Henry Few Smith (1821-1846) - Antique Neoclassical Realist Male Nude Study, Signed (C. 1843, Pencil on Paper)

Description

Henry Few Smith (1821-1846) - Antique Realist Male Nude Study, Signed (c. 1843, Pencil on Paper). Realist figurative study of … more Henry Few Smith (1821-1846) - Antique Realist Male Nude Study, Signed (c. 1843, Pencil on Paper). Realist figurative study of a nude man holding a pole. Mixed media with wash, graphite, and white chalk on toned paper. Signed and dated in the bottom right corner. Original metal plaque with the artist’s name is located in the bottom center of the frame. Housed and matted under glass in a light brown frame. In good condition with wear consistent with age. Slight creasing and handling marks on paper. Not inspected out of the frame. Please refer to the photos for details.

Size: 22'' x 14.5'', 56 x 37 cm (sight); 31.75'' x 21.75'', 81 x 55 cm (frame).

Henry Few Smith, son of the grain merchant Joseph Few Smith senior (died 1860), studied painting under John Neagle at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He followed his fellow student Emanuel Leutze, who had traveled to Düsseldorf in 1841 to further his education at the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts, to the Rhine in 1842. In 1843 Leutze painted a portrait of his friend Few Smith, with whom he shared a room in Düsseldorf. FewSmith took private lessons from the history and portrait painter Karl Ferdinand Sohn. He stayed in Düsseldorf until around 1845. He also traveled to other European art centers: Munich, Paris and Rome. In the autumn of 1846, shortly after his return from Europe, Few Smith died in his studio in Philadelphia. less