Lot 316: ATTRIBUTED TO ROBERT PECKHAM (1785-1877)

A Pair of Portraits of a Lady and a Gentleman
oil on canvas laid down on board
27 1/2 x 22 1/4 in. lady, 30 x 25 in. gentleman (2)

Jane E. Padwee, "Paintings from the Garbisch Collection at the Sky Club," The Clarion (Fall 1985), p. 50.

Robert Peckham was born in Petersham, Massachusetts. He married in 1813 and became a deacon of the First Congregational Church in Westminster in 1828. A staunch abolitionist, it is thought that his home may have been a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Robert Peckam began his career after receiving formal instruction in painting from Ethan Allen Greenwood (1799-1866) from January through April of 1806. His early paintings are characterized by a soft toned palette, while his portraits from the 1830s and 40 portray sitters in brightly colored clothes as the couple pictured in this lot. This pair of portraits was found in Massachusetts and exhibit other characteristics of the artists works such as a wide forehead, full lower lip and some shading to the cheek bone. The ribbon on the man's shirt matches those in his wife's hair.