Lot 1: Robert Reginal Whale (1805-1887), Canadian

Robert Reginal Whale (1805-1887), Canadian PORTRAIT OF GEORGE A. HICKS; Oil on canvas; inscribed to an old label verso 20.5" x 16.5" - 52.1 x 41.9 cm.

Provenance:Family Collection for over 79 years, passed from the present owner's grandparents, originally residents of Woodstock, Ontario, to the present Private Collection, St. Joseph, Maine Note:British born Whale immigrated to Canada with his family, settling in Burford, a village near Brantford, Ontario where he became a frequent exhibitor until 1867 of portraits, landscapes animal subjects and non-Canadian subjects. During his active career, Whale travelled extensively throughout Western Ontario painting portraits and landscapes. Whale executed a number of portraits as favours for friends leaving many unsigned. His nephew, John Hicks Whale, an amateur artist, who travelled and painted with Whale, may have been related to the sitter.