Lot 22Manner of Benjamin West
Christ on the Mount of Olives
Inscribed as titled and by Benjamin West, at 20 years on the backing
Oil on canvas laid to board
16 15/16 x 23 1/4 inches (43 x 59 cm)

Provenance:
Collection of Nathanial and Laura Davidson Sears
Collection of Elgin Academy, Elgin, Illinois
Sale: Lenz Art Gallery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, American Paintings from the Collection of The Laura Davidson Sears Academy of Fine Arts of the Elgin Academy, Elgin, Illinois, 1968, lot 63 as Benjamin West

Exhibited:
Elgin, Illinois, Elgin Academy, The Laura Davidson Sears Academy of Fine Arts, no. 85 (possibly)

Nathanial Sears was a well-known lawyer and judge as well as a trustee of Elgin Academy. Along with his wife, Laura Davidson Sears, Nathanial Sears donated roughly 80 works to Elgin Academy in the 1920s. Coupled with this donation, the Sears' financed the construction of Elgin's art gallery which was completed in 1924. Of the 150 pieces that now reside in the school's collection, over half were donated by Mr. and Mrs. Sears.

The composition of this painting relates to Giovanni Battista Tiepolo's Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, which now resides in the the collection of the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.

The Marie J. Doty Collection


Sold for $1,750
Estimate $2,000-4,000

Frame rubbing; lined. Scattered craquelure throughout, heavy at times. Stretcher marks slightly visible along the upper edge. Dirty varnish. Inpainting throughout, mainly in the lines of craquelure.

(inscribed on the lining - "Christ on the Mount of Olives/by Benjamin West at 80 years.")




Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.