Lot 376: Ruth W. Shute (American, 1803-1882) and Samuel A. Shute (American, 1803-1836) Portrait of an Elegantly Attired Woman with Tortoiseshell

Ruth W. Shute (American, 1803-1882) and Samuel A. Shute (American, 1803-1836)

Portrait of an Elegantly Attired Woman with Tortoiseshell Comb, Black Dress, and Black Lace Shawl. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, 27 3/8 x 24 in., in a carved split-baluster wood frame. Condition: Four small patch repairs, minor retouch, scattered paint loss u.c.

Provenance: Purchased at Robert Eldred's auction, c. 1979, and reported by him to have come from a Mr. Richard Mills, Exeter, New Hampshire; from the purchaser at that auction, by descent to the consignor. Correspondence between a former owner of the portrait and Shute scholar Helen Kellogg indicates her positive identity of the artists.