Ebenezer Calvert Sold at Auction Prices

TN Miniature Portrait of Man, Calvert

Oval Watercolor on ivory portrait attributed to Ebenezer Calvert (Tennessee, 1850-1924) depicting a man in his late 50s or early 60s, likely William E. Armstrong of Nashville, with white beard and receding dark hair, dressed in a gray suit with black tie and decorated white collar. Pencil inscription en verso "1878 W.E. Armstrong / E. Calvert pinxt Giers Gallery". 2 1/4" x 1 3/4". Housed in a hinged blue silk oval case. Note: William E. Armstrong (b. 1832) purchased the photography gallery owned by C.C. Giers following Giers' death in 1877, and operated it until 1883, when he leased it to Emil Koellein, James Patterson, and eventually, a third partner: Giers' son Otto. Ebenezer Calvert and his brother Peter R. Calvert (1855-1931) were born in Yorkshire England, where they studied art. They immigrated to America in the 1870s. Arriving in Nashville, they worked for several galleries before setting up their own studio in the downtown area. The brothers taught art and did oil and watercolor paintings, pastels, crayon drawings, and miniatures on ivory (source: The Tennessee Encyclopedia). Although no documentation has been found for the Calverts' employment at Giers Gallery, it is likely that they worked for Armstrong when he took over the gallery after Giers death, and this miniature may have been painted as an advertising piece, since it has descended in the Giers/Hicks family. Provenance: the estate of Giers descendant Sarah Hunter Hicks Green, formerly of Historic Devon Farm, Nashville, Tennessee. (Additional high-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com)