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Lot Essay
Charming and playful, this portrait of young Oscar Gilbert Adams (1827-1903) is a striking work by itinerant folk artist Sheldon Peck (1796-1868). Peck began his career in his native Vermont before moving westward to New York in 1828 with his wife Harriet Corey (1806-1887) and their two children. It is in New York and the same year when Peck painted the present portrait. His earlier paintings show the work of a skilled, but novice artist who operated within the boundaries of academic portraiture. Peck’s portraits from this period were often of family members, and half-length compositions with minimal embellishment, set against a dark simple background, such as the double portrait of his parents Elizabeth and Jacob Peck, circa 1820 (Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Sanford S. Witherell, August 1987).
The present portrait shows Peck's evolution as a painter and development of his personal style and confidence. He paints an ambitious full-length portrait of Oscar, seated in a stencil-decorated and painted settee with bright red cushions, holding a small dog in his lap and clutching a sprig of greens in one hand. While Peck did not sign his work, this piece exhibits his signature 'rabbit paw' trio of brush strokes, seen on the settee and the hem of the child’s dress. The red of the cushions is repeated in the boy’s shoes and highlights his rosy cheeks. His earnest face is framed by a head of blonde hair with curls. Here, Peck has successfully created a dynamic and delightful portrait that captures the child’s personality.
The sitter Oscar Gilbert Adams (1827-1903) was born in Otsego or Delaware County, New York to Hiram Adams (1805-1887) and Elizabeth Adams (1803-1859), both of whom were painted by Peck (see Sotheby’s, New York, 20 January 2005, lots 945 and 946). Little is known about Oscar’s childhood, but the young boy went on to study and practice law in Flint, Michigan where he was elected commissioner of the Circuit Court and a representative in the legislature. He also served as president to Flint’s school board and acted as its treasurer. On August 27, 1852, he married Elizabeth Walton with whom he had three children, and after she died, he married her sister Mary J. Walton. The couple moved to Detroit where he died in 1903.
The present portrait shows Peck's evolution as a painter and development of his personal style and confidence. He paints an ambitious full-length portrait of Oscar, seated in a stencil-decorated and painted settee with bright red cushions, holding a small dog in his lap and clutching a sprig of greens in one hand. While Peck did not sign his work, this piece exhibits his signature 'rabbit paw' trio of brush strokes, seen on the settee and the hem of the child’s dress. The red of the cushions is repeated in the boy’s shoes and highlights his rosy cheeks. His earnest face is framed by a head of blonde hair with curls. Here, Peck has successfully created a dynamic and delightful portrait that captures the child’s personality.
The sitter Oscar Gilbert Adams (1827-1903) was born in Otsego or Delaware County, New York to Hiram Adams (1805-1887) and Elizabeth Adams (1803-1859), both of whom were painted by Peck (see Sotheby’s, New York, 20 January 2005, lots 945 and 946). Little is known about Oscar’s childhood, but the young boy went on to study and practice law in Flint, Michigan where he was elected commissioner of the Circuit Court and a representative in the legislature. He also served as president to Flint’s school board and acted as its treasurer. On August 27, 1852, he married Elizabeth Walton with whom he had three children, and after she died, he married her sister Mary J. Walton. The couple moved to Detroit where he died in 1903.