EARLY HISTORICAL PAINTING OF THE OHIO RIVER.

EARLY HISTORICAL PAINTING OF THE OHIO RIVER.
Watercolor on paper, signed lower left "Wm. Moffat" and titled "View on the Ohio, America 1792". A wonderfully detailed and romantic depiction, probably of the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. Light toning, scattered foxing. 11 1/2"h. 17 1/2"w., gilt frame, 16 1/8"h. 22 1/8"w. Sold at Sotheby's London (May 1995) and at Garth's (May31-June 1, 1996, lot 137); exhibited at the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio (Lancaster) in February 2001. This fine watercolor appears to be part of a group of early historical views executed in early Marietta in second quarter of the 19th Century. Local artists, such as Charles Sullivan and Sala Bosworth, painted romaticized scenes of the "frontier days" of the Ohio Company settlement (see Richmond, "Southern Sophistication on the Early Frontier: The Inlaid Furniture of Washington County, Ohio, 1788-1825 in Beckerdite (ed.), American Furniture, 2004, figures 2 and 4). Very little is known about William Moffat (1775-1850). He was a principal and captain in the East India Company, serving aboard the Phoenix, the Lord Thurlow, and possibly other ships. The James L. Kochan Collection, sold at Richard Opfer Auctioneering, March 18, 2004, included a watercolor by Moffat of the Phoenix (lot 236), and another watercolor of an East Indiaman sold in the 1970s in England. Though not identified in the title as Marietta, Moffat's painting contains persuasive evidence that the watecolor is a romanticized view of Ohio's first organized settlement. Established in 1788 where the Muskingum empties into the Ohio, Marietta lay opposite the Muskingum River from Fort Harmar, which was a wooden fort ("strengthened" to stone by Moffat), built in 1785. Although out of scale, the hill behind the fort on Moffat's painting probably represents what is today called Harmar Hill. Moreover, the two ships in the river may be references to the city's shipbuilding industry, which flourished between 1801 and 1808 and resulted in the production of more than twenty ocean-going vessels. These ships were then loaded with goods and sailed down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, around Florida, and up the East Coast, eventually landing in Philadelphia, where the ships and the goods were sold for handsome profits. Moffat's idealized view of Marietta in 1792 is an exceptional example of these early Ohio history paintings, and probably the best example executed in watercolor.

Descriptions provided in both printed and on-line catalogue formats do not include condition reports. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Interested bidders are strongly encouraged to request a condition report on any lots upon which they intend to bid, prior to placing a bid. All transactions are governed by our Conditions of Sale.