An oil on canvas portrait of Alfred Worcester Nordwell (1884-1972) by Mary Curtis Richardson (American/California, 1848-1931).  The work is unsigned, but was passed down in the family along with the previous lot, and both were known to have been executed by Richardson of family members.  He wears a white coat, replete with belt buckle.  The 14k gold belt buckle is presented as our next lot; 36" x 25.5" (sight), 44" x 34" (framed).

Mary Curtis Richardson was hailed as the "Mary Cassatt of the West", a tribute to her isolated rearing as an artist in California and her natural bent toward impressionism.  While she had some training in New York, her family moved to California in the 1850s in pursuit of the gold rush.  Her favored subjects were portraits, often of children, with a very loose execution and reminiscent of Sargent, Whistler, Chase, and others who she encountered from the late 19th and early 20th century.

Relined with wax.