Lot 191: Moses Wight (Boston, 1827-1895) Portrait of George Washington. Signed "M.Wight Pinx" l.r. Oil on canvas, 47 1/2 x 38 1/2 in., in ori...

Moses Wight (Boston, 1827-1895)

Portrait of George Washington. Signed "M.Wight Pinx" l.r. Oil on canvas, 47 1/2 x 38 1/2 in., in original gilt-gesso frame. A typed Museum of Fine Arts paper label is affixed to the back of the stretcher and the frame. Condition: Good condition with stable craquelure, two small patched repairs l.r.

Note: Moses Wight was born in Boston on April 2, 1827. He began painting portraits in Boston around 1845, and later studied in Paris with Antoine A.E. Hebert and Leon Bonnat. He returned to Boston in 1854 and worked in his studio until 1873. His works have been represented in the American Antiquarian Society, the Boston Public Library, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Peabody Institute, The Worcester Art Museum, and the Baltimore Museum. Notable figures painted by Wight include Alexander von Humboldt, zoologist and oceanographer Louis Agassiz, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Sumner, political figure Emory Washburn, U.S. educator, and political figures Josiah Quincey III and Edward Everett.