Paintings Worth Looking At

I’m delighted to announce that I’ve been asked to give an online lecture on Deacon Robert Peckham’s life and works, by the Whittier Birthplace, home of John Greenleaf Whittier, Peckham’s famous portrait subject. Among other new discoveries, I will be unveiling Peckham’s letters to John Quincy Adams, America’s 6th president. It is on February 27, 7pm Eastern time. Zoom registration is required, but it is free. I hope to see you there! - - - Sign-up link: http://bit.ly/peckhamwhittier or https://www.whittierbirthplace.org/events/zfj3f4a5ezsbsc7f5ba847cb7wp277   

What's your favorite Joseph Whiting Stock portrait? Maybe his charming niece and nephew? How about the one he painted after his death? - - - The girl on the left was sold as “Attributed to Joseph Whiting Stock (American, 1815-1855)” with much pomp and circumstance. It provides some wonderful catalog copy analyzing Stock’s difficulty with perspective, which I’m still very fond of, even if the attribution is dead wrong. Pun not intended. Guess what: the auction record for the identical companion portrait, the girl on the right , surfaced recently.

I’ll confess, I couldn’t figure out who Mr. Keeley is, either. Turns out there’s a reason. - - - Biographical information about this Massachusetts man is minimal. He was a traveling folk painter, like so many, who left a swath of beautiful portraits in his wake. Most of his surviving works have lost the artist’s name, but retain their centuries-old charm. Before I knew him as Keeley, he lived in my notes as “Probably a big-name, but not Peckham.” Unfortunately, he’s not a big-name. He’s barely known at all.