William F. Cogswell (American, 1819-1903), "Portrait of a Young Lady", oil on canvas, signed lower right, 14 1/2 in. x 12 1/4 in., framed. Note: Prominent portrait artist William F. Cogswell captured likenesses of some of the most notable subjects of his day, including a portrait of Abraham Lincoln from 1864 that is now part of the White House Collection and a portrait of General Ulysses S. Grant from 1868. Cogswell is said to have been a favorite of the Grant family, even painting a life-sized portrait of the entire group. Born in upstate New York and entirely self-taught, Cogswell worked briefly as a color mixer at a Buffalo paint factory before moving to New York City to work as a successful professional artist. In the lovely portrait of a young lady offered here, Cogswell’s skillful brushwork and keen eye for color are on full display in the sensitive likeness. In 1849, Cogswell traveled to California to paint the gold rush and also captured scenes of Panama along his journey. Though well-established in New York, Cogswell moved to California permanently in 1873, settling in an area in what is now east of Pasadena where he founded the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel, considered to be southern California’s first famous resort.

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