Lot 458 email save

IMPORTANT OHIO LANDSCAPE BY RICHARD H. SHEPPA

Sign In to see what this sold for

458. IMPORTANT OHIO LANDSCAPE BY RICHARD H. SHEPPARD (MARYLAND/OHIO, 1819-1895).
Oil on canvas, signed lower right and dated 1859. An exceptionally detailed view of the bustling town of Waverly (Pike County), Ohio with numerous figures in the foreground, and the (exaggerated) mountains in the distant background. 32 3/4"h. 44 3/4"w., in a period gilt frame, 37 3/4"h. 50"w. Ex Don Jansen (Ohio), ex Ann St. Clair (Ohio).

Richard H. Sheppard appears in the Baltimore City Directory in the 1850s as a painter of portraits, miniature portraits, and landscapes, however based on his surviving works, he seems to have worked regularly as a decorator for fire companies (three shields are in the collection of the Maryland Historical Society). He last appears in Baltimore in the 1856 City Directory, and by 1865, he appears in Gallipolis, Gallia County, Ohio, purchasing a piece of property. By the end of the decade, like many other artists, Sheppard embraced photography. In the 1870 Federal Census, he is listed as a daguerrean. His life in Ohio was not terribly successful. He defaulted on the loan for his property and was sued over the debt in 1883, and in the 1880 Census, Sheppard is living with the father-in-law of his daughter, Caroline.

During Ohio's canal era, the town of Waverly was a prosperous place, due in no small part to James Emmitt (1806-1893). After the Ohio and Erie Canal opened in 1832, Emmitt began a lucrative business shipping grain to Cleveland. His grain business quickly evolved into a large-scale distillery. Emmitt's leveraged his financial success into political influence. In 1859, he began lobbying to have the Pike County seat moved from Piketon to Waverly. His bid was successful and the county seat moved in 1860 and Emmitt, himself, paid for the new courthouse, built in 1861. He later served in the Ohio Senate (1867-1870).

The large complex at the center of the present painting is the Emmitt Distillery, including the drive-through warehouse, three large tanks, and the chute that sends the grain byproducts down to the pasture to be fed to the cows. A comparison of the painting to a Sanborn Fire Insurance map (1892) reveals a number of similarities, and a comparison with early views of Waverly allows for the identification of the covered bridge over Crooked Creek (visible on the left) and, in the middle of town, the Grand Hotel and the Market Street bridge over the canal.

The level of detail used by Sheppard is exceptional, and no doubt, additional research would allow for the identification of numerous other Waverly buildings depicted. Clearly, Sheppard, having recently traveled west through the Allegheny Mountains, took some liberties with the southern Ohio hills.

Having been long-thought to be a western Maryland landscape, the importance of its recent, proper identification cannot be overstated. Very few such landscapes survive that provide such a detailed and vivid depiction of 19th-century Ohio. Sheppard's view of Waverly, Ohio is among the most significant Ohio paintings to come to market in recent memory.

See Groce and Wallace, The New-York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America, p. 575 and Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland, p. 55.

Garth's gratefully acknowledges Robert Chidester of the Center for Heritage Resource Studies (College Park, Maryland) and David Neuhardt of the Canal Society of Ohio for their assistance.

Condition: Several small patches, several losses, craquelure, surface buildup. Largely untouched condition.

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.

View Garth's Auction Inc. next auction.

Similar lots up for auction