signed unbound
1851 · Philadelphia
by HEALY, George Peter Alexander (1813-1894)
Philadelphia, 1851. unbound. very good. Excellent content A.L.S. 4to, 2 pages, Philadelphia, November 29th 1851, an uncharacteristically chatty communication addressed to 'Dear Friend', in part: "...I can wait no longer for dame fortune to smile, she seems to have given me the cold shoulder in the most unkind manner, yet I trust she will grow warmer as I continue to the south: how gratifying it is not to be disappointed, the picture is doing just as well as I expected! People here are most kind, they give me plenty of pretty speeches, parties and dinners; but no, not one commission! Therefore I shall leave Baltimore on Monday or Tuesday with, to attend to those I mentioned to you. My picture can be sent on when I have made arrangements for it, in the City of Monuments. I am happy to inform you that the head of Mr. Fry & his father are among the best things I have ever painted, be assured, that this part is most pleasing to me. This morning I am going to the house of my old friend Thomas Sully to make a sketch of his head, which will always be to me a pleasure souvenir; after the sitting we are to pay a visit to Rembrandt Peale. Last Tuesday evening I passed a pleasant two hours at the house of our friend George Hewitt Cushman, he showed me several of his miniatures with which I was greatly pleased for they are sweetly painted; his wife and sister sang extremely well ... I hope I shall be able to see them again before I take leave of this nice regular city..." Boldly signed and in fine condition. *When Healy was sixteen years of age he was befriended by Jane Stuart, daughter of the great artist Gilbert Stuart, who introduced him to Thomas Sully, by whose advice Healy greatly profited and later gratefully repaid Sully in the days of the latter's adversity. [American Artist: Vol. 32- page 420.] This is without doubt one of the best Healy letters to come to market in the past thirty years and is priced accordingly. American portrait painter considered one of the most prolific and talented artists of his day, and his sitters included many of the eminent personages of his time.
(Inventory #: 291292)