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18th C., Joseph Blackburn, "Capt Nathaniel Cunning

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A wonderful large original 18th century oil on canvas masterpiece by Joseph Blackburn, Great Britain ( - 1778), of Captain Nathaniel Cunningham Jr. - 1756. Brief Biography: Portrait painter Joseph Blackburn was likely born in Great Britain. His parentage and details of his early life are unknown. The earliest record of Blackburn as a painter is his arrival in Bermuda in 1752. During his two-year stay there he painted at least twenty-five portraits for the Pigott, Jones, Harvey, Tucker, Gilbert, and Butterfield families. A number of these pictures remain on the island in the hands of descendants.In the best of these, such as Mrs. Thomas Jones, Blackburn exhibited a considerable skill at painting lace and ribbon and other details of dress. This ability has led some scholars to speculate that he was first trained as a drapery painter in a larger English studio. Blackburn's whereabouts after leaving Bermuda for the American colonies on the mainland are well documented, as he signed and dated over half of the more than one hundred portraits by him that survive. He apparently arrived in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1754, then continued northward to Boston, where he spent the next few years. This original oil on canvas measures 50" x 40". Condition Report available upon request. Provenance: Displayed with original tags on reverse at Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Katie DeMarsh, Assistant to the Chair of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston indicated to us that this painting was on loan to the MFA, Boston several times from 1910-1948. It was at the MFA, Boston from June 27 -Oct. 5, 1910; May 24, 1916 – January 17, 1917; June 5, 1925 – December 18, 1931; and June 21, 1935 – April 30, 1948. Also, has the original Gallery Label from Vose Galleries of Boston on back, presently owned by a long time New York based Private Collector.

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