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Rest of World » Pair of Portraits of Soldier & Bride, Primitive School
Ref: 5225
A pair of naive or primitive oil portraits on canvas of a sergeant major from the 40th Infantry (raised in Annapolis Royal in the early 18th cent) and his possibly Acadian bride, not only the uniform (and the hair styles) but also the view of a steamer in one of the works date these pieces to the early 19th century. The Maritimes & Nova Scotia were at the hub of Britain’s colonial activities at this time, following the Revolution, Halifax was a base to reach out to the Indies and after Napoleon blocked Baltic timber to the UK shipyards, the export of Canadian timber began in earnest, by the1830s the first transatlantic steamboat set out from the same port later famous as the Cunard Line. There were artists working here at this time, artisan types who must have painted these, & more skilled artists offering finer portraits for those who could afford it. These works are not unconnected to American folk art, and there are British and not to say French connections, we could class them as Nova Scotian folk art but overall we are saying it is Canadian folk art from the Colonial period.
Nova Scotia early 19th cent
H: 45cm (17.7in)
W: 37cm (14.6in)
D: 4cm (1.6in)
SOLD
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