Lot 167: Attributed to Deacon Robert Peckham (Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts

1785-1877)

Portrait of Webster Tucker. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, c. 1844, the full-length image of Webster Tucker (1834-1872) standing on a Venetian striped carpet in front of a wall with wainscoting, a grained footboard and a sliver of a grain-painted, paneled door with brass pull and a mantel and hearth on the other side; Webster wears a black frock coat and vest with white lace collar, beige trousers, black shoes and holds a black hat with tassel in one hand and his school books in other, sight 45 3/4 x 32 3/4 in., in an original black-painted pine and ash frame. Condition: Very good; overall craquelure with a few minor fissures lacking paint; small repair near his shoe; unlined; lightly cleaned. Frame is repainted.

Provenance: A family descendant of Webster Tucker (May 1834-May 1872) donated this portrait to the Massachusetts educational institution that recently deaccessioned it from its collections and consigned it to Skinner.

Note: Webster Tucker was born in Winchendon, Massachusetts, part of Worcester County in 1834, and married Bethridge Parker there in January 1857. Webster's parents were Seth Tucker of Winchendon and Valonia Harvey of Chesterfield, Cheshire, New Hampshire.

Note: Robert Peckham, a life-long resident of Westminster, Massachusetts, studied briefly with Ethan Allan Greenwood. He began as a rural decorative painter but became an accomplished portrait artist. By the 1830s his modeling, as well as his use of light and shadow, can be seen. This painting also shows his meticulous handling of architectural details.