Lot 1285: William Frye (German/Alabama, 1822-1872), "A Pair

William Frye (German/Alabama, 1822-1872), "A Pair of Kentucky Pendant Portraits of a Husband and Wif$E", oils on canvas, the man signed en verso "W. Frye/Pinxit/1866", 16 7/8 in. x 13 7/8 in., and 15 5/8 in. x 12 3/4 in., period frames. Provenance: Private Collection Clinton, Kentucky. Note : William Frye was among the most successful and prolific painters working in Kentucky and Alabama during the mid-19th century. Born in Reslau, Germany, Frye studied art at Heidelberg University. Intrigued by the American Indian stories of James Fenimore Cooper, he immigrated to America in the early 1840s. By 1845 he had moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he opened a portrait studio. Frye opened a second portrait studio two years later in Huntsville, Alabama. In 1865 the Kentucky legislature commissioned Frye to paint a posthumous portrait of Henry Clay. Frye's career was cut short by mental and physical health problems. Eventually he was committed to the Alabama Insane Hospital, where he died at the age of 50 Reference: Adams, E. Bryding ""William Frye, Artist"", Alabama Heritage, University of Alabama, spring 1994."