpenter (1882 – 1965, born in Nashville, TN, active Missouri), oil on board painting depicting a female picking fruit, surrounded by verdant foliage, signed lower right, “F. G. Carpenter”. The reverse side has a landscape study executed by Carpenter depicting a figure with a cow surrounded by a meadow bounded by trees. Label affixed “Healy Galleries St. Louis”. Biography (courtesy Askart: The Artists’ Bluebook): Fred G. Carpenter was known for his brilliant use of color and curvilinear forms, often used to depict figures in exotic settings. Born in Nashville, he moved to St. Louis where he studied at Washington University’s School of Fine Arts and later, the Académie Julian in Paris under Jean-Paul Laurens and and the Colarossi Academy under Richard E. Miller. Carpenter’s painting “The Sisters” won an Honorable Mention at the Paris Salon in 1910. He also won a silver medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy 1908 – 1931. Carpenter is also known for the lunettes he painted in the Missouri State Capitol. 23 1/4″ x 28 1/2″ sight, 27″ x 32 1/2″ framed. Provenance: a private Nashville, Tennessee collection. Condition: Oil overall excellent condition with light grime. Blacklighting indicates a light red flourescence on cap, apple, and cheek but it appears to be a pigment used by Carpenter, not inpainting. Scuffs to oil study on reverse side with nails scuffing margins. Losses to frame edge. [See more photos →]

Large Charles Krutch (TN, 1849-1934) panoramic oil on board of Mt. LeConte, signed KRUTCH in red, lower left corner and housed in an original textured gilt frame. Written in script en verso MRS BORDEN NY. Sight: 20 1/2″ H x 35 1/2″ W, Frame: 28″ H x 43 1/4″ W. Biography (Courtesy the Knoxville Museum of Art): Charles Krutch is regarded as one of East Tennessee’s first painters to specialize in scenes of the Smoky Mountains. He earned the nickname “Corot of the South” for his soft, atmospheric watercolor and oil paintings of the mountain range that served as his sole focus. Totally untrained as an artist, he often applied thick layers of oil paint with brushes as well as his fingers, in an effort to capture the changing moods of the mountains. Condition: Overall surface grime. Three areas of craquelure: far left center (2″ x 2 1/2″), lower center (1/2″ x 2 1/2″), far right center (2 3/4″ x 4 1/2″). Frame partially separated lower left. CONDITION: Overall surface grime. Three areas of craquelure: far left center (2″ x 2 1/2″), lower center (1/2″ x 2 1/2″), far right center (2 3/4″ x 4 1/2″). Frame partially separated lower left. [See more photos →]

Pair of Tennessee portraits by Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl (1788 – 1838) depicting the Reverend Hardy Murfree Cryer (b. 1792–1846), in dark coat with ruffled collar, and a woman believed to be his first wife Elizabeth Rice Cryer (b. 1793–1832) in black mourning dress with white lace collar and cap. Housed in black and gilt wooden frames. Both portraits measure 26 1/2″ H x 21 1/2″ W sight; 33″ H x 28 1/2″ W framed. Circa 1830. Provenance: Descended in subject’s family to current consignor. Biography ( Courtesy of James C. Kelly, Virginia Historical Society, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 1998): Ralph E. W. Earl was the son of Connecticut painter Ralph Earl (1751-1801). Earl studied under his father in Northhampton, Massachusetts, before traveling to London in 1809 to study under Benjamin West and John Trumbull. In 1817, Earl arrived in Nashville to paint General Andrew Jackson, the hero of the battle of New Orleans. Later that year, in Natchez, he met and married Jane Caffrey, Rachel Jackson’s niece. She died the next year, but Earl moved into the Hermitage would from then on remain in Jackson’s circle, accompanying the newly elected president to Washington. During the next eight years, Earl turned out numerous paintings of Jackson. Politicians, especially Democrats, knew it “did not hurt to order a portrait of General Jackson from Earl.” He painted many of Jackson’s friends and a few of his foes. Earl returned to the Hermitage with Jackson in 1837 and died there in September 1838. Rev. Cryer was a close friend of Andrew Jackson who spent time at the Hermitage. According to the book “The Making the American Thoroughbred” (see book, also offered in this auction), Cryer was born in North Carolina in 1792, married Elizabeth Rice in 1812, was a member of the Tennessee Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church 1813-1816, and served one year on the Nashville district. “After withdrawing from the itinerant ranks, he served as a “local” preacher and continued to exercise the offices of a minister the remainder of his life. His many contributions to The Turf Register and The Spirit of the Times are rich in Biblical and classical allusions, after the style of that day; show much force and originality; and amply support the statement of McFerrin that he was of an ardent temperament and had a brilliant mind. His ardor distinguished him as a breeder no less than as a preacher. He kept more thorougbred stallions than any man of his time, except, perhaps, Thomas Alderson; owned a few blood mares; and took a great interest in turf sports.” The book quotes stud books kept by Cryer which show that “Cryer’s horses were patronized by practically all the prominent breeders and turfmen named heretofore in this volume, from Andrew Jackson and John Catron, down”. Cryer’s passion for horses seems to have gotten him into trouble only once with his church; he was charged with horse racing and summoned to a trial before a church tribunal. “The proof was clear and conclusive,” wrote J.R. Hubbard in The Spirit of the Times, “but the evidence showed that the horse was raced in the name of Col. George Elliott, and that this gentleman owned one half of him.” In Cryer’s defense, he told the judge: “I would like for you to let me know how I can arrange it for my half of the horse to stand in the stable while Col. Elliott’s half is racing.” He was acquitted. CONDITION: Blacklighting of portrait of Rev. Cryer indicates inpainting to perimeter of face including the left edge of forehead, lower right jaw line, spot to lower left edge of mouth and spot to the middle of the chin. Lighter area of fluorescence to forehead and background, possibly a varnish issue. Blacklighting of Mrs. Cryer indicates possible inpainting or varnish issue to a couple areas of forehead and chin. Possible inpainting or varnish issue to a couple areas of the background. Older relining, probably late 19th/early 20th century. [See more photos →]

Beauford Delaney (American/Tennessee, 1901-1979) gouache on paper abstract painting in various shades of yellow. Rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing forms merge with one another and fill the composition, with areas of exposed paper visible throughout. Signed and dated "Beauford Delaney 61" in black pen, lower right. With Beauford Delaney estate stamp en verso and Levis Fine Art, New York, label affixed to backing. Floated in a modern wood frame with ivory mat. Sheet: 10 1/2" H x 8" W. Frame: 17 13/16" x" 15 1/4" W.

Biographical note: Modernist artist Beauford Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. An apprentice to artist Lloyd Branson, Delaney was encouraged by his mentor to study art in Boston. In 1929 he traveled to New York and established himself as a prominent artist of the Harlem Renaissance. There he gained the attention and admiration of well-known writers and artists such as James Baldwin, Georgia O'Keefe, Alfred Stieglitz, and many others. Delaney experimented throughout his career with a wide variety of styles, including his personal brands of realism, fauvism, post-impressionism, and abstract expressionism. His departure from New York to Paris in 1953 also marked his transition from figurative compositions to abstractions with a focus on color and light. In 1978, the year before he died, the Studio Museum in Harlem initiated its Black Master series with a retrospective of his work. His paintings can be found in the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago; the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution, and other major museums.

PROVENANCE: The Estate of Beauford Delaney (Derek Spratley-Court Appointed Administrator); Private Collection, Maine

CONDITION: Excellent condition. Frame with 3/4" abrasion to upper right edge. [See more photos →]

Beauford Delaney (American, 1901 – 1979) abstract oil on fabric pillow case. Abstract rendering of a human face with thickly applied streams of yellow, orange, green, and black paint bordered by two wide black painted lines for top and bottom margins. Includes Beauford Delaney’s paint cloth and paint stick with similar color paint residue. 24″ x 19 1/4″ sight, 27″ x 19 1/4″ total, brush 12″ length. Note – Beauford Delaney’s departure from New York to Paris in 1953 also marked the transition from figurative compositions to abstract expressionism with a focus on color and light. Strapped with financial challenges in his early Paris years, he was believed to have painted on other found objects if canvas was not available. An example of one of his earliest known dated abstracts is an untitled oil on a raincoat fragment from 1954. This work serves as the cover for Sue Canterbury’s book, “Beauford Delaney: From New York to Paris”, Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2004. Sue Canterbury, Associate Curator of the Dallas Museum of Art, and Stephen Wicks, Curator of the Knoxville Museum of Art, were able to inspect this work when Ms. Canterbury gave her September 2014 lecture on Beauford Delaney in Knoxville. This Beauford Delaney abstract is only the second documented example of his work using canvas available from household objects. Provenance – Estate of Beauford Delaney, Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, court-appointed administrator. CONDITION: Stains, some staple remnants to margins, toning. [See more photos →]

Early Tennessee Militia archive relating to Lieutenant William Graham including a Tennessee militia coat, signed Governor John Sevier military commission, and powder horn, 3 items total. 1st item: Early Tennessee State Militia Coat owned and worn by Lieutenant William Graham (1786-1857, served circa 1807-1815 in the Sixth Regiment in the Tennessee State Militia) comprised of a navy-blue wool body with hook and eye closure to red wool lapel, red wool collar and cuffs, the lapels and coattails lined in off white linen with two interior slip pockets, two faux pocket flaps to exterior, all with a total of (44) total flat brass buttons. One (1) navy-blue wool epaulet to left shoulder, two (2) pieces of navy-blue fabric sewn to right shoulder and top of coattails. 40 1/2" H x 24 1/2" W.2nd item: Governor John Sevier signedmilitary commission document conferring on William Graham of Jefferson County the rank of Lieutenant in the Sixth Regiment of the TennesseeMilitia, dated August 15, 1807. Countersigned by Robert Houston, Secretary of the State of Tennessee from 1807-1811. State seal, top left. 16" H x 9 7/8" W.3rd item: Early 19th century East Tennessee powder horn withound wooden plug end secured by brads, fabric strap attached to nail and nozzle. Piece of cloth with ink inscription reading "96" pasted to horn near plug. 11" outer circumference of longest curve. These items have all descended in the family of Lt. William Graham. The Number 96 on the powder horn corresponds to a similarnumbering system used on an inventory list created by Joseph Feamster Taylor (1892-1965) of Whitesburg, TN, son of Franklin Walter Taylor (1854-1919), grandson of Franklin William Taylor (1810-1897), great grandson of Lieutenant William Graham (1786-1857), and father of Joseph Franklin Taylor (1934-2015). Biographical Note: William Graham was born in Botetourt County, Virginia, to George Graham (1756-1832) and Elizabeth Turnley Graham (1764-1817). He married Mary ShieldsGraham (1795-1832) in 1814 and was the father of Eliza Jane Graham (1821-1897) and Mary Shields Graham (1824-1907). Upon the death of Mary, William sent his young daughters (ages 11 & 8) to live with their uncle, Dr. Samuel Shields. Eliza married Franklin William Taylor of Shields Station in Grainger County and they had twelve children together. One of their children, Samuel Milton Taylor (1842-1875) served in the Confederate Army of Tennessee (see Lot 610). Mary married Calvin Bird Nance of Nance's Ferry and they had seven children together. William Graham passed away in a tragic house fire on the night of September 17, 1857 at the age of 71 and is buried in the Graham ChapelCemetery, Jefferson County, TN. (source:https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198785407/william-graham).Provenance: Estate of Anne Harrison Taylor & Joseph F. Taylor, Morristown, TN. CONDITION: 1st item: Discoloration, staining, to be expected from age. Moth holes, primarily to back of jacket, largest 1 1/4". Two buttons to bottom appear to be missing.Epaulet to right shoulder is not present. Accompanying note indicates that the coat was cleaned on April 24, 1975 for an exhibit. 2nd item: Overall good condition with toning, foxing spots, areas of dampstaining/acid burn, largest 1". Tears, areas of separation, largest 1 1/2", to fold lines. Signatures in good, legible condition. 3rd item: Natural age cracks, areas of insect damage, largest 1 1/8" x 3/4". [See more photos →]

Rare portrait on ivory of young boy, attributed to John Wood Dodge (1807-1893, working in Nashville, 1840-1861). Miniature depicts a young boy wearing a black hat and tartan plaid jacket, possibly a posthumous portrait. An enclosure on the back shows a braided lock of hair under glass. The pink-tinged clouds in the background and position of the sitter are typical of Dodge’s work. Dodge worked as a portrait painter in Nashville from 1840-1861, painting the likenesses of many of the city’s most prominent citizens. Recent research has revealed Dodge painted a miniature of Mary House Thompson, the first mistress of Glen Leven and John Thompson’s wife. Mary had a young son, Jimmy House, from a previous marriage with George House. Their son was believed to have died in childhood. Further confirmation of sitter being Jimmy House – John Wood Dodge’s original ledger lists the following, “Nashville Tennessee Dec. 9, 1845 Son of Geo. W. House from cast”. CONDITION: Very good condition with light foxing and a minor brown spot to right side of the background, one hasp missing on the back of the oval case. Dimensions of oval portrait 1 7/8″ x 2 1/4″. Circa 1845. Glen Leven estate. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee redware pitcher, attributed to the Cain pottery of Sullivan County, TN. Manganese and gold/yellow slip decoration with multiple sine wave incising around midsection, extruded handle. Manganese drips run down the interior of the pitcher as well. The glaze, elaborate use of manganese and yellow slips, and sine wave incising is exceptional on this example. This pitcher was in the 1997 “Made by East Tennessee Hands: Pottery” exhibit at The East Tennessee Historical Society, Carole Wahler, guest curator. For examples of similar decorated pitchers, refer to the article, “Earthenware Potters Along the Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee”, J. Roderick Moore, Antiques Magazine, September 1983, p. 534, plate IX. Condition – very minor glaze wear on the rim of pitcher, old shallow chip at the rim near handle, otherwise excellent. 6 1/2″ height. Mid 19th century. Recognition of the prolific Cain pottery in East Tennessee was noted in published resources as early as 1909, where Oliver Taylor in “Historic Sullivan” states “Another factory which received national attention was the Cain pottery, located at Emanuel church, and owned by two brothers, William M. and Abe Cain . . . . .. It was operated about 1840 and, among other wares, souvenir jugs were made, many of which are still in existence.” (research courtesy Carole Wahler). [See more photos →]

Carroll Cloar (Tennessee, 1913-1993) acrylic on board landscape painting titled “The Watering Detail” en verso, depicting two little girls in pink dresses holding a watering can and a little boy in a yellow romper, standing in front of a screen door to a house; an older woman watches from an adjacent window. The white clapboard siding of the house is adorned by pink hollyhocks. Signed “Carroll Cloar” lower left; titled and dated 4-88 en verso. Silver-gilt molded frame. 23″ x 34″; framed 31″ x 42″. Accompanying the painting is a Cloar promotional postcard, on which the artist has written a note regarding the painting: “Mr. Massie: I have used the word “detail” in the old Army sense. In our army you were detailed to do a certain job, or were on a detail. My show opens at Schmidt Bingham Gallery in New York May 24. – Carroll Cloar “. Biography (Courtesy of The Johnson Collection): Arkansas-born Carroll Cloar was known for incorporating nostalgic images from his Southern childhood, often merged with dreamlike motifs, into powerful “magic realist” scenes. Cloar graduated from Southwestern College (now Rhodes College) in Memphis, Tennessee, and went on to study at the Memphis Academy of Arts under the artist George Oberteuffer. In 1936, he moved to New York to attend the Art Students League. There, Cloar’s achievements earned him a McDowell fellowship which he used to travel across the American Southwest, West Coast and Mexico. Cloar served with the Army Air Corps during World War II and was deployed to Saipan and Iwo Jima. Upon his return from the war, he was awarded a Guggenheim traveling scholarship to fund an extended sojourn to Central and South America in 1946. Two years later, several of his images were featured in a Life Magazine article titled “Backwoods Boyhood,” and Cloar’s career went on to receive additional national acclaim. By the mid 1950s, Cloar had settled permanently in Memphis, where he produced paintings, often executed in casein tempera and acrylic paints. His works are in the collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Brooks Museum of Art, and Library of Congress. In 1993, Cloar’s painting “Faculty and Honor Students, Lewis Schoolhouse” was one of six paintings by American artists selected to commemorate the inauguration of President Clinton. Provenance: Private Middle Tennessee collection. CONDITION: Fingerprint smudge upper right edge. Overall very good condition. Frame has some small edge abrasions. [See more photos →]

Early Knox County, Tennessee walnut corner cupboard attributed to Tennessee’s earliest cabinetmaker, Moses Crawford (Knox County, 1743-1819). One piece cupboard form with a stepped, five-part cornice transitioning into a carved astragal/scalloped molding flush to the frieze over sixteen glazed pane doors opening to three interior shelves. Lower section with two paneled doors opening to one one interior shelf over a large stepped ogee molding resting on large ogee bracket feet with “fish tail” spur returns. Inset stop fluted quarter columns with lower section of capitals having a carved drape design. Large wooden pins protrude from the backside of ogee feet. Secondary wood poplar throughout. 89 1/2″ H x 66″ W x 37″ D. Late 18th century. Note: C. Tracey Park’s 2013 MESDA article “Moses Crawford: Tennessee’s Earliest Cabinetmaker Revealed” established Moses Crawford in Tennessee before 1780. Crawford was originally from Augusta County, Virginia. Parks further notes in his article the probate inventory of Moses Crawford’s estate itemized cabinetmaking tools, a workbench, a glue pot, various planes, chisels, punches, and gouges, as well as walnut plank. A 1775 deed signed by five Overhill Cherokee leaders and witnessed by Moses and Samuel Crawford provides the earliest documentation for any cabinetmaker within the political boundaries now recognized as the state of Tennessee. Histories of Crawford’s surviving furniture represent ownership traceable to Scots-Irish families who established themselves in Knox and Blount counties between the years 1787 and 1801 (courtesy C. Tracey Parks). CONDITION: Older refinish with hinge replacements. Lower panel doors appears to be a second quarter of the 19th century restoration replacing an earlier drawer midsection configuration with smaller panel doors. [See more photos →]

Middle Tennessee sugar sideboard, possibly Wilson Co. Cherry primary with cherry veneer, poplar secondary. Comprised of a rectangular top over cherry veneered frieze, three deep scratch-beaded drawers over one long drawer, all dovetailed with wooden knobs and diamond inlaid escutcheons. Paneled ends, ring turned and tapered legs terminating with ball and spike feet. 37 3/4″ H x 38 1/4″ W x 20 1/2″ D. Circa 1820-1830. Note: Two similar examples are illustrated in the book “The Art & Mystery of Tennessee Furniture” by Nathan Harsh and Derita Williams, p. 153, figures 170 & 171. CONDITION: Older refinish, escutcheons are older replacements with some patching, most notably to center drawer front. Lock missing on center deep drawer. Various minor stains to the top. Block added to interior of back. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee Hepplewhite walnut chest of drawers with extensive inlay. Barber pole inlaid frieze over four graduated drawers with tear drop inlaid escutcheons, surmounted by vine, leaf, and tulip inlay; the corners inlaid with alternating light and dark quarter fans; the base with barber pole inlay transitioning to a shaped skirt with alternating inlaid semicircular fan with radiating diamond inlays and vines terminating in alternating inlaid quarter fans. Splayed feet with inlaid oval lozenges, sides with shaped inlaid semicircular fans. Federal eagle brasses. Poplar secondary wood. 35 3/4″ H x 39 1/2″ W x 20 1/2″ W. Provenance: Fletcher family of East Tennessee; Riceville, TN collection. CONDITION: Older refinish, appears to retain the original brasses and locks. Interior drawer supports replaced and some of the drawer sides built up, two old symmetrical veneer patches on each side of the top (unless by design), backboards reset with a couple of patches to rodent chew, Older repair to veneer facings on front feet and tip of lower back foot facing, small patch to divider over top drawer escutcheon. [See more photos →]

Important Naval Photographic Archive CDV Album of Lieutenant Dabney Scales of the CSS Shenandoah including images of uniformed and non-uniformed Confederate Naval officers from the CSS Shenandoah, CSS Florida, and the CSS Alabama, a 1/4 plate ambrotype of Dabney Scales in uniform, and extracts from the log of the CSS Shenandoah from August 2-5, 1865 detailing the encounter with the British ship, Barracouta, and learning of the overthrow of the Confederate government. Note – the Confederate ship, CSS Shenandoah, fired the last shot of the Civil War and marked the final surrender of Confederate forces on November 6, 1865. Given the orders to destroy the New England whaling fleet, the partially crewed Confederate ship circumnavigated the earth, capturing 38 vessels and taking over 1000 prisoners between 1864-65. Twenty-five ships were captured after the Confederacy had collapsed. 1st grouping – CDV album of Dabney Scales dated July 15, 1863 Paris, France on inside cover and a second, smaller CDV album marked Havana June 1, 1863. Interior contains several CDVs of fellow Confederate Naval officers, women acquaintances, and European subject matter including works of art and famous Europeans. A couple of notable women with signed CDVs to Scales include Rosa Bonheur (realist painter, sculptor) and Lillie W. Hitchcock (Coit). Of the approximately 25 identified Confederate naval Officers, 15 are in uniform. An additional eight CDVs of males in formal attire are likely Confederate Naval officers but have yet to be identified. Identified Naval officers of the CSS Shenandoah include Lieutenant Dabney Scales (signed), William Breedlove Smith, Paymaster (signed), Dr. Fred McNulty, ship assistant surgeon (signed), Lt. John Grimball, Lt. William C. Whittle (signed Jack), William Breedlove Smith (w/out uniform), Edwin G. Booth (assistant surgeon?), Midshipman John T. Mason, and Chief Engineer Matthew O’Brien. Joe Scales (Confederate Army), Dabney”s brother, is also pictured and signed en verso. Three formally attired gentleman with Liverpool marked CDVs are likely Shenandoah crew members. Uniformed Confederate Naval officers of the CSS Florida include Lt. Sardine G. Stone (signed), a CDV of the CSS Florida with small images of each crew member surrounding the Florida ship image (each officer identified), Lt. Midshipman R.S. Floyd, Lt. George Dwight Bryan (became mayor of Charleston after war), Lt. Sardine G. Stone pictured with another male, and Lt. James Lingard Hoole pictured with another male, CDV of non-uniformed male (possibly T.T. Hunter). Uniformed Confederate Naval officers of the CSS Alabama include Lt. Joseph D. “Fighting Joe” Wilson, Midshipman E. R. Anderson, Lt. Richard F. Armstrong, and Midshipman Eugene Anderson Maffit, and possibly Surgeon Galt. Other CDV s Confederate officers in the smaller album lot include P. T. Beauregard with an Augusta, GA label, an unidentified officer with a Louisville, KY label, and a CDV of Confederate General Joe Johnson. 2nd grouping – Extracts from the “Log of the C.S.S. Shenandoah on a cruise Aug 2-3-4 1865” with course headings, latitude and longitude for each day. August 2, 1865 reads, “Got Steam and stood in chase. Took in all sail except the head sails. At 4:15 came up with chase stopped the engine & sent a boat along side the English barque “Baracuta” from San Francisco bound to Liverpool. 13 days out ——– Having received by the barque Barracouta the sad intelligence of the overthrow of the Confederate Government. All attempts to destroy the shipping on property of the Northern States will cease from this date. In accordance with which the First Lieutentant W. C. Whittle Jr. received the order from the Commander to strike below the battery and disarm the ship & crew.” 3rd item – 1/4 plate size ambrotype of Confederate Dabney Scales in an early Naval uniform. Hand tinted buttons and lapel highlighted in gold. Littlefield, Parsons & Co. case patented 1856 & 1857 with a beehive and farm implements pattern on front and back. Provenance: Direct descendant of Lt. Dabney Scales. CONDITION: 1st grouping – larger album with spine and covers loose with losses. CDVs overall very good condition with a couple showing more foxing near the back of the larger album, some CDVs with edges trimmed. 2nd item – extract pages in overall very good condition with pages very legible. 3rd item – ambrotype image with scattered losses to the face area. [See more photos →]

Joseph Delaney (Tennessee/New York, 1904-1991) oil on board painting of the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City. Signed lower left “Joseph Delaney”. Sight – 17 1/2″ H x 31 1/4″ W. Framed – 24 3/4″ H x 38 1/4″ W. Circa 1960. Provenance: a Knoxville, Tennessee Collection. Note: there are two published Joseph Delaney images of the Williamsburg suspension bridge over the East River: this one, which was previously exhibited at the University of Tennessee’s Ewing Gallery, and one that was featured on page 150 of Frederick C. Moffatt biography, “The Life, Art, and Times of Joseph Delaney, 1904-1991.” The two paintings differ in size, angle of image, and color of some features. Biography (Courtesy of Frederick C. Moffatt) – Joseph Delaney was born in Knoxville in 1904, the ninth of ten children born to a Methodist Minister. He and his older brother, Beauford, discovered their interest in art by drawing on Sunday School cards. In 1930, Joseph left Tennessee for New York where Beauford was also working as an artist, and enrolled in the Art Students League under the tutelage of Thomas Hart Benton and Alexander Brooke. The subject matter he found there, including the city’s landmarks and its people, are the images for which he is best known. In 1986, Delaney returned to Knoxville to live and was artist-in-residence for the University of Tennessee Art Department until his death in 1991. Delaney’s works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Chicago Art Institute, The Knoxville Museum of Art, and The Smithsonian American Art Museum. Condition: Excellent condition. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee miniature redware jug incised and dated, ìGeorge Mort, May the 27th 1859,? Mort pottery family of Jefferson County, TN. Triple sine wave incising along with triple incised lines around upper body with circular and diamondstarburst stamps around the lower mid section. Pulled handle with starburst stamp at the terminus. 4 3/8″ H. Circa 1859. During the Civil War, George Mort enlisted as a Confederate private in Company C, 39th Infantry Regiment Tennessee. Documentation at this stage of research does not indicate George returned home from the War. Georgeís brother, S. M. Mort, served in the Union as a 1st Lieutenant with the 9th Tennessee Cavalry Volunteers, Company F (research courtesy CaroleWahler). A tintype of S.M. Mort in his Union uniform is also offered in this auction. [See more photos →]

Important 1865 Confederate CSS Shenandoah ship diary archive of Lieutenant Dabney Scales including 1865 diary journal (85 pages, 104 pages total), an ambrotype and CDV of Lt. Dabney Scales in uniform, a CDV of the Shenandoah, and an author signed book/pamplet titled, “Cruises of the Confederate States Steamers “Shenandoah” and “Nashville” by Captain William C. Whittle, 1910. Note – the Confederate ship, CSS Shenandoah, fired the last shot of the Civil War and marked the final surrender of Confederate forces on November 6, 1865. Given the orders to destroy the New England whaling fleet, the partially crewed Confederate ship circumnavigated the earth, capturing 38 vessels and taking over 1000 prisoners between 1864-65. Twenty five ships were captured after the Confederacy had collapsed. Biography of Dabney Scales – Dabney Minor Scales (1841-1920) of Memphis, TN was the son of Peter Scales, a planter originally from Virginia. Dabney was born and raised in Holly Springs, Mississippi, attended the US Naval Academy and joined the Confederate Navy at the outbreak of the Civil War. He served on the CSS Savannah, CSS Capital, CSS Arkansas, CSS Atlanta, and the CSS Shenandoah. In 1863-4, Scales was assigned to Europe and spent time in London and Paris regarding the outfitting and manning of Confederate ships constructed in England. Fearing he would be prosecuted as a pirate after the Civil War, Dabney Scales lived in Mexico for a short time, but was back in the States practicing law in Memphis by about 1869. He married Susan Winchester Powell (granddaughter of Gen. James Winchester) in Nashville circa 1885 and was elected to the Tennessee legislature and served in the Tennessee State Senate 1895-1896. He returned to active Naval duty in the Spanish American War, serving as a lieutenant despite his age. 1st item – CSS Shenandoah ship diary of Lieutenant Dabney Scales, 85 pages with some hand drawn illustrations. Complete diary has a total number of 104 pages and includes a partial journal by a different hand from May 1864 – December 1864 relating to the ship Edward of New Bedford – the first whaling vessel captured by the Shenandoah, and two pages of an 1870 entry by Dabney Scales. The log of the Shenandoah is titled “Confederate States Shenandoah cruising for Yankees”. Scales retroactively records events back to February 13th, 1865 in Melbourne, Australia where the Shenandoah was dry docked for repairs. The diary goes into extensive detail on major events including the encounter with authorities in Melbourne and Liverpool, the capturing of vessels and crews for the year 1865, encounters with the natives, and interactions among Shenandoah officers. A June 22nd entry refers to the “Sophia Thorton” ship Lt. Scales boarded. The ship “made some show of escape by standing on through the ice, but a shot from one of the rifle guns brought her to.” He continues, “out of these vessels we have heard the most disheartening news I have ever heard from our poor suffering country. The captures of Savannah, Charleston, ..Richmond together with the surrender of Lee, with an army of 22,000 men – with this also comes the tradgical death of the “Rail Splitter” by the hand of an assasin. This will, of course, make a hero of him –”. His last entry on this day, “To the part of this news relating to the surrender of Lee”s army + the disbanding of those not surrendered, I give no credence at all……I think however we should struggle on to the last, and if as the yankee papers say —Davis crosses the Mississippi to establish a Confederacy there. I for one shall follow and join him rather than subject to Yankee rule.” On August 3rd, Lt. Scales writes, “How shall I attempt to describe the change that has come over the officers and crew of this ship within the last twenty four hours. I can only write a few unintelligible words that may serve to recall to my mind what my own feelings were yesterday afternoon…we came in sight of a sail – the first seen since we left the Arctic… Barracouta (ship) – boarded her and brought off the news – My G.! What news it was for us…. I was therefore in a measure prepared for either good or bad news but not for such as was in store for me….The only words I caught were – “All over – President Davis and cabinet prisoners in New York – All organized armies surrendered…” Upon arriving at Liverpool in November 1865, Dabney Scales writes on November 6th – “The (British) pilot boarded us in the mid watch this morning. His news confirms that given us by the “Barracouta” – the downfall of the Southern Confederacy. The war, he said had been over so long that people had forgotten all about it.” While many of these events have been published in previous books on the Shenandoah, this diary represents new primary source material previously unavailable. Regarding the partial journal of the whaling ship “Edward” starting May 5th 1864 and ending December 1st 1864 (17 pages), the author writes of Right whales sightings and discusses and event Nov. 29th where a whale was struck and capsized the boat. 2nd grouping – 1/4 plate ambrotype of Confederate Dabney Scales in uniform with hand tinted gold highlights, CDV of Lt. Dabney Scales taken in Melbourne, Austrailia. Marked verso “Johnstone & Co. Melbourne”, 3 7/8″ x 2 1/2″, and a CDV of the ship, CSS Shenandoah, 3 3/4″ x 2 3/8”. Last item – Author signed book/pamplet titled, “Cruises of the Confederate States Steamers “Shenandoah” and “Nashville” by Captain William C. Whittle, 1910. Page 32 signed, “For D. M. Scales from Yours Sincerely Wm C Whittle March 31st 1910”. Cover is marked in black pen, “Dabney M. Scales compliments of the Author”. Provenance – Direct descendant of Lt. Dabney Scales. CONDITION: 1st item – Journal missing cover, binding loose and frayed, several pages separated, edges of several pages charred and worn. All pages appear to be legible. Diary page size 8 1/2″ x 13 3/8”. 2nd item – Ambrotype with cover unattached, Dabney Scales CDV with tape verso, Shenandoah CDV trimmed. and CDVs in verso. 3rd item – pamplet/book in overall very good condition with some browning to covers. [See more photos →]

Battle of Shiloh, Major General Leonidas Polk pattern personal/bible flag, presented to S. Duff J. Lewis, 12th Battalion, Tennessee Cavalry. Flag comprised of machine sewn appliqued red and white silk on blue silk ground with eleven stitched stars in gold silk thread, obverse, appliqued white silk cross and oval with stitched "SHILOH" in red thread, reverse. Blue silk loop, top right corner. Also includes a cabinet card portrait of Lewis with Wallin, Birmingham, AL studio marks. Signed by Lewis with later genealogical information, en verso. Flag housed under double sided glass in a frame. Case wishes to thank Military Historian Greg Biggs for his essay with additional information on this flag (see attached report). Flag – 11 1/2" H x 7 1/2" W. Cabinet card – 6 5/8" H x 4 3/8" W. Mid 19th century. Provenance: Descended in the family of S. Duff J. Lewis. Note: BIBLE/PERSONAL FLAG OF S. DUFF J. LEWIS, 12TH TENNESSEE CAVALRY BATTALION IN A RARE POLK CORPS CONFIGURATION: This essay will cover the known details of a small Bible or personal flag formerly owned by Pvt. S. Duff J. Lewis, later of the 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion. As will be shown, some speculation, backed by evidence of location of Pvt. Lewis at a specific time frame, will be necessary as the record is not clear as to when exactly this flag was issued to or made for him. The flag itself is of a unique pattern and this will also be covered in this essay along with the unit history of the 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion and Lewis' war record as shown in the Compiled Service Records file from the National Archives. Pvt. S. Duff J. Lewis. According to information supplied to me by Case Antiques, Lewis came from a family where his father was a Methodist minister. Based on the unit he would join as to where it was formed and would fight in the Civil War, Lewis was from East Tennessee. While he is listed in the Compiled Service Records of the 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion (as Duff Lewis), he apparently did not join that unit with the rank of private until later in the war, possibly as late as February 1864. Prior to his joining that unit, Lewis was working for the Confederate Quartermaster Corps as a clerk in the military post office in the Department of East Tennessee which was under the command of General George Crittenden in September 1861. He apparently worked for Tennessee State Quartermaster officer Major Samuel T. Bicknell, who had been appointed as quartermaster in Knoxville, Tennessee by state governor Isham Harris. Bicknell would later apply to be a quartermaster in the Confederate Army with the endorsements of Confederate Senator Gustavus Henry and Confederate Postmaster General John Reagan. The forces of George Crittenden, under the tactical command of General Felix Zollicoffer, were defeated badly at the Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky in mid-January 1862. Zollicoffer was killed in action and the army routed. Falling back into East Tennessee, many of the troops were then transferred to Corinth, Mississippi where a new Confederate army was being formed.Lewis in the Collapse of the Confederate Line in Tennessee and Counter Offensive at Shiloh. By March 1862, five different Confederate armies were defending the large Department Number Two, which ran from the Appalachian Mountains westward across the Mississippi River into Arkansas and Missouri. West of the river was the Army of the West under Generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price (formerly of the Missouri State Guard). East of the river was General Leonidas Polk's Grand Division, holding from Memphis, Tennessee northward to Columbus, Kentucky, a huge fortress on the bluffs above the river. At Forts Henry and Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers near Middle Tennessee was the large garrison under General John B. Floyd, while to the northeast in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Army of Central Kentucky defended the railroad to Nashville. This army was commanded by General William J. Hardee while department command General Albert Sidney Johnston was also present. Arriving in January 1862 from Virginia, was General P.G.T. Beauregard who assumed command over Polk as assistant department commander to Johnston. Lastly, split between Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida was the Army of Mobile and Pensacola under General Braxton Bragg.With the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson by mid-February, 1862, the vast majority of its garrison and the subsequent loss of the Tennessee state capital of Nashville only a few days later, the entire defense line of the Confederates collapsed. It was to reform along the Tennessee/Alabama/Mississippi border with the new base at Corinth, Mississippi becoming the rendezvous point. This town became a focal point thanks to the two railroads that joined there (including the most important track in the Confederacy, the Memphis & Charleston Railroad) and its closeness to the Tennessee River. This allowed the basing of a vast amount of supplies. Polk's Grand Division, the Army of Central Kentucky and Bragg's forces were ordered to meet at Corinth along with the Army of the West (although they would not arrive until after the Battle of Shiloh fought in early April) for the coming Confederate counter-offensive. A brigade was sent from New Orleans (Department Number One) as additional reinforcements as well as the remnants of Crittenden's and Zollicoffer's commands from East Tennessee, now under General (and former U.S. Vice President) John C. Breckinridge. On March 29, 1862, general orders were issued from General Johnston to form the new Army of the Mississippi, as their mission was the defense of the Mississippi River Valley. Polk's command became the First Corps (two divisions of two brigades each); Bragg's the Second Corps (two divisions of three brigades each), Hardee's the Third Corps (three large brigades) and Breckinridge's the Reserve Corps (three brigades).At some point in early 1862, Lewis transferred to the command of Major David Sullins (also listed as Sullens). Sullins, a Kentuckian, and former chaplain of the 19th Tennessee Infantry (an East Tennessee raised regiment), became a brigade quartermaster on January 7, 1862 in the division of General Crittenden, specifically the Second Brigade. With the transfer of those troops to Corinth after the Mill Springs disaster, Sullins and Lewis went along. This is based on two invoices in Lewis' file signed by Sullins as well as documents in Sullins' file. Sullins was then appointed as Brigade Quartermaster for Colonel W.S. Statham's Third Brigade (later Fourth Brigade) of the Reserve Corps, whose troops had fought at Mill Springs and whose brigade was created out of the two brigades from that battle (less a couple regiments who remained in East Tennessee). Indeed, one invoice, dated May 15, 1862, states that Lewis was being paid for, "one month's service as clerk in Brigade Quartermaster's Department from 31st March 1862 to 30th April, 1862". A second invoice for pay from April 30 to June 15, 1862 also covers Lewis' time serving with Sullins. Both are during the time frame of the Third and evolution into the Fourth Brigade, Reserve Corps which came later in April 1862. Invoices for both brigades can also be found in Sullins' file. These notations on the early history of the Army of the Mississippi and the cited invoice are important as it places Lewis in the right place and time to have enabled him to receive the flag in question for the Battle of Shiloh which was fought on April 6-7, 1862 in West Tennessee. Initially a Confederate victory, Union reinforcements arrived during the night of April 6th and on the next day launched a counter-attack that slowly drove the Confederates from the field. General Albert Sidney Johnston was killed in action and command of the army fell upon the shoulders of General Beauregard who ordered a retreat back to Corinth. Sullins resigned as a quartermaster in October 1862 but a month later he noted, "Capt. J.F.J. Lewis has been with me as my Assist. in the Q.M. Dept., since Jan. inst.," and goes on to recommend him as a quartermaster in the Confederate Army. While he gets his first name incorrect, he also, for some reason, lists Lewis as a captain. Nothing in Lewis' file bears out this promotion.Lewis did remain with the Quartermaster Department into 1863, where in January he was posted to the depot in Tullahoma, Tennessee, southwest of Murfreesboro. He remained there until the Confederate Army of Tennessee had been forced out of the Middle Tennessee region by a Union army under General William S. Rosecrans in the Tullahoma Campaign of June/early July, which led directly to the capture of Chattanooga in early September. Such supplies as could be saved from Tullahoma were loaded onto trains and sent to Georgia, primarily Dalton and as far south as Kingston, as the Battle of Chickamauga raged in mid-September. The victorious Confederates pursued Rosecrans back to Chattanooga but could never capture the city although they laid siege to it. That was broken in late November with massive Union reinforcements the Confederates falling back to Dalton, Georgia for the winter. In February 1864, Lewis began working at the depot in Kingston, Georgia and remained there into June, before the Union armies of General William T. Sherman forced that depot to be evacuated towards Atlanta. Here he worked for Captain A.L. Hamilton, another former chaplain turned quartermaster who, like Sullins, also worked for General George Crittenden in East Tennessee. One payroll invoice in Lewis' file mentions his Kingston service. One last notation states that Lewis was working for Hamilton as late as July 22, 1864, as the battles swirled around Atlanta itself at this time. While nowhere in the Lewis' Compiled Service Record states a date, it was probably in mid-1864 when he joined the 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion, and may have been on detached service from them remaining in the quartermaster department or perhaps serving in the field with that command. The record is not clear at all on this.After the war, Lewis married Helen Arthur of Kentucky and lived in Knoxville, Tennessee. His daughter, Eliza, married William K. McClure in 1889. In April 1938, she wrote (as Mrs. W.K. McClure) to the U.S. War Department asking for information about her father's war record and she received a response that features both typed and hand written paragraphs. This letter is also in Lewis' file.12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion. A detailed history of this unit is not needed but since Lewis' file is with them, some history might be helpful. This battalion was formed on September 1, 1862 from several companies of partisan rangers that had been raised in East Tennessee pursuant to the Partisan Rangers Act of April 1862. These companies had been raised in Hawkins County and Greene County as well as the towns of Greenville, Morristown and Knoxville. Major T.W. Adrian was in command until his death in November 1862 whereupon Major Frank Phipps and soon after Major George Day (later Lt. Colonel).Their first action was in the Kentucky Campaign of August-October, 1862 where they fought in the cavalry brigade of Joseph Wheeler. After the campaign's conclusion, they were transferred to the brigade of Colonel John Scott, Department of East Tennessee. In mid-June 1863, the 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion was consolidated with the 16th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion to become Rucker's Legion, led by Col. Edmund Rucker. The new command fought in the Chickamauga Campaign of September as part of Wheeler's cavalry corps before being sent back to East Tennessee where they would fight during the miserable winter of 1863/1864.With Rucker's transfer to Mississippi, his legion was disbanded in February 1864 and both battalions reverted to their old formations. Now part of the Department of East Tennessee and Western Virginia, the 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion became part of General John C. Vaughn's Brigade with whom they would serve for the rest of the war fighting in the Valley of Virginia to upper East Tennessee. When the news of Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865 arrived, the battalion and the rest of the Confederate troops in this department disbanded and went home. If Lewis joined this battalion after July 1864 he would have been involved with their war history as part of Vaughn's Brigade for the rest of the war. Confederate Bible or Personal Flags: To date there has not been any written essay covering the topic of Confederate Bible or personal flags. This is a shame as there are a number of them still extant and their existence can add to our knowledge of how flags can have a personal connection to home in addition to the unit battle flags presented in the early phases of the Civil War to companies and regiments as they formed.These flags were typically made by ladies from the home towns or counties from where men derived to form combat units. Some went off to war with soldiers in 1861 while others would be made during the war and sent to them by mail. Their sizes varied from three by four inches to one by two feet. Some of the larger ones were flown on tents and indeed a famous image of the Clinch Rifles, 5th Georgia Infantry, shows just such a flag being flown from the top of a tent with some troops depicted in front. The epithet "Bible flag" comes from their probable use, at least for the much smaller flags of this type, as patriotic book marks used by soldiers as they read their Bibles. Although smaller than the aforementioned personal flags, even these varied in both sizes and quality of manufacture. The vast majority of these flags I have seen are of the First National pattern. There are some of the Second National pattern and even Third National but the First National pattern dominates. The star counts also vary although no flag historian has ever created a data base of these to track that. Some stars are ornate while I have seen others that are two simple crossed stitches including one in the collections of the Tennessee State Library and Archives bearing fifteen such stars. This flag was made in Nashville. Very unique to these flags are those of a battle flag pattern as used by the Army of the Mississippi/Army of Tennessee.Battle Flags of the Army of the Mississippi/Army of Tennessee. The four components of the army that formed in Corinth, Mississippi in March 1862 brought, in two cases, unique battle flags that had been adopted earlier in 1862. Polk's Grand Division, later Polk's Corps, developed a flag based on Episcopal Church heritage and heraldry. Polk, a West Point graduate who was also an ordained Episcopal minister, was Bishop of the Southwest before the war. This flag utilized a red Cross of St. George (+) bearing thirteen white stars on a blue field. The first version lacked the white fimbration that ran between the cross and field. Forty five of these were made of bulk purchased dress silk in Memphis, Tennessee in January 1862 and sent to Polk's troops who were in upper West Tennessee as well as the area around Columbus, Kentucky. Of these only three survive today.In August 1862 a second version of this flag was made for Polk's corps, especially General Benjamin F. Cheatham's Division just prior to the start of the Kentucky Campaign. These flags, made of wool with cotton stars, were smaller, bore only eleven white stars and added white fimbration to the red cross. These battle flags remained in use into 1863. It is not known how many were made of this version and only a few survive today. The Army of Central Kentucky, stationed at Bowling Green, Kentucky received their distinctive battle flags also in January 1862. Made by a local sewing circle from a design by General Simon B. Buckner, these simple flags were also blue bearing a white circle. This circle bore the unit designation of each regiment. There was a white hoist edge. Buckner's Division brought these flags to Fort Donelson when they were transferred there in February 1862. With the rest of the army becoming known as Hardee's Corps, the name of this battle flag has come to be known as the Hardee pattern. Hardee's Corps would use these through 1863 when they were replaced by the rectangular Augusta Depot Southern Cross pattern. From 1864 until the end of the war, however, Patrick Cleburne's Division not only continued to use this pattern, but received two newer versions as the year progressed. Bragg's Corps, which came up from Mobile and Pensacola to Corinth, carried mostly First National flags and upon arrival, General Bragg was informed that his corps would henceforth carry a flag based on the Southern Cross pattern that Beauregard had been instrumental in getting adopted by the army in Virginia when he was there in the fall of 1861. This flag had diagonally crossed blue bars (X) with white fimbration bearing twelve white stars (with six pointed stars) on a red field. Three sides of the flag were bordered in yellow. The flags were roughly square. Made in New Orleans and shipped to Corinth, they became known as the Bragg Pattern battle flag. Polk's Corps had a set made as well but they did not arrive in time for use at Shiloh and equipped the corps after that battle although mostly replaced in August by the second version of the Polk Corps flag. Breckinridge's Reserve Corps (later his division) used mostly First National flags although in May 1862 would also create their own distinctive flags. As the Army of the Mississippi marched from Corinth to fight at Shiloh in early April 1862, staff officers rode the along the marching columns of troops carrying examples of the three main corps flags announcing to them the name of the corps they represented intending to familiarize the men with them to avoid friendly fire incidents. Several years ago at the Franklin, Tennessee Civil War show, one dealer had a Bible/personal flag for an Arkansas soldier of the Hardee pattern. I have never seen one prior to this nor after so far. Polk Corps Bible/Personal flag of S. Duff J. Lewis. The exciting thing about this flag is that it is the first of the Polk Corps pattern that I have ever seen in over twenty eight years of flag research. In my opinion, this adds a great deal to its collectability. Even more unique is the Latin/Christian cross on the reverse side also bears a battle honor for "Shiloh". No Bible/personal flag that I have seen or have files for bear any battle honors although a couple bear the name of the maker or something patriotic. This, too, greatly adds to its collectability. The flag is made of machine sewn silk. The red cross bears eleven embroidered white stars. On the reverse side a white silk cross is sewn to the blue field while the battle honor is also embroidered in a white silk oval. The fly end is feathered rather than solid. Overall, the flag measures 11 1/2 inches on the fly by 7 1/2 inches on the hoist. A small semi-looped attachment is sewn to the upper left corner of the flag resembling ties that would attach a battle flag to its staff. In this case it is only decorative. There is some sort of stain in one quadrant of the flag. A smaller stain looking like it came from the same source is also on another portion of the field. This would need to be seen by a conservator with experience in 19th Century flags to determine what the stain is made from. According to a letter written by an unknown family member after the war, the flag was given to, "veterans of this battle, including my great, great, great grandfather, S.D.J. Lewis, were later presented w/ceremonial battle flags. This is his flag". As has been reported already, Lewis was in Corinth during the Shiloh campaign working for the brigade quartermaster, David Sullins. Quartermasters would go with their brigades as they marched into action making sure that needed supplies were sufficient and that more could be brought forward to the battlefield as it waged. However, as mentioned, at the time of Shiloh, Mullins was quartermaster of the Third Brigade, which was Colonel Statham's of Breckinridge's Reserve Corps. This corps did not use Polk Corps battle flags at Shiloh. So how did such a flag get presented to Lewis? One can only speculate as to how this happened and there is no evidence that has been located to date that can tell us how a flag of one corps made it to a soldier of another corps. Nor do we know how many of these were made or even when they were made or presented. I can theorize that these came in the summer of 1862 at the earliest as it follows the second version of the Polk Corps flag that came out in August 1862. This report will include images of both versions of these flags so that the mentioned differences can be noted. Conclusion: While some questions remain regarding this flag, there is no doubt as to its authenticity due to its line of ownership coming from Lewis' family as proven by the letter of his great-great-great grandson. As stated before, this flag is very unique and will be quite interesting to flag collectors due to it being the only known example of a Bible/personal flag of this pattern. It is exceedingly well made and quite striking with vivid colors, obviously the product of a maker with considerable skill used to embroidery and working with silk.Besides images of the Polk Corps flags, this report will also include the Compiled Service Record of S.D.J. Lewis. Other documents, already in the possession of Case Antiques, will also accompany the flag upon sale. Gregory G. Biggs, Military Historian, December 21, 2018. Bibliography: Connelly, Thomas Lawrence, Army of the Heartland: The Army of Tennessee, 1861-1862 (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1967); Hafendorfer, Kenneth A., Mill Springs: Campaign and Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky (KH Press, Louisville, 2001; )Horn, Stanley F. and others, Tennesseans in the Civil War, Volume One (Civil War Centennial Commission, Nashville, 1964); Madaus, Howard Michael and Needham, Robert D., The Battle Flags of the Confederate Army of Tennessee (Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, 1976); Roman, Alfred, The Military Operations of General Beauregard, Volume 1 (Da Capo Press, New York, 1994); Smith, Timothy B., Shiloh: Conquer or Perish (University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, 2014); Sword, Wiley, Shiloh: Bloody April (Revised Edition) (Morningside Press, Dayton, 2001); The War of the Rebellion, A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume X, Part Two (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1884). Other Sources: Greg Biggs Flag Files, Clarksville, TN; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers who Served in Organizations From the State of Tennessee, 12th Tennessee Cavalry Battalion, Duff Lewis File (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 109, Microcopy M268, Roll 53); Compiled Service Records of Confederate Generals and Staff Officers and Nonregimental Enlisted Men, Samuel T. Bicknell File (NARA, RG 109, Microcopy M 331, Roll 23); Compiled Service Records of Confederate Generals and Staff Officers and Nonregimental Enlisted Men, A.L. Hamilton File (NARA, RG 109, Microcopy M 331, Roll 115); Compiled Service Records of Confederate Generals and Staff Officers and Nonregimental Enlisted Men, David Sullins File (NARA, RG 109, Microcopy M 331, Roll 239). (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com.) CONDITION: Fraying to right edge. Surface stains, largest 2 1/2" x 1 3/8". Scattered tears, largest 3/4", with few minute holes. Loop is torn in half. [See more photos →]

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Middle Tennessee Federal Cellaret, also known as a Bottle Case or Liquor Stand, walnut and ash with poplar and walnut secondary woods, rectangular dovetailed case with molded hinged top having cleated ends, kite shaped inlaid escutcheon, interior with no evidence of previous dividers. Lower section with single long dovetailed drawer with bead molded edges; old, likely original brass pulls, kite shaped inlaid escutcheon, square tapered legs are extensions of stiles. Included are twelve glass bottles, not original. 41″ H x 27″ W x 15 3/4″ D. Attributed to Davidson County, Tennessee, circa 1815-1825. Illustrated, “Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture” by Nathan Harsh and Derita Coleman Williams, ed. Tracey Parks, p. 149 fig. 163. Note: this is one of three known Middle Tennessee cellarettes closely related to about a half dozen North Carolina examples attributed to Joseph Freeman, a cabinetmaker in Gates County (b. 1772-d. 1842). The Tennessee pieces may have been made by a Freeman apprentice who journeyed West. The Tennessee cellarets lack the mixing slides found on the North Carolina ones, and have poplar secondary woods versus yellow pine. For a similar Tennessee example, refer to the catalog for the 2006 “Art of Tennessee,” exhibit at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, p. 84, fig. 48. A similar North Carolina example can be seen in “The Furniture of Coastal North Carolina 1700-1820” fig. 6.169. Provenance: The living estate of Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, TN. CONDITION: Older refinish. Drawer bottom is a replacement with old pest damage. Hinges and molding appear to be original, some dents/damage to both pulls. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee Federal desk and bookcase or secretary, figured walnut with poplar secondary wood. Bookcase section with cove molded cornice over a plain frieze and two single paneled doors, flanked by chamfered corners; 3 interior shelves with plate grooves. Diamond inlay at keyhole, molded base. Desk section with fall front, battened top and sides, opening to fitted interor with central plain prospect door, flanked by two vertical document drawers with molded edges, and two drawers over three cubbyholes on each side. Plain writing surface over four graduated drawers and a serpentine skirt, raised on tall flaring french feet. Brass pulls and plates appear original and are stamped with images of cotton bales with triple masted ship in the background, and the caduceus (medical) symbol. Possibly Knox County, Tenn., 1790-1810. Interior of top drawer has MESDA (Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts) label dated 9/12/82 ref. #11604. Exhibited, “Art of Tennessee,” Frist Center for the Visual Arts, illustrated exhibit catalog p. 62 fig. 28. Also illustrated, “Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture” by Nathan Harsh and Derita Coleman Williams, ed. Tracey Parks, p. 103, fig. 60, and exhibited Cheekwood, 1971, “Made In Tennessee” exhibit. 94″ H x 42″ W x 21 1/2″ D. Provenance: The living estate of Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, TN, purchased in Nashville circa 1965, with a long history of being from Knox County, Tenn. CONDITION: Mid-molding that surrounds the base of the top appears to be a 19th century addition. Replaced lower backboard and lower right rear foot backboard replaced. Old patch to top of desk where drawer lock broke out, old patches around later hinges on fall front. Old, possibly original hinges to top bookcase section doors. Feet facings broken and reattached, but appear original. Some oxidation to brasses. Both sides of lower case have full shrinkage splits; right side has patch repair to split. Bottoms of drawer sides built up. [See more photos →]

Anna Catherine Wiley (TN, 1879-1958) oil on canvas beach scene depicting two young seated females shaded under a parasol on a beach. Signed monogram upper left. Additionally pencil inscribed verso “C. Wiley (1532?) White Ave Knoxville Tenn”. Housed in the original molded gilt wood frame. Sight – 14″ H x 15″ W. Framed – 21 1/2″ H x 22 1/2″ W. Biography: Catherine Wiley is one of Tennessee’s most important nationally recognized artists. She was one of the early female students at the University of Tennessee, and was later credited with establishing formal art instruction at the school. Wiley studied at the Art Students League in New York under Frank DuMond, and spent summers learning from major American impressionists such as Robert Reid, Jonas Lie, and Martha Walter. She won numerous prizes including two Gold Medals at the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and her paintings were exhibited at prominent American venues including the National Academy of Design in New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Her thriving career was ended by a mental collapse which left her institutionalized until her death. CONDITION: Painting is in very good condition with recent restoration, including canvas margins lined and re-tacked; surface cleaning, new varnish layer applied; mylar lining applied to back. Areas of inpainting with infill: lower right corner 1 1/2″ L x 1″ W; left side of older female’s chest 1 1/2″ L x 1/2″ W; upper left side near child’s hat 1 1/2″ H x 1″ W; top edge on left 7″ L x 1/2″ W. Other possible areas of inpainting or overpainting across bottom edge, older female’s face, and umbrella. Copy of treatment proposal from Restoration Division, Chicago, IL, which restored the painting in 2019, is available on request. [See more photos →]

John Wesley Chumley (Virginia/Tennessee, 1928-1984) watercolor snow scene painting depicting a farmstead with freshly fallen snow having a small pond bearing the reflection of the farm with barren trees in the foreground and the main house with outbuildings and barren trees background. Signed lower right “Chumley”. Housed in a molded giltwood frame with linen liner. Sight – 20 1/2″ H x 25 3/4″ W. Framed – 27 1/2″ H & 34 W. Biography (courtesy Askart: The Artists’ Bluebook/J.C. Tumblin): “John Chumley was born in Minnesota and grew up in Tennessee. His interest in realism flourished while studying under Walter Stuempfig at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; he also studied at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and was Artist in Residence at the Fort Worth Center of Art in Texas from 1958-1961. Chumley moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley in 1961. Scenes from his native East Tennessee were a frequent source of inspiration. He had one man shows at the Dulin Gallery of Art (predecessor of the Knoxville Museum of Art, Fort Worth, Norfolk, Va., Pennsylvania and New York. His New York exhibits were very successful and earned him national recognition and comparisons with Hopper and Wyeth. He is buried in Winchester, Virginia. Provenance: Private Knoxville, TN collection. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. [See more photos →]

“Nashville Panorama,” an important and large circa 1880 watercolor view of the city of Nashville from Fort Negley (built during the Civil War by Union troops and freed slaves). Visible are many Nashville landmarks including the Tennessee State Capitol, the University of Nashville, Howard School, and the Cumberland River, along with churches, brick and log homes, various figures, horses and carriages. Unsigned, artist unknown. Titled NASHVILLE TENN. lower margin. 21″ x 36″ sight, 29″ x 42″ matted and framed. Published, “The Tennessee Historical Quarterly: Landscape and Genre Painting in Tennessee, 1810-1985″ by James C. Kelly, Tennessee Historical Society, 1985. Exhibited, The Tennessee State Museum, Nashville, Sept. 5-Nov. 20, 1985; Dixon Gallery, Memphis, Dec. 1-Jan. 15, 1986; Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Feb. 6-March 31, 1986, and the Dulin Gallery of Art, Knoxville, April 10-May 11, 1986. Provenance: the estate of Sarah Hunter Hicks Green, formerly of Historic Devon Farm, Nashville, Tennessee. CONDITION: 15″ light water stain down center, a couple of 1/2” areas of discoloration in the sky, overall light toning and fading. Examination out of frame reveals margins present and watercolor is not mounted or glued down. Later frame. [See more photos →]

Important Middle Tennessee cherry press, cherry primary with cherry and mahogany veneers, poplar secondary wood. Three piece construction: top section with cove molded cornice over mahogany veneered frieze, second section with two glazed doors having 16 panes, opening to interior with three fixed shelves. Lower section with heavy ogee molding and two dovetailed drawers over two paneled doors, lower interior with single fixed shelf. Paneled sides on lower section, ring turned tapering feet ending in a ball. Descended in the family of Major William Lauderdale, made for son John Hart Lauderdale, Trousdale County (formerly Sumner Co.), TN. 94 7/8″H x 49 1/4″W x 20 1/2″D. Second quarter of the 19th century. Provenance – Lexington, Kentucky area collection. Condition: Overall excellent condition with older refinish, dovetailed drawers in lower case with very minimal build up of drawer sides (less than 1/8″). CONDITION: Overall excellent condition with older refinish, dovetailed drawers in lower case with very minimal build up of drawer sides (less than 1/8″). [See more photos →]

Oil on board landscape painting by Enoch Lloyd Branson (American, 1853-1925) depicting daybreak on an East Tennessee farm, with boy driving oxen down a country lane and two other field hands at work. Signed and dated “92” lower right. Overall excellent condition with surface grime. Sight – 36 3/8″ x 43 1/2″, Framed – 43 3/4″ x 51″. Provenance: Fleury estate of Knoxville, Tennessee. This painting was given to Matthew G. Thomas in 1923 by the officers of Appalachian Mills when he retired. It was later given to his daughter, Mary Thomas Fleury, by mother, Anne H. Thomas. Biography: Enoch Lloyd Branson (1853¨ß1925) was an American artist best known for his portraits of Southern politicians and depictions of early East Tennessee history. One of the most influential figures in Knoxville’s early art circles, Branson received training at the National Academy of Design in the 1870s and subsequently toured the great art centers of Europe. After returning to Knoxville, he operated a portrait shop with photographer Frank McCrary. He was a mentor to fellow Knoxville artist Catherine Wiley and is credited with discovering 20th century portraitist Beauford Delaney. [See more photos →]

Knoxville, Tennessee genealogical sampler, signed Isabella M. Baker, 1848; executed in silk needlework on linen, with floral vine border and stitched garden at lower edge; features three rows of upper case letters, one row of lower case letters and one row of numerals, plus seven geometric dividing bands, all sewn in eyelet, cross stitch and four-sided stitch. Center field contains marriage, birth and death information for Isabella’s parents, C.H. Baker and M.L. White, and family, 1831-1847. 23 3/4″ H x 24 1/2″ W unframed. Note: This sampler has been documented for the Tennessee Sampler Survey. The survey’s genealogical research found Isabella (Belle) McNutt Baker was born Oct. 30, 1836 in Knoxville, TN. Her parents were Caleb Hodnett Baker, Sr. and his second wife, Mary Lawson White. Through her mother, Isabella was the great-granddaughter of Gen. James White, the founder of Knoxville. Isabella was listed as a sophomore in the 1848-1849 catalog of the East Tennessee Female Institute, successor of the Knoxville Female Academy. As she was not listed in the catalog for 1847-48, it is not certain that she completed her sampler there. However, if she did, her embroidery teacher would have been Mrs. Mariah McAnally, wife of Rev. David R. McAnally, principal of the school. Isabella married Benjamin J. Stephenson, a druggist, in 1856 and gave birth to four children. She died in 1913 and is buried in the Old Gray Cemetery in Knoxville. (A copy of the Tennessee Sampler Survey genealogy report, including guide to initials on sampler, is available on request). Condition: Overall good condition with some fading and discoloration. 3/8″ x 1/2″ and 3/8″ x 3/8″ tears near upper right corner. CONDITION: Overall good condition with some fading and discoloration. 3/8″ x 1/2″ and 3/8″ x 3/8″ tears near upper right corner. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee cherry desk and bookcase, yellow pine, poplar and white pine secondary woods. Upper case with molded cornice, two astragal glazed doors opening to three adjustable shelves, lower case with double fold-down writing surface and fitted interior, all lined in later green felt, over one long dovetailed drawer with cock-beaded edge and supported by four tapered square legs. 94 3/4″ H x 40″ W x 24 5/8″ D. Attributed to Jefferson County, Tennessee, circa 1800-1820. Provenance: East Tennessee collection, acquired from the estate of the late Thomas W. (Jack) and Dr. Frances Bernard Overall, Greeneville, TN. CONDITION: Older refinish. Patch to left side fall front near hinges, some replacements and losses to cockbeading. Desk interior with newer felt lining. Splits to side boards on lower case. Minor patches and abrasions, several glass panes with cracks. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee, possibly Sullivan County, lead glazed earthenware jar with manganese splotched decoration, applied rolled handles, rim and upper shoulder with incised rings, unglazed base with beaded foot. 13 3/4″ H. For a related form, refer to the article, “Earthenware Potters Along the Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee”, J. Roderick Moore, Antiques Magazine, September 1983, p. 532, plate IV. CONDITION: Overall very good condition, old small rim chip and three chips to base edge. [See more photos →]

Punched Tin Andrew Jackson parade lantern, cylindrical with domed top and handle, the punched design reading “Andrew Jackson Forever” across the body with ” Jan 8th 1832 ” across the top, surmounted by a row of stars. Exhibited Cheekwood Museum of Art, “Nashville Collects”, circa 1990. 13-1/2″ H x 5-1/4″ diameter. Provenance: estate of A. Welling LaGrone Jr., Nashville, Tenn., purchased from Sotheby’s (lot 762, unknown sale number/date). Note: Jan. 8, 1815 was the date associated with General Jackson’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans. This was likely a commemorative piece, possibly made around the time of his re-election. Condition: Lacks top handle, two small holes in base, 1 broken hinge with lost nail. [See more photos →]

Beauford Delaney (American, 1901-1979), “Composition,” watercolor on paper abstract expressionist painting featuring green, red, orange, and yellow brushstrokes. Signed and dated in ink “Beauford Delaney 64″ lower right corner. Float mounted onto ivory cardstock and housed in a contemporary silver and gilt frame. Sheet – 14″ H x 10 3/4″ W. Framed – 22 5/8″ H x 18 5/8” W. Third quarter 20th century. Provenance: Private South Carolina collection, originally acquired through Tree Galleries, Chicago. Biography: Beauford Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. An apprentice to artist Lloyd Branson, Delaney was encouraged by his mentor to study art in Boston. In 1929 he traveled to New York and established himself as a prominent artist of the Harlem Renaissance. There he gained the attention and admiration of well known writers and artists such as James Baldwin, Georgia O’Keeffe, Alfred Stieglitz, and many others. His departure from New York to Paris in 1953, where he would live the rest of his life, also marked his transition from figurative compositions to abstract expressionism, with a focus on color and light. In 1978, the year before he died, the Studio Museum in Harlem initiated its Black Master series with a retrospective of his work. His paintings can be found in the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago; the National Portrait Gallery, the Smithsonian Institution, and numerous other museums. CONDITION: Overall very good condition with some light toning and waviness to paper. Light wear and abrasions to frame, losses to lower right corner. [See more photos →]

Beauford Delaney (American, 1901-1979) watercolor on paper abstract expressionist painting featuring green, yellow and orange swirls. Signed and dated in ink, lower right corner, “Beauford Delaney 1962 Paris”. En verso on white sticker in black ink: “565” and below, in pencil, ” 25 1/2 x 19 1/4 ” and “BD-P-313,” (estate inventory numbering system of court-appointed administrator, Derek L. Spratley, Esquire). Sheet – 19 3/4″ x 25 1/2″. Provenance: Estate of Beauford Delaney, Derek L. Spratley, Esquire, court-appointed administrator. Biography: Beauford Delaney was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. An apprentice to artist Lloyd Branson, Delaney was encouraged by his mentor to study art in Boston. In 1929 he traveled to New York and established himself as a prominent artist of the Harlem Renaissance. There he gained the attention and admiration of well known writers and artists such as James Baldwin, Georgia O’Keefe, Alfred Stieglitz and many others. His departure from New York to Paris in 1953 also marked his transition from figurative compositions to abstract expressionism, with a focus on color and light. CONDITION: 1 1/8″ tear upper left corner. 3/8″ W tear with pinhole near top center with second pinhole above, third pinhole right upper quadrant, 5 3/4″ W x 1 1/2″ H crease lower center edge. [See more photos →]

Burton Harry Callicott (Tennessee/Indiana, 1907-2003) abstract oil on canvas painting titled "Recessional," horizontal stripes in shades of purple, green, pink, orange, and yellow. Signed and dated "Callicott '70" lower right. Albers Fine Art Gallery, Memphis, TN label, en verso. Housed in a wooden frame. Sight: 65" H x 49" W. Framed: 70 1/2" H x 50 1/2" W. Biography: "Born in 1907 in Terre Haute, Indiana, Burton Callicott spent much of his childhood and his seventy-year career as an artist and educator in Memphis. Callicott graduated in 1931 from the Cleveland School of Art, where he began an exploration of the use of light and dark that would follow him throughout his life. He is perhaps best known regionally for his set of three large murals in the Memphis Pink Palace Museum titled The Coming of De Soto. Completing his training in sculpture at the Cleveland School of Art in the midst of the Depression, Callicott returned to Memphis, where his mother and stepfather, Michael Abt, resided. The director of the western division of Tennessee's Federal Works of Art Project, Abt played a major role in launching Callicott's career. He put Callicott to work immediately on Memphis Cotton Carnival floats and displays for other Memphis festivals while also helping him secure a commission for a Public Works of Art Project mural in 1933. Installed in the Memphis Museum of Natural History (now the Memphis Pink Palace Museum), the three-panel mural depicts Hernando De Soto's arrival in West Tennessee. Another of Callicott's most recognized works, The Gleaners (1936), was completed during the early years of his career and received much attention at the 1939 New York World's Fair. These early projects set Callicott off on a long and successful career in Memphis. Callicott became a founding faculty member of the Memphis Academy of Art (now the Memphis College of Art) in 1937. Callicott became professor emeritus in 1978. Callicott's works have been exhibited at various museums across the state and region, including the Cheekwood Museum of Art and the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville, the West Tennessee Regional Art Center in Humboldt, the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Carroll Reece Museum at East Tennessee State University, the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, and the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia. Samples of his artwork are on permanent display at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the Memphis Pink Palace Museum. The Tennessee Arts Commission chose to honor the work of Callicott in 2000 with a specialty license plate for which he designed a rainbow with the caption, "art is…a rainbow." Callicott continued to live in Memphis until his death in 2003". (source: "Burton Callicott" by Elizabeth H. Moore, originally published October 8, 2017, https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/burton-callicott/).

CONDITION: 1" diameter shallow dent with narrow line of paint loss, lower left quadrant; 2" diameter shallow dent with no paint loss lower right quadrant (both to lower center pink stripe). 13" L line of light buckling to upper left quadrant. Otherwise very good condition. [See more photos →]

George Wilhelm Frye, (Germany/Alabama, 1822-1872) oval oil on canvas painting of Southern historical interest, depicting a bearded African American man standing beside a posted newspaper, attired in a white shirt, red pants and suspenders, a straw hat and black boots. The subject holds a brush tinged with whitewash or white glue and a paint pail, and just behind him, on the wall, is posted the front page of the Louisville Commercial Newspaper (1869-1902). Signed lower left margin “W F”. Unframed. 26 3/4″ H x 21 3/4″ W. Exhibited, The Howard Steamboat Museum “Fall Into Art” exhibit, 2010. Provenance: Estate of Lynn Scholl Renau, Louisville, Kentucky. Note: Lynn Renau was awarded the Isaac Murphy Award for her groundbreaking research about slavery and African American history in Kentucky. This painting, which hung over her desk, was among her most prized pieces. Frye’s decision to title the newspaper “The Louisville Commercial” and give it such visual prominence is significant, especially when viewed beside his working class, African American subject. Founded by the DuPont family in 1870, The Louisville Commercial was the only Republican daily newspaper in Kentucky, and it also circulated in Southern Indiana and Middle and West Tennessee. According to one period description quoted in “Chronicling America,” “its rigorous exposure of corruption and wastefulness in municipal affairs has given it strong local popularity and influence; it is a favorite in families and with business men, and the saloons and gambling dens are bitterly hostile towards it.” Biderman DuPont, sole owner of the paper by 1874, had supported the Union cause and in an 1860 letter to his mother, wrote that “Slavery is a moral evil….” (source: Timothy J. Mullin, “The du Ponts in Kentucky,” DLSC Faculty Publications, Western Kentucky University, 2009). In an 1873 ad the newspaper boasted it had “met the Democratic papers at every point and exposed their misstatements” (American Newspaper Directory, Vol. 4). Biography: “George Wilhelm (William) Frye (1822-1872) was a portrait artist from Germany who established a studio in Huntsville, Madison County; he also painted in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. His depictions of life in the western Black Belt of Alabama were important records of the antebellum period in the state. He also tutored future Alabama artist Maria Howard Weeden for two years. Historians are able to follow his career through court records and the newspaper advertisements Frye placed in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee; several advertisements in Alabama newspapers announce his relocations. By 1845, Frye had settled in Louisville, Kentucky, where he painted portraits, and he opened a second studio in Huntsville by March 1847 while maintaining the Louisville location at least into 1848. On May 18, 1848, he married Virginia Hale in Hunstville; the couple would have four children. He became a U.S. citizen on August 29, 1854, in Madison County. During the next several years, Frye opened temporary studios in numerous locations around the South, including Memphis, Tennessee, and advertised his services there for four months in 1857. Frye’s growing reputation as a portrait painter prompted the Agricultural and Horticultural Society Fair of West Alabama to enlist him as a fine arts judge in 1859”. (Source: “The Encyclopedia of Alabama” by E. Bryding Adams). Alternate spelling George William Frey. CONDITION: Canvas is embrittled, loose from stretcher on right side, and stretcher creases evident at top and left sides. Right side has significant 21” L. vertical crease with loss and flaking and 8 perforations, largest 2” L. Left side with 3 perforations, largest 2” L. ?” L. tear center above male figure’s head. Various abrasions and scratches with loss, largest 1 ½” L. No inpainting or alterations detected with black light. [See more photos →]

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Gilbert Gaul (New York/Tennessee/New Jersey, 1855-1919) oil on board interior scene painting depicting an African American woman seated by a window, working on a needlework project. Light from the overhead window illuminates her white blouse and part of the fabric in her hands. Signed lower right. Housed in a carved gilt wood frame. Sight – 9 1/2″ H x 8 1/4″ W. Framed – 14 1/2″ H x 13 1/4″ W. Provenance: Private Southern Collection. Biography: New Jersey born artist Gilbert Gaul studied art with Lemuel E. Wilmarth at the school of the National Academy of Design from 1872 to 1876, and privately with the noted genre painter, J. G. Brown. He continued his training at the Art Students League during 1875 and 1876. Gaul first exhibited his work at the National Academy in 1877. In 1881, he inherited a farm in Van Buren County, Tennessee, from his mother’s family, and lived there four years to fulfill terms of the bequest. In 1885, he returned to New York though he also continued to spend time at the farm in Tennessee. Gaul gained acclaim for his illustration art and portrayals of Civil War scenes. He became a regular exhibitor at the National Academy annuals between 1877 and 1902; in 1882, he was accorded the status of full academician-the youngest artist to attain the honor. He exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition; the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago; and the 1902 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, where he was awarded medals. In 1876 Gaul made his first trip to the American West, an area for which he developed a particular affinity. He made numerous western trips in subsequent years, photographing and rendering scenes of Native Americans and the frontier, which he would later work up into paintings in his studios in New York or Tennessee. In 1890, he worked for the United States census on reservations in North Dakota. He also visited Mexico, the West Indies, Panama, and Nicaragua. An account of his travels was published in Century Magazine in 1892. In 1904, he returned to Tennessee and settled in Nashville. The decreasing interest in Civil War subjects resulted in financial hardship for Gaul. He gave private art lessons, and taught at the Watkins Institute, Nashville, and at Cumberland Female College, in McMinnville. He also spent time in Charleston, South Carolina. By 1910, he had moved to Ridgefield, New Jersey, where he continued to paint and live out his remaining years. (source: The Johnson Collection). CONDITION: 1/4″ area of slight scratch to sitter’s cheek. A couple of very slight abrasions left margin. Slight wear to frame with possible repairs to a couple of corners. [See more photos →]

Important African-American "make-do" quilt by Josie Covington (Triune, TN/1869-1909) comprised of hand-pieced and appliqued blocks made of dress fabrics. Circa 1885-1900. Pieced patterns include basket, bowtie, star, and diamond blocks. Applique designs include doll, hearts, hands, a foot, and scissors. The central applique block includes motifs that may have had a personal significance to the quiltmaker. 83" H x 76" W. Note: The style, coloring and prints of fabrics of this textile have been professionally examined and are consistent with other late 19th/early 20th century quilts in Tennessee, where Josie Covington was living at this time. This quilt was included in a traveling exhibition sponsored by the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Links Chapter of Cleveland, and the National Endowment for Humanities from February 1978 through March 1981. It is included in John Vlach's accompanying publication THE AFRO-AMERICAN TRADITION IN THE DECORATIVE ARTS (Cleveland Museum, 1978). The central applique block was printed on invitations, postcards, and posters for most, if not all, of the seven prominent American museums that hosted the traveling exhibits. (A framed example of one of these posters is included with this lot). Artist's Biography: Josie Covington was born 1876 and lived in Triune in Wiliamson County, Tennessee, where she worked as a domestic servant for a family believed to have the last name of Pettus. The 1900 census records her as "widowed" and living with her five children and her mother Bettie Covington (1854-1926). Josie Covington's death certificate states she died in 1909 at the age of 40 of tuberculosis.

PROVENANCE: The collection of Richard H. and Kathleen L. Hulan, acquired from the quilter's daughter, Mary Eunice Covington Jones (1892-1984).

CONDITION: Quilt is structurally strong with two small holes visible in central area of grey striped backing. Repaired corner to upper left. Staining along upper and lower edges, not easily visible with fabric variety. Brown fabrics on quilt top are weak, but not fraying. One small hole with cotton batting protruding on lower middle edge. General fading to green and beige, especially in center block. [See more photos →]

Letter, document and photograph archive of Sgt. Zebedee Culver, 19th Michigan Infantry, clerk at General Hospital No. 1 in Union-occupied Nashville, Tennessee, including rarely seen graphic carte-de-visite (CDV) and albumen images of injured soldiers from the Battle of Atlanta, with treatment notes, and a printed record of Gunshot Wounds and other Surgical Cases. Includes approximately 20 letters from Culver's service in Kentucky and Tennessee, 12 photographic images, 12 envelope covers, 4 reunion ribbons, 3 song/poem clippings, and Culver's 1865 School Teacher's certificate and 1881 pension document. Also included is a photocopy of the Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War listing Culver, and a reprint copy of "The Oklahoma Scout"  by Theodore Baughman, detailing his Civil War service with the 19th Michigan at the Battles of Resaca, New Hope Church, Peachtree Creek (in which Zebedee Culver also saw action) and other engagements. 4 of the period CDV images have information hand-written en verso including soldier's name and injury/treatment record, with all stating they were transferred to Nashville after being wounded in and around Atlanta between July 20-August 6, 1864. The soldiers are identified as Sebastian Langendorf (14th Ohio; "circular piece of bone removed an inch in diameter, exposing the brain"); Silas C. Bushing(?) ("Rebel," gunshot wound, gangrene); John A. Babb (amputation; gangrene, "arrested with bromine"); Janus Brithard (?) (gunshot wound, gangrene, "arrested with bromine"). Also included is a partially printed ledger recording the number and type of gunshot wounds treated at Hospital No. 1, compiled by A.A. Surgeon M.L. Herr, USA, under Surgeon USV in Charge, Dr. Bowman Bigelow (B.B.) Breed. One of the CDVs depicts an unidentified woman in dark dress with braided ornamentation, possibly a nurse. BACKGROUND: After the Union took control of Nashville in February of 1862, the city became the Army’s base of operations in the Western Theatre. It was the only southern state capital in Union hands and was strategically situated from a geographic standpoint. Northern troops anticipated Confederates would attempt to re-take the city, and established numerous fortifications and hospitals surrounding the Cumberland River. The Battle of Nashville took place December 15-16, 1864, resulting in a Union victory that many historians believe sealed the fate of the Confederacy. But the city remained otherwise relatively stable during the war, and a number of Federal hospitals were established, including General Hospital No. 1 on College Hill. It comprised a former church and a former gun factory, converted to house 936 beds, and was under the direction of Dr. B.B. Breed. ZEBEDEE CULVER of Quincy, Michigan, enlisted in Company C, 19th infantry, as Sergeant July 28, 1862 (age 22). Was taken prisoner at Thompson's Station, Tennessee on March 5, 1863 and exchanged on May 4, 1863. He participated in the battles of Resaca, Georgia and New Hope Church and was wounded in action at Peach Tree Creek, July 20, 1864. He was transferred to the Veteran's Reserve Corps March 15, 1865 and discharged for disability at Nashville, Tennessee June 6, 1865 from the 160th company, Second Battalion, Veteran Reserve Corps. (Source: Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War 1861-1865).Sgt. Culver's letters are all written to his brother, Ben, from various locations, mostly in Tennessee. He writes of camp and hospital conditions including a smallpox outbreak, speculation about developments in the war elsewhere, and news of fellow "boys from Quincy". Culver, who appears to have been well educated for his time, writes with skill, some humor, and fairly legible penmanship. Some of the highlights include: HEADQUARTERS OF COMPANY C,19th Michigan Infantry, Near Danville, KY, illegible date, 1862: letter describing terrible conditions of Confederate prisoners, and his thoughts on some of his superior officers including Major Shafter or Shafer ("as noble a man as ever lived") and a scathing description of "Doc Clarke": "While he was principal of the post hospital at Nicholasville [Camp Nelson, KY], he would have a post mortem examination of all that died. And one of our co said that he would take his oath that he saw old Doc Clarke take some of their intestines and throw them out of the window because they were beloated [sic] so that they could not get them back. And the dogs were seen eating them afterwards. Ben, if I ever have a good chance at the old son of a bitch, I will cripple him so that he will never feed my insides to the dogs. If I don't you can shoot me for a butternut hide. It makes me so mad to think about him that I can't half write." He describes singing with other soldiers ("there are 4 of us in here that can howl the notes a little and when we get engaged we make the old tent get right up and howl…and it serves to pass the time away pretty well").CAMP DICK ROBINSON (KY), Dec. 12, 1862 : Descriptive letter of arriving at the camp to find, among other things, "three thousand barrels of pork here that the rebels left and about an acre of old wagons all chopped to pieces… and a few old cannons, one of them is a brass 6 pound Spanish gun which was made in the year 1723 and was taken from the Mexicans by Taylor and was got by the rebels at the Gosport Navy Yard." Culver also mentions his negative reaction to "the President's message" (likely the Emancipation Proclamation) saying it "stinks of compromise," and that "the only [way] this rebellion is put down so that it will stay is at the point of the bayonet, the extermination of every rebel both North and South and the immediate death of slavery." GUY'S (sp?) GAP, TN, July 8, 1863 – "I feel tip top this morning because we have rec'd news that Grant has got Vicksburg. Lee is all cut to pieces. Bragg is demolished and secession received a clip that made its head ache for a long time. Hip Hip hurrah. The boys are all in tip top spirits but have lots to do, about half the reg't are at work on the railroad…. We had a pretty rough march from Franklin to this place. It rained all the time and we had to come over a dirt road through the cedar woods. And where there were no rocks the mud was up to the wagon axles. The morning after we got in Murfreesboro I woke up and found the water full 4 inches deep in our bed. Our rations all wet. Knapsacks and cartridge boxes full and if my head had not been up on a chunk of wood I expect I should have been full too. The only dry thing there was about me was the inside of my canteen… I had to hunt quite a spell for my gun. But finally found it all covered up in the mud and water. There were nearly five days that I did not have hardly a dry thread in my clothes or a good hour's sleep." MURFREESBORO, TN, July 26, 1863: a cartoon drawing of "Old Morgan in Ohio" and a reference to the landscape laid waste by troops fighting the Battles of Murfreesboro and Stones River: "You can't see anything for 4 miles around the city but old camp grounds. Houses, barns, fences, in fact everything has been torn down. I was in a house yesterday that cost at least estimate $25,000. And there was nothing left but the bare walls. I made use of a part of the railing around the front porch. The only thing I could get my hands on."MCMINNVILLE, TN, March 23, 1864: briefly describes a skirmish with Rebel guerillas near McMinnville. "I heard Rebel bullets whistling around my ears the other night. I was on picket and the…I was in charge of was attacked by 10 guerillas…They fired 7 shots at us and we fired 12 at them. We wounded one man and one horse. They did not touch one of us but some of those shots came mighty close to me I tell you." NASHVILLE, TN – U.S. General Hospital No. 1, Nov. 27, 1864: "They say old Hood is about giving us a call here in Nashville. If he does I may get another finger knocked out, for all that are able to use a gun will have to go out and meet him." NASHVILLE, TN – U.S. General Hospital No. 1, April 2, 1865: "About the hospital, things move on finely. We have got an excellent Surgeon in Charge [Dr. B.B. Breed] to put things through. He has started another library, a chapel, two reading rooms, two gardens and is now trying to get up a singing school. If he fails in that it will be his first failure in anything he has undertaken since he has been here. We have all the books and papers we can read. They are furnished by the U.S. Christian Commission free of charge."NASHVILLE, TN, April 4, 1865 – "We received the news at noon yesterday of the Fall of Richmond and Petersburg and you had better believe there was some hallowing and and big goings on. Old "Negley" [likely Fort Negley] let loose 100 "blanks". Also the State House garrison forts…Zollicoffer and a host of smaller fry which with the muskets of the different regts garrisoning the city made it sound like the 15th and 16th of December [the Battle of Nashville]". Letter goes on to describe festivities lasting into the night as well as reaction from Secessionists. NASHVILLE, TN – U.S. General Hospital No. 1 (on US Christian Commission stationery), April 21, 1865: "The news of the tragedy in Washington [Lincoln's Assassination] came like a thunderbolt here. We were in the midst of celebrating recent victories when the news came and the reverse of feeling was beyond conception. Even among the Secession sympathizers the President's loss was deplored, for they had come to the conclusion that the rebel cause had gone under and that Lincoln was their protector from punishment which they richly deserve and which now there is little prospect for them to escape. I will send a paper home containing the proceedings in the city on the day of the President's funeral. One of the city papers estimated that there were 50,000 persons present. But I think they have got full 30,000 too many. I have seen a great many men together when it was known exactly how many were present and I think 20,000 is a fair estimate…"

PROVENANCE: Private Michigan Collection.

CONDITION: All period items with light toning, wear, and handing grime/creases. CDVs: 3/4" loss to one albumen print, some minor corner losses and creases. Record of Gunshot Wounds: A few pages unbound at top. Some separations and a few fold lines, most notably on the April 4, 1865 letter. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee cherry corner cupboard, attributed to McMinn County. This corner cupboard is Illustrated in The Art & Mystery of Tennessee Furniture by Nathan Harsh and Derita Williams, p. 187, fig. 231. Ogee cornice with incised diamond design over two doors with twelve glazed panes, straight back side returns, ring-turned molding to case corners, center drawer flanked by foliate carved designs on each side and panels with diamond incised moldings flanking central drawer. Lower paneled doors with diamond incised moldings. diamond incised base molding, diamond incised turned feet. Secondary wood is tulip poplar. 94 1/8″ Height x 47 3/4″ Width x 20″ Depth. Second quarter of the 19th century. Provenance – Estate of Bill Selden, Athens, TN. Condition: Overall very good condition with older refinish, minor vertical patch to lower left door, back boards reset, newer back foot brace. [See more photos →]

East Tennessee biscuit slab table, Rhea County (Dayton), cherry primary, poplar secondary. Rectangular huntboard or slab form comprised of an overhanging hinged box cover opening to an interior brown marble inset block above a center dovetailed drawer having a porcelain pull. Case rests on tapered Hepplewhite style legs. 39 1/2″ H x 36 3/8″ W x 18 1/4″ D. Third quarter of the 19th century. Provenance: Private Southeast Tennessee collection. CONDITION: Overall expected wear to case and inset marble. Oxidation to hinges and metal safety chain. Back with some age cracks, one with metal repair. [See more photos →]

Extremely rare and important redware jar by Christopher Alexander Haun (1821-1861), Greene County, Tennessee. Haun was a Union sympathizer during the Civil War and participated in burning a Confederate railroad bridge (Lick Creek) in Greene County, TN. In 1861, Confederate forces captured Christopher Haun and put him to death by hanging. The marked jar has two rows of stamping on the upper midsection including the letters “C A Haun”, star stamping around rim and terminus of handles, and copper oxide glaze with manganese loop designs on body. This is the only known marked C A Haun example with these specific “star” stamps around the rim and handle terminus. This jar is illustrated in “Art of Tennessee” book, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, Tennessee, p. 115, and was exhibited in the Frist “Art of Tennessee” exhibit from September 2003 – January 2004. Condition – The upper end of the handle and a small fragment to the rim are restored (a complete restoration report with pictures will be provided with this lot). The original fragment broken off was 7/16″ width x 1/4″ deep and triangular in shape. The upper end of the handle broke on an original drying or shrinkage crack in the handle with the thumbprint at the upper terminus and the sunburst type stamp at the base surviving. Blind cracks radiate from the break with another blind crack located adjacent to the other intact handle. 10″ height (ref38). [See more photos →]

John Wesley Chumley (Virginia/Tennessee, 1928-1984) panoramic egg tempera on board titled “Cades Cove” depicting a panoramic view of the valley located in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Signed lower left “Chumley”. Artist label with title en verso. Exhibition label also en verso from the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana. Exhibition titled “John Chumley’s Rural America, Oct.1 – Nov. 5 1972, from the collection of Mrs. Waldo Adler, Chestnut Hill, PA”. Housed in the original gilt wood frame with linen liner. Sight – 14″ H x 35 3/4″ W. Framed – 21 1/2″ H x 43 1/2″ W. Painted circa 1970. Biography (courtesy Askart: The Artists’ Bluebook/J.C. Tumblin): “John Chumley was born in Minnesota and grew up in Tennessee. His interest in realism flourished while studying under Walter Stuempfig at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts; he also studied at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and was Artist in Residence at the Fort Worth Center of Art in Texas from 1958-1961. Chumley moved with his family to the Shenandoah Valley in 1961. Scenes from his native East Tennessee were a frequent source of inspiration. He had one man shows at the Dulin Gallery of Art (predecessor of the Knoxville Museum of Art, Fort Worth, Norfolk, Va., Pennsylvania and New York. His New York exhibits were very successful and earned him national recognition and comparisons with Hopper and Wyeth. He is buried in Winchester, Virginia. Provenance: Private Maryville, TN estate, by descent of the original owner Mrs. Waldo Adler. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. Light overall grime, most notable in sky area and linen liner. Very slight wear to the frame. [See more photos →]

Large Werner Wildner (TN, 1925-2004) trompe líoeil painting of a Punch & Judy puppet scene. “Pinned” below the proscenium are drawings of an owl, gnome, and teddy bear, a cut out butterfly, feather, and bow. Signed lower center in an arched panel, ìWerner W.î 30″ x 15-1/2″ sight, 32″ x 17″ framed. Biography (courtesy Askart: The Artists’ Bluebook): Wildner was born in Germany but moved to Detroit with his family as a child and then, as a teenager, to Nashville. He served in the Army in 1944 and went on to study art briefly at the Mienzinger Art School in Detroit. He returned to Nashville to practice commercial art, but by the mid-1950s had decided to pursue his own art career. Whimsical animals and fantastical, often grotesque creatures were a recurring theme of his work. Wildner met with critical and commercial success after a 1962 exhibit of his art at the Nashville site now known as Cheekwood. However, the death of his parents and collapse of his marriage in the 1970’s led him to become reclusive in the last two decades of his life. Provenance: the collection of Stephen and Lisa Steiner Small, Nashville, Tennessee, purchased Lyzon Gallery, Nashville, 1968 (receipt retained). Condition: 1/8″ abrasion in upper right quadrant, background, otherwise excellent condition. Condition: 1/8″ abrasion in upper right quadrant, background, otherwise excellent condition. [See more photos →]

Anna Catherine Wiley (1879-1958) impressionist oil on canvas landscape painting, depicting a field of corn shocks in the foreground against a mountainous background. The scene is reminiscent of Cade’s Cove in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Signed lower right C. Wiley. Later giltwood frame with linen liner. Canvas size: 16″ x 12″. Framed: 22″ x 17″. Biography: Catherine Wiley is one of Tennessee’s most important nationally recognized artists. She was one of the early female students at the University of Tennessee, and was later credited with establishing formal art instruction at the school. Wiley studied at the Art Students League in New York under Frank DuMond, and spent summers learning from major American impressionists such as Robert Reid, Jonas Lie, and Martha Walter. She won numerous prizes including two Gold Medals at the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and her paintings were exhibited at prominent American venues including the National Academy of Design in New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Her thriving career was ended by a mental collapse which left her institutionalized until her death. Provenance: Private Tennessee collection. Proceeds from the sale of this painting benefit the Earl O. Henry Memorial Avian Exhibit at Ijams Nature Center. The exhibit showcases pre-World War II avian taxidermy and the art of Knoxville bird painter Earl O. Henry, one of the men killed in the 1945 attack on the USS Indianapolis. Condition: Overall very good condition, relined, one minor paint flake to lower margin. [See more photos →]

Large East Tennessee redware pottery storage jar, lead glaze body with manganese stripe decoration, sine wave incising around upper shoulder, extruded or pulled smooth handles, attributed to Sullivan Co., Tennessee or Southwest Virginia. For a similar example of a large decorated jar, refer to the article, “Earthenware Potters Along the Great Road in Virginia and Tennessee”, J. Roderick Moore, Antiques Magazine, September 1983, p. 532, plate III. Condition: Overall very good condition with chips to one side of the rim, minor chips to base. 15″ Height. Mid 19th century. Note – recognition of the prolific Cain pottery in East Tennessee was noted in published resources as early as 1909, where Oliver Taylor in “Historic Sullivan” states, “Another factory which received national attention was the Cain pottery, located at Emanuel Church, and owned by two brothers, William M. and Abe Cain . . . It was operated about 1840 and, among other wares, souvenir jugs were made, many of which are still in existence.” (Research courtesy Carole Wahler.) [See more photos →]

Middle Tennessee sugar chest, Williamson County, cherry with poplar secondary wood. Dovetailed locking top case and hinged top with bread board ends and ogee molding, interior with divider. Upper dovetailed case rests on a stand with a single dovetailed drawer with wooden pulls, underside of the drawer with distinctive row of woodblocks running beneath the drawer sides. Tall turned tapered legs with ring turnings, terminating in ball and spike feet. 35 3/4″ H x 28 1/8″ W x 16 5/8″ D. Circa 1825. Provenance: descended from the Moore family of Mooreland Plantation, Williamson Co., TN (Brentwood). The sugar chest was given to the consignor’s father James Tippens by Mooreland descendant, Robert Moore, Jr. Mooreland Plantation was built in 1838 and remains standing in present day Brentwood, TN. Condition: Older refinish, wooden strip to back of top replaced, hinges have been moved and replaced, shrinkage and minor losses to top molding. Internal left drawer support is a 19th century replacement. Some light shrinkage to case sides with minor fill to back right side. Condition: Older refinish, wooden strip to back of top replaced, hinges have been moved and replaced, shrinkage and minor losses to top molding. Internal left drawer support is a 19th century replacement. Some light shrinkage to case sides with minor fill to back right side. [See more photos →]

Very large George Ayers Cress (Alabama/Tennessee, 1921-2008) oil on canvas landscape painting titled "Shadowed Landscape" rendered in shades of blue, green, yellow, orange, grey, and red. Signed and dated "George Cress 1963" lower right. Exhibited, The Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, "George Cress: 50 Years of Painting," March 25-April 22, 1990. Exhibition label en verso. Housed in a painted wood frame, likely the original. Sight: 43 1/4" H x 55" W. Framed: 45 1/2" H x 57 1/2" W. Circa 1963. Biography: "George Cress was born in Anniston, Alabama and studied at Emory University, American University, and the University of Georgia, where he studied under fellow Southern contemporary artist Lamar Dodd. He was a central figure in Chattanooga's arts community and served as President of the Tennessee Arts Council. He sat on the board of the Hunter Museum of Art. From 1951-1984 he was painter in residence at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga. The Cress Gallery of Art at UTC is named in his honor." (Source: The Tennessee Historical Quarterly Vol. XLIV No. 2: "Landscape and Genre Painting in Tennessee 1810-1985").

CONDITION: Painting overall very good condition. Frame with minor scattered abrasions. [See more photos →]

Anna Catherine Wiley (TN, 1879-1958) oil on canvas landscape depicting an autumnal meadow with a large tree with orange foliage and a figure in the middle ground. Set beneath a partly cloudy, atmospheric sky. Signed lower right in red, "Wiley." Housed in a hand-carved giltwood frame. Sight: 24 1/4" H x 32 1/4" W. Framed: 34" H x 38 3/4" W. Note: At least two other, similar meadow landscapes by Wiley are known. A painting currently in the collection of the Tennessee State Museum and entitled "Gathering in the Woods" is almost identical in both size and composition.

Biography: Catherine Wiley is one of Tennessee's most important nationally recognized artists. She was one of the early female students at the University of Tennessee, and was later credited with establishing formal art instruction at the school. Wiley studied at the Art Students League in New York under Frank DuMond, and spent summers learning from major American impressionists such as Robert Reid, Jonas Lie, and Martha Walter. She won numerous prizes including two Gold Medals at the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and her paintings were exhibited at prominent American venues including the National Academy of Design in New York and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Her thriving career was ended by a mental collapse which left her institutionalized until her death.

CONDITION: Painting in overall good condition. Lined, repaired tear with inpainting to foliage area at upper right, 6 1/2" x 5 1/2". Likely a tear, plus inpainting, to horizon area in lower left quadrant, 6" x 3", and additional, scattered inpainting. [See more photos →]

Four (4) Civil War Confederate officer staff buttons. 1st item: Tennessee brass coat button, 2-piece construction, depicting the Tennessee state seal, a scene with symbolism of agriculture and commerce, a plow, sheaf, cotton plant, and river boat. Blank back with depressed rounded channel, en verso. Approximately 21 mm dia. 2nd item: Virginia brass coat button, 2-piece construction, depicting the Virginia state seal, Virtus slaying the tyrant with sword down. Manufacturer’s marks Steele & Johnson stamped, en verso. Approximately 22 mm dia. 3rd item: North Carolina brass coat button, 2-piece construction, depicting the North Carolina state seal, the goddesses Liberty and Plenty. Manufacturer’s marks S A Myers Richmond VA embossed, en verso. Approximately 23 mm dia. 4th item: Kentucky brass coat button, 3-piece construction, depicting the Kentucky state seal, two figures shaking hands on a lined background. “Superior Quality” embossed, en verso. Approximately 22 mm dia. Provenance: The collection of internationally known ragtime pianist and historian Johnny Maddox, Gallatin, TN. CONDITION: Overall good, nondug condition with some minute areas of oxidation. All shanks present. 1st item: Shank slightly loose. Areas of tarnish, en verso. 3rd item: Areas of tarnish, en verso. 4th item: 1/8″ dent, center of button. [See more photos →]

Middle Tennessee needlework sampler, silk on linen, signed “H.D. Bryant’s Work”, with house, tree, and basket or urn motifs. Attributed to Maury County (Culleoka), circa 1835. Wide lily or tulip and geometric outer border and an inner chain of diamond border, enclosing upper and lower case cross-stitched alphabets (lacking lower case d) and numerals, over the signature line which is executed in four-sided stitch. Dividing bands are stitched in geometric and floral motifs in cross, back, chain, and queen stitches. The lower half of the sampler is devoted to large figural motifs of a two-story house, tree with two birds, and a basket of fruit or flowers. This highly decorative sampler, worked in tones of blue, dark and light green, white and beige/gold, is similar to other Middle Tennessee samplers classified by the Tennessee Sampler Survey as the “Cartouche, Wreath and Vase Group” (see the Mary Elizabeth Collins sampler sold by this auction house in Dec. 2008). Provenance: according to the Tennessee Sampler Survey, which has documented this sampler, it was made by Harriet Daniel Bryant. Harriet was born in North Carolina to Edward Bryant and his second wife Elizabeth (Betsy) Amis. Sometime between 1818 and 1823 the family moved to the Culleoka area of Maury Co. where the sampler was made. Harriet married Archelous White in Maury County in 1841 and they had nine children. It descended in her family to the present consignor. Older but not original giltwood frame. Sight: 17″H x 17-1/2″W. Framed: 19″ H x 19-1/2″W. Condition: Overall very good condition with some light fading and discoloration but no thread or ground loss. Sampler is currently framed with an acidic background but is not glued down. The blue thread in the outer border does not continue through the lower right corner but there is no indication of thread loss. Later frame but possibly original glass. [See more photos →]

Gilbert Gaul (New York/Tennessee/New Jersey, 1855-1919) oil on canvas painting titled “Indian Camp” depicting the silhouette of a lone figure and two Native American teepees in the dim light of the setting sun. Signed “Gaul” lower left. Cumberland Art Conservation, Nashville, TN label, en verso. Later giltwood frame with beaded rabbet edge. Sight – 17 1/2″ H x 23 1/2″ W. Framed – 23 1/2″ H x 29 3/8″ W. Late 19th century. Biography (courtesy The Johnson Collection): New Jersey born artist Gilbert Gaul studied art with Lemuel E. Wilmarth at the school of the National Academy of Design from 1872 to 1876, and privately with the noted genre painter, J. G. Brown. He continued his training at the Art Students League during 1875 and 1876. Gaul first exhibited his work at the National Academy in 1877. In 1881, he inherited a farm in Van Buren County, Tennessee, from his mother_s family, and lived there four years to fulfill terms of the bequest. In 1885, he returned to New York though he also continued to spend time at the farm in Tennessee. Gaul gained acclaim for his illustration art and portrayals of Civil War scenes. He became a regular exhibitor at the National Academy annuals between 1877 and 1902; in 1882, he was accorded the status of full academician–the youngest artist to attain the honor. He exhibited at the 1889 Paris Exposition; the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago; and the 1902 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, where he was awarded medals. In 1876 Gaul made his first trip to the American West, an area for which he developed a particular affinity. He made numerous western trips in subsequent years, photographing and rendering scenes of Native Americans and the frontier, which he would later work up into paintings in his studios in New York or Tennessee. In 1890, he worked for the United States census on reservations in North Dakota. He also visited Mexico, the West Indies, Panama, and Nicaragua. An account of his travels was published in Century Magazine in 1892. In 1904, he returned to Tennessee and settled in Nashville. The decreasing interest in Civil War subjects resulted in financial hardship for Gaul. He gave private art lessons, and taught at the Watkins Institute, Nashville, and at Cumberland Female College, in McMinnville. He also spent time in Charleston, South Carolina. By 1910, he had moved to Ridgefield, New Jersey, where he continued to paint and live out his remaining years. Provenance: The living estate of Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Nashville, TN. CONDITION: Lined, with overall surface craquelure and several spots of inpainting. Left side of canvas is not completely covered by rabbet edge. Cumberland Art Conservation label records treatment in June/July 2003, with details listed on label (refer to photo). Blacklight reveals scattered craquelure infill painting, along with a 3″ line of inpaint near left edge and a 3″ H-shaped area of inpaint to center, 1 1/2″ p-shaped area of inpaint to center of right side. Small area of tiny paint flakes in a line at upper edge. [See more photos →]

Early Sullivan County, Tennessee pie safe on Sheraton legs, intricately punched tins. The use of tiger maple for the upper case is a rare feature for East Tennessee safes. Old dry surface, original brass pulls, dovetailed drawers. Tiger maple and maple primary, poplar secondary. Condition – minor insect damage to back boards, wear to drawer sides, overall excellent condition for age. 40 1/2″ width x 51 1/2″ height x 18 1/2″ depth. Second quarter of the 19th century. Provenance – descended from the family of the current Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee, Ron Ramsey, Sullivan County. [See more photos →]

Scarce West Tennessee needlework sampler, silk on linen, by Mary Jane Russell of Brownsville TN, Haywood County, 1837, with unusually comprehensive biographical information. Multicolored border comprised of eyelet stitch on one side and cross stitched zig zag pattern on top, and cross-stitched green and white chainlink pattern on right side, enclosing 2 rows of upper case alphabets (cross and eyelet stitches), and 1 of lowercase alphabets plus 2 rows of numbers. Note: this sampler has been documented by the Tennessee Sampler Survey. It is one of only about ten documented samplers from West Tennessee, and the only known Tennessee sampler which contains the stitcher’s birthplace (Orange County, North Carolina, Feb. 3, 1825 – indicative of the migratory pattern of early Tennessee settlers as they advanced to the Western wilderness). Sampler also includes Russell’s birthdate, Feb. 3, 1825, along with her home location of Brownsville and sampler date, “Nov the 2. 1837.” According to genealogical information from the Tennessee Sampler Survey, Mary Jane Russell came from NC to Haywood County, Tennessee in 1826 with her parents, James W. Russell and Nancy Brewer. There was a Brownsville Academy in the community by 1831 (which may have been co-ed), and Mary Jane may have made her sampler there. Records obtained by the Tennessee Sampler Survey show her father fell behind on his payments there in 1833 and 1834 and was sued by the Board of Common School Commissions. Mary Jane may also have been instructed by her aunt, Mrs. W.C. Russell, who was a teacher in the county. Sometime after 1840, Mary Jane, her parents, and several siblings moved to Texas. She married Stephen Decatur Rainey there in 1847 and they had three children. She died in Harrison County, Texas in 1898 and is buried in Marshall Cemetery. A packet of genealogical information will be provided to the winning bidder on request. Old, possibly original lemon gilt molded frame. Sight: 10 3/4″ H x 17 1/2″ W. Framed: 4 3/4″ H x 21 1/2″ W. CONDITION: 3/4″ area of repair above first letter C, 1/2″ area of repair upper center edge above letter F, a few other scattered small areas of ground loss/holes, discoloration/toning and fading throughout. Sampler has not been examined out of frame. [See more photos →]

Emile Albert Gruppe (American/Massachusetts, 1876-1978) oil on canvas maritime painting titled "Gloucester," depicting a harbor scene with figures gathering on a dock, where two sailboats are moored. Other boats sail in the distance, with the opposite shore visible in the background and a cloudy blue sky overhead. Signed "Emile A. Gruppe" lower left. Housed in a 22K gold leaf hand-carved frame. Sight – 24 1/2" H x 29 1/2" W. Framed – 34 1/4" H x 39" W. Provenance: Estate of Russell McAdoo, Murfreesboro, TN. Biography: The son of landscape artist Charles Gruppe, Emile Gruppe became a renowned artist in his own right and one of the most important Rockport School artists. In addition to being raised by an artistic father, he was also educated in art at The Hague in the Netherlands and in New York City at the National Academy of Design and The Arts Students League. He also received instruction from artists George Bridgman, Charles Chapman, Richard Miller and John F. Carlson, with whom he would later establish the Gruppe Summer School in Gloucester, Massachusetts (1942). He made his permanent studio in Gloucester. Gruppes's prolific career brought him many awards and memberships. He was a member of the Allied Artists of America, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the North Shore Art Association, the Gloucester Society of Artists, the Rochester Art Association, the Sarasota Art Association, the St. Augustine Art Association, and the Salmagundi Club of New York. His paintings are in numerous private and public collections, including the White House. CONDITION: Overall good condition with craquelure. Canvas has been relined. 1/4" area of paint loss to right side of sailboat, center right. [See more photos →]

Monumental gilt plaster casting from one of the horses of Helios, the rising sun. The initial description stated this was one of the castings from the British Museum in London. Subsequent consultations with Wesley Paine, Director of The Parthenon, Nashville, indicates this is probably an interim cast made by Belle Kinney & Leopold Scholz as they were working on the Nashville Parthenon pediment figures, showing the process of their work. In the original Parthenon marble and the Nashville Parthenon cast, the lower jaw of the horse is missing; the sculptors have replaced it in this cast. The importance of this cast exists in the fact there is very little of the Kinney/Scholz oeuvre known, especially their plasters, and this cast illustrates the process of the sculptors working out the Nashville Parthenon sculptures. In the early 20th century, the Nashville Parthenon purchased several casts of marbles from the original Parthenon from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. These casts were used as study pieces for Belle Kinney and Leopold Scholz in the reconstruction of the pediment sculptures of the Nashville Parthenon at Centennial Park. This important sculpture was presented as a gift to Miss Margaret Lindsley Warden. Condition – overall very good condition with minor abrasions to the mane, minor flaking of gilt in areas. Dimensions 36″ length, 31″ height, 10 1/2″ height. Note – Belle Marshall Kinney (1890-1959) was born in Nashville, Tennessee. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago and later served as an instructor of sculpture there. Kinney married the Austrian sculptor, Leopold F. Scholz in 1921 and they collaborated on several works including the Victory sculpture at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville and the Nashville Parthenon reconstruction. Kinney also received commissions for sculptures of several famous Tennesseans including Andrew Jackson at the U.S. Capitol, Admiral Albert Gleaves at Annapolis, Maryland, and Andrew Jackson, John Sevier, and James K. Polk at the Tennessee State Capitol. Additional works include the Monument to the Women of the Confederacy, War Memorial Building, Nashville, Monument to the Women of the Confederacy, Mississippi State Capitol, Jackson, Col. Richard Owen, Indiana State Capitol, Indianapolis, IN, and the Bronx Victory Memorial – Pelham Bay Park, New York City (the Tennessee Encyclopedia for History & Culture, Tennessee Historical Society, referenced). [See more photos →]

Edwin Maximilian Gardner (Tennessee, 1845-1935) oil on canvas painting titled "Hoe in Hand" depicting a young African American man holding a hoe and a basket and standing on a dirt road in the shadow of a tree. A broken fence or gate is visible in the right foreground. Signed and dated "Edwin M. Gardner 1903" lower left. Typed artist's information label and conservation label, en verso. Housed in a gilt wood frame with reeded and lamb's tongue running patterns. Sight – 29 5/8" H x 21 5/8" W. Framed – 35 5/8" H x 27 1/8" W. American, early 20th century. Note: This painting was exhibited at the Tennessee State Museum's "Landscape and Genre Painting in Tennessee, 1810-1985," held in 1985, and is illustrated no. 46 in the catalog. It also is the illustration provided for the artist biography in the Tennessee Encyclopedia by Madeline Reed. Biography: "Edwin M. Gardner, illustrator, portraitist, and cartographer, was born near Pulaski in Giles County, TN, but while still a young boy, he moved with his family to Mississippi, where he probably had some formal training in art. While in his teens, Gardner fought in the Civil War as a member of Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry. Following the war, he began his formal art education in Memphis, then moved to Europe to train at the Royal Academy in Brussels, with later studies in France and Italy. Upon his return to the United States, Gardner resumed study at the National Academy of Design in New York. Afterwards, he moved to Aberdeen, Mississippi, where he taught art at a female academy. He next moved to Winchester in Franklin County [TN], where he spent five years on the faculty at Mary Sharp College. Gardner made his last home in Nashville, where he had his greatest artistic influence. He made the first woodcuts and pen portraits for photoengraving used in the local daily newspapers, including the first published pen portrait of Sarah Childress Polk. Although Gardner was listed in the catalogue of the 1885 Watkins Institute Art Show as a teacher there, he actually taught under the auspices of the Nashville Art Association [which he co-founded] in the art room which Watkins provided. His first official association with Watkins's Night School probably came in September 1910, when he was hired to teach industrial art. (School commissioners were perhaps still uncomfortable with the term "fine" art.) Gardner's presence on the Watkins Institute faculty gave the school a teacher trained in commercial and fine arts. He encouraged his students to draw by taking casts and using live models, and this laid the foundation for the school's Department of Fine Art." (source: "Edwin M. Gardner" by Madeline Reed, Tennessee Encyclopedia, originally published October 8, 2017,https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/edwin-m-gardner/). Provenance: Art Collection of former Watkins College of Art; proceeds benefit scholarship endowment for students in the new Watkins College of Art at Belmont University. CONDITION: Overall good condition with craquelure. Painting was relined with some areas of inpainting, largest 2" x 1/8" to left margin of sky area, and mounted on a new ICA spring stretcher during professional restoration in 1985. Conservation treatment report available on request. 3" x 2 1/2" circular stain to upper left of sky, possibly resulting from water or other fluid drip. [See more photos →]

A freshly discovered and extensive Civil War archive relating to Captain Oliver Pinkney McCammon (O.P.M.) of the 3rd East Tennessee Cavalry, Company L, also relating to the explosion of The Sultana and campaigns in Tennessee. Over 120 items, mostly letters of correspondence between Captain Pinkney (1840-1897, Blount Co.,TN) and his future wife, A. E. McCall of Blount Co., during the war years of 1861-1865. Archive also contains additional letters of correspondence between Captain Pinkney and his father, the men in his regiment, and others. This lot also contains a small circular tintype of McCammon in uniform and an amber “Union” bottle from the war period. An overview of content includes McCammon’s discussion of military campaigns in Middle Tennessee including engagements with General Wheeler and Hood, capture of his regiment by General Forest in September of 1864 and his subsequent escape, correspondence relating to the loss of several of his men on the ill-fated Sultana steamboat, discussion of guerilla attacks by Rebels in East Tennessee by A. E. McCall and his father, discussion of local and national political matters, smallpox breakouts in the camps, and an ongoing written courtship between McCammon and his future wife, Ann E. McCall. The archive contains letters such as the poignant correspondence written Nov. 20, 1864 from Susan Fowler to Captain McCammon on the report her son, Andrew Fowler, who was taken prisoner by the Confederates. She writes, ìit is a consolation to know that he (Andrew) is not numbered with the dead. I hope the time will soon come for him to return under your command as Andrew is all the support I have his father having died since he went away and left me with four children to take of. I hope God will spare him to be an honor to his country & a blessing to meÖî (note ñ an A. Fowler from the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry is listed as killed on the Sultana in April 1865). An earlier January 1863 letter from Captain McCammon reviews the remaining carnage of the Shiloh battlefield over 7 months later, ìwe stopped at Cornith overnight. Near the long to be remembered Battle Ground of Shiloh, which place still bears witness of the vanity of life. Fragments of garments and the skeletons of the dashing cavalry horses are not all the marks yet remaining of warís wild rage, for human skulls are by no means scarce, upon the surface…î An excerpt from a Nov. 1864 written by Capt. McCammon discusses the capture of men in his regiment, ìIt turns out that Joshua Hines is not dead but is a prisoner in the Rebelís hands, so says a Report brought through by the Sutler of our RegtÖ Our Boys are at Cahaba, Ala & were in tolerably good health. When he left though living upon very scanty rations. Well, we have about one hundred and twenty five men here as the representatives of eleven companies & I believe my own Company came though best of any, having thirty five me including a few that were not captured, & those who were and have since made their escape. (Note ñ A. J. Hines from the regiment is later listed as killed on the Sultana). A later letter May 1865 McCammon writes, ìThe last few days have been truly days of anxiety with us–in relation to the boys of our Regiment who had been in Rebel Prison, — whom it seems were aboard–(The Steamer Sultana) –at the time of the explosion the number of our boys rescued from the sad condition into which they were thrown by the occurrence of the disaster, amounts to about one hundred and forty among which I noticed the names of Bart McMurray, Sam Pickens, Van Headrick, Pat Ray, Wm Hill, James Baker and two of the Pryor Boys.—I believe this includes the Majority of those saved that you would likely know.— Alexander McCammon died on a boat near St. Louis, Mo. Sometime previous to the above mentioned accident…î McCammons future wife, Ann McCall writes him from East Tennessee in November of 1864, ìì…things appear somewhat in a bad fix tho I hope it will not be in as bad a fix as some think it is, it is true that some of them is in bad fix they have had to leave home to go into the Southern Army their was only fifteen passed here to day in some company some from Jeferson and some from Blount and how many more is runing I canít tell. General Gillam had a fight at the Gap and got his forse scattered and they are runing everwhere their was three of them here this evening hunting their way to Knoxville. It is reported that they have been fighting at Strawberry Plains yesterday. I canít tell how true it is I recon Naughn A Brachinridge is up their some plase from the account that some of them gives that has run from up their some of them say that they havenít slept in their oun house for four months. What this country is going to turn to I canít tell they get worse ever day their is a farsed? that bellong to no army they just go about and ___ peopleís houses and steal anything they want…î Correspondence from a cousin of Ann McCall in February of 1864, ìit looks like the rebs and negros will take this plase after while the rebs is coming in daly and joining our regiment som of them think will do while others wont. Blont (Blount) Co. is very well represented(sp?)Öwe hear now our forces hav fel back to Noxville and Marville . I donít like that if we can hold thare a monthÖî Captain McCammon writes in September 1863, ìI should have been much pleased to enter my own County seat (Blount Co., TN) with the first Blue Coats, but as we are under the command of Rosecrans & it fell to the Col. of Burnsides to possess that country with federal forces, we have been deprived of that pleasure. To get revenge the boys went guerrilla hunting the other data & brought in twelve of the thieving scoundrels who were prowling about recruiting some thirty miles from here. ì A January 1865 letter from Captain McCammon near Nashville discusses the state of the Confederate cause – ìThe Rebel Army, of the West, utterly demoralized, disorganized, & almost Panic Stricken. General Sherman has Marched Victoriously through Georgia & Captured enough of Rebel property in Savannah to pay the entire expense of the campaign, – Whilst the Army of the East holds Lee at the gates of Richmond as a Sentinel giving but little time to contemplate any aggressive act whatever.î In addition to the letters, the majority retain the original envelopes and postmarks, a handful of other letters from friends and family members are post 1865. Provenance: Consignor is a direct descendant of McCammon; descended in his family. Condition: Expected toning and discoloration, few with minor edge losses, but all letters readable and in generally good condition. [See more photos →]

Large Middle TN stoneware pottery jar with applied heart, diamond, flower and swag decoration, double strap handles, and ruffled rim. Attributed to the Hedgecough Pottery (Putnam County, TN, 1890s – late 1930s). Green to brown transitional glaze. 15 3/4″ H. 18 lbs. Late 19th/early 20th century. Note: A similar example is featured on the cover of and on page 366 (Figure 2-177) Volume I of the book “Tennessee Potteries, Pots, and Potters-1790s to 1950”, by Samuel D. Smith and Stephen Rogers. Published in 2011 by Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Archaeology. Provenance: Private Knoxville, TN collection. CONDITION: Overall very good condition. One firing flaw noted to handle. [See more photos →]

Lewis Minor Coleman (Virginia, 1827-1863) photographic and memorial archive. 1st item: Sixth-plate tintype of Lewis Minor Coleman attired in his CSA uniform. Housed in a tooled leather case, 1/2″ x 3 3/4″ x 3 1/4″. 2nd item: Cabinet card photo by A.W. Judd (1846-1929), Chattanooga, Tennessee depicting Lewis Minor Coleman accompanied by two aunts and another female family member. 5 1/2″ H x 6 3/4″ W. 3rd item: W. A. Pratt, Richmond, VA quarter-plate daguerreotype of Lewis Minor Coleman housed in a tooled leather case, 1/2″ x 4 3/4″ x 3 3/4″. 4th item: G. W. Minnis, Richmond, VA cabinet card of Lewis Minor Coleman attired in his CSA uniform, inscribed en verso, Lewis Minor Coleman I, Lt. Col. 1st Va. Artillery, C. S. A., 3 1/4″ x 2 1/4″. 5th item: Victorian oval gold plated mourning/memorial brooch, laurel and oak leaf detail, with inscription en verso reading “LMC died March 21st, 1863″, 1 1/4″ x 1 3/8″. 6th item: Victorian oval gold plated swivel double sided mourning/memorial brooch with swirl rope frame, not engraved but belonging to Lewis Minor Coleman, 1 1/2″ x 1 1/4”. Provenance: The Estate of Charles Boyd Coleman, Jr., Chattanooga, TN. Descended in the family of Lewis Minor Coleman, Jr., son of CSA Lt. Colonel Lewis Minor Coleman (1827-1863) and Mary Ambler Marshall, daughter of James K. Marshall and granddaughter of John Marshall (1755-1835). Lewis M. Coleman Jr. was related to the family of Henry Dearborn by his marriage to Julia Wingate Boyd, daughter of Annette Maria Dearborn Boyd, who was the daughter of Greenleaf Dearborn (1786-1846) and great granddaughter of Henry Dearborn (1751-1829) on her mother’s side. Biography: “Coleman, Lewis Minor, born in Hanover county, Virginia, February 3, 1827; graduated with high honors at the University of Virginia in 1846, and became principal of the Hanover Academy; in 1859, upon the resignation of Dr. Harrison from the chair of ancient languages in the University of Virginia, Mr. Coleman, who had been a pupil of Dr. Harrison, was elected professor of Latin, and relinquished his position in the Hanover Academy to accept the same; he served in that capacity but for two years, for in 1861, at the outbreak of the civil war, he joined the ranks of the Confederate army, in which he enlisted as captain of an artillery company which he recruited; he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel of artillery in 1862; at the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, he was severely wounded, and after three months died from his injury, March 21, 1863”. (Information according to Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume III, By: Lyon Gardiner Tyler, LL. D., Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York 1915). See other lots related to this family in this auction. CONDITION: 1st item: Tintype not mounted into case, case split in half, general wear. 2nd item: Overall toning. 3rd item: Wear to case, image very good condition. 4th item: Fading, toning and wear to image. 5th & 6th items: Overall very good condition with minor wear. [See more photos →]

Bill Sawyer (American/Tennessee, 1936-1920) oil on board painting titled "Flower Growing from a Tire". The painting depicts a young African American toddler sitting on the top step of a narrow red brick house with partially boarded window. In the foreground, a small group of flowers bloom in soil set into a planter fashioned from a tire. Signed "Bill Sawyer" lower right. Titled with a faintly visible inscription reading "from Bill Sawyer" en verso. Float mounted in a carved wooden frame with traces of gilt, an off white linen liner, and a white wooden fillet. Board: 16" H x 20" W. Framed: 22 3/4" H x 26 1/2" W. Biography: Bill Sawyer was a self-taught artist from Nashville. He is said to have taken up painting while stationed in France in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s. His first exhibition was in Nashville in May of 1959 and he went on to have one-man shows at Daniel Orr's Gallery in San Diego, the Little Gallery in Memphis, TN, and the Parthenon in Nashville. Joseph Patterson, then the president of the American Association of Museums, arranged for a show of Sawyer's work at the Durlacher Brothers Gallery in New York in 1964. Sawyer was the first untrained artist to have a one-man show at the gallery, and his second show there, in 1966, sold out. Shortly after this time, Sawyer traveled overseas. After his trip, for unknown reasons, Sawyer seems to have never painted again. He sought privacy, living quietly in Nashville, where he passed away in 2020. After 1966, his work went on to be exhibited at the Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, and in the Art of Tennessee exhibit at the Frist Museum (2006).

PROVENANCE: Private Nashville, TN Collection.

CONDITION: Overall very good condition with some scuffing and paint loss to the margin edges of the board. 2" x 1/2" area of surface scuffs to top left corner. [See more photos →]

Matilda Lotz (Tennessee/California/Europe 1858-1923) oil on canvas landscape painting depicting cattle in a meadow with a pond or stream in the foreground. Signed lower right corner "Matilda Lotz". Sight – 19"H x 28"W, Frame – 37"H x 40"W. Provenance: Private Middle Tennessee collection. Biography: Matilda Lotz was born in Franklin, Tennessee. She showed artistic promise at a very early age, drawing the household pets and farm animals. During the Civil War, her family's home was commandeered by Confederate forces for a hospital. (It stands today as the Lotz House Historic House Museum and is open to the public for tours in downtown Franklin). Following the war, the Lotz family left Tennessee and settled in San Jose. In 1874 Matilda began a six-year course of study under Virgil Williams at the School of Design in San Francisco. While there, she won several medals and graduated with the highest honors. Matilda also studied with William Keith, and in the 1880s in Paris under Felix Barrias and the animal painter Emile Van Marcke. While in Paris she received an honorable mention for her work exhibited at the Paris Salon and was awarded two gold medals by the Paris Academy of Painting (the first woman ever to be honored by the Academy). Returning to San Francisco in the mid-1880s, she painted portraits of such notables as William Randolph Hearst and Leland Stanford. In the 1890s, she returned to Paris where she was closely associated with Rosa Bonheur for several years. She received several European commissions from members of British nobility for her animal paintings. At the outbreak of WWI, she was living in Algiers until she was expelled by the French. Abandoning her belongings and paintings, in 1915 fled to Tata, Hungary, where she remained until her death. Her work is in the collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Oakland Museum, and the Milwaukee Art Center. (Sources: Interview; AAA 1907-08; KOV; Ben; CSL; WWA 1923." Adapted from Edan Hughes, ÒArtists in California, 1786-1940"). Condition: Overall very good condition. Tiny 1/16" hole, center, in trees; 1/2" scratch lower center near frame edge. Some minor losses and wear to frame. [See more photos →]

Rare redware pitcher by Christopher Alexander Haun (1821-1861), Greene County, Tennessee. Lead glaze with manganese or iron oxide loop designs. The marked pitcher is stamped on upper rim including the letters “C A Haun & Co” and compass star stamping with cross hatch stamping at terminus of handle. Condition – Handle missing with light wear and shallow chips around rim and base. Hairline cracks with minor exfoliation to glaze. 8 1/4″ H. Note – Haun was a Union sympathizer during the Civil War and participated in burning a Confederate railroad bridge (Lick Creek) in Greene County, TN. In 1861, Confederate forces captured Christopher Haun and put him to death by hanging. As of this writing, this is the only known marked Christopher Haun pitcher form. [See more photos →]

Richard Jolley (Tennessee, born 1952) blown and hot formed glass “totem” titled “Memories Lingering” with fabricated and acid etched elements. Colors of amber, clear, cobalt, purple, aqua and gold. Signed and dated “1997” en verso on base. 34″ H x 9 1/2″ dia. 20th century. Biography (Courtesy of the Knoxville Museum of Art): Richard Jolley was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1952 and as a youth, he moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He began his art training at Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee in 1970, studying under noted glass artist Michael Taylor. After receiving his B.F.A. from George Peabody College in Nashville (now part of Vanderbilt University), Jolley continued graduate studies at North CarolinaÃs Penland School of Crafts, under the instruction of studio glass artist Richard Ritter. He currently maintains a studio in Knoxville. To date, JolleyÃs work is represented in more than 33 public collections, including the Carnegie Museum of Art; the Corning Museum of Glass; the Frederick Weisman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, the Knoxville Museum of Art; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Purchased in 1997 by owner. Provenance: Property of the estate of Arlene Goldstine, Knoxville, TN. Condition: Overall excellent condition. [See more photos →]