Lot 457: JOSEPH BADGER (1708-1765)

PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTOR

PORTRAIT OF A CHILD SEATED ON A MARBLE FLOOR HOLDING A CAT

29 by 23in. (73.7 by 58.4cm)

oil on canvas

PROVENANCE

The John Gordon Collection of American Folk Art, Christie's, New York, January, 1999, Lot 1046

EXHIBITED

Lincroft, New Jersey, Monmouth Museum, "Masterpieces of American Folk Art," September 30-November 29, 1975

LITERATURE

Sarah B. Sherrill, "Current and Coming," Antiques (September 1975), p. 334
Gordon, Masterpieces of American Folk Art (Lincroft, New Jersey, 1975)

NOTE

Joseph Badger, the son of Stephen and Mary Kettell Badger, was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on March 14, 1707/08. The artist and his wife apparently moved to Boston in 1733, making their home near Brattle Church Square until 1763. It was probably there that Badger's abilities and interests in portrait painting were developed through contact with artists like John Smibert and Peter Pelham, who lived in the same general area, or Thomas Johnston, the early teacher of John Greenwood. Badger seems to have spent his entire career in this area of Boston, moving just two years before his death to a house and lot he purchased on Temple Street.

The best of Badger's portraits exhibit both charm and decorative interest, qualities that were important to aspiring eighteenth-century Americans. His use of color and the patterned effect sometimes created by the range and intensity of hues reinforced the visual impact of his work.