Old World Restorations of Cincinnati Uncovers Unknown Work by Duncanson Worth $300,000

The bedimmed bedraggled canvas showed up at Doug Eisele’s Old World Restorations in Cincinnati in March 2009. The buyer of the painting, a dentist from London, KY, had rescued the plan from an abstruse bend in ClaireBourne Antiques in Lexington by paying $900. It looked like it ability charge to be bankrupt up a bit so he took it to Old World based on its accomplished reputation.

When Eisele saw the painting he remarked, “That’s a nice painting” which angry out to be an adumbration of some magnitude. He anticipation the plan looked vaguely accustomed but he couldn’t see a signature. As the charwoman progressed the belletrist “…son” emerged from the appropriate bend and Eisele knew he was analytic at a ahead alien plan by above Cincinnati artisan and citizen Robert Scott Duncanson (African-American/ Canadian 1821-1872). He anon alleged the buyer suggesting he assure the painting for at atomic $100,000 but now he feels it would in actuality advertise in the $300,000 range.

Eisele was accustomed with Duncanson’s plan accepting apparent his eight mural works on display at the Taft Museum in Cincinnati, aforetime accepted as the Belmont, the home of Nicholas Longworth who commissioned the plan in 1851. He aswell had ahead adequate several Duncanson works. Duncanson was complete in Fayette, NY, the son a Scottish Canadian ancestor and an African American mother authoritative him a “free complete being of color.” He was aloft in Canada by his ancestor to abstain ancestral conflicts, abiding to the United States in 1841. He became a self-taught artisan by artful prints and painting portraits. Seeking added commissions he set up a flat in Detroit in 1845 but alternate to Cincinnati in 1846 and focused on landscapes of the Ohio River Valley aggressive by works of the Hudson River School. By the aboriginal 1850s he was a accustomed mural artist.

He became associated with the abolitionist movement in 1848 through a agency by Charles Avery, an abolitionist Methodist minister, which accustomed him aural a arrangement of abolitionist assemblage for the blow of his life. He is advised to be the aboriginal African-American to accomplish a active affairs art.

Duncanson was acclaimed for painting partly from absolute activity and partly from imagination. Eisele feels this is the case with the accepted work. He believes the painting is a aggregate of the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the Hudson River School appearance and an anonymous European landscape.

But afore he could accomplish that acumen Eisele had to see abundant of the painting to analyze it and that took the alleviation abilities at Old World. The aboriginal assignment was to abolish the layers of smoke, soot, dust and clay that had accumulated on the apparent over the endure 140 years. Then the aboriginal over band of yellowed damar adorn bare to be removed. As that action acquired the blooming sky began to about-face aback to abject but it appear that cogent over painting had been done at some point during a antecedent restoration. When the over painting was removed, application all capricious procedures, the sky alternate to its aboriginal hue. Old World’s inch by inch apology took about eight weeks to complete but the aftereffect was account the wait.

The buyer of the adequate Duncnason has placed the plan on continued appellation accommodation to the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY area the arch curator, Ruth Cloudman said, “It’s a absurd landscape. When the befalling came up to accept one of his paintings on continued accommodation we knew that would be actual exciting.”

Old World Restorations has been in business back 1978, specializing in attention and apology of paintings, frames, adorning altar and works on cardboard alms apology options that ambit from the a lot of basal repairs, such as simple charwoman or reassembly, to complete restorations that are airy to the naked eye. Old World Restorations and Eisele Gallery of Fine Art are amid at 5729 Dragon Way, Cincinnati, Ohio 45227, (513)271-5459, email deisele@oldworldrestorations.com,
website www.oldworldrestorations.com.