On the Coast Newport, Signed ll, “JFK 1854" oil on artist’s board

Originally painted in Newport RI in 1854 as an oval shaped work it remained in Kensett's studio for almost a quarter century (from 1854 until it was sold at Kensett's "Executor's Sale" in 1873). However, between 1854 and his death in 1872 he sketched in the corners of this canvas to start changing it to a rectangular shaped work. Kensett did this because by the 1860s oval shaped pictures had fallen out of favor; he was simply modernizing the way his work was presented. It was confirmed by Kensett expert Huntley Platt and conservator Simon Parkes that Kensett experimented with some of the oval paintings in his studio by sketching in the corners to see if he could make his old inventory more inviting to the changing tastes of his clients. Some of those he finished, and some of them he left the corners as sketches to one degree of finish or another. The brushwork in the 4 corners has been confirmed by the author's of the Kensett catalog raisonne (John Driscoll and Huntley Platt) as being by the artist's hand between 1853-72. Since the painting was originally conceived of, created, and signed at the edge of the oval painting it's being sold as the artist originally intended it to be. This work will be included in the John Frederick Kensett Catalogue Raisonne (no. 062418.0159) and is accompanied by a certificate

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Provenance: Estate of Frederick Kensett; this painting was sold as no. 118 "On the Coast Newport" in the catalog at "Executor's Sale of The Collection of ...Five Hundred PAINTINGS AND STUDIES. BY THE LATE JOHN F. KENSETT... AT AUCTION, IN ASSOCIATION HALL, Y.M.C.A. MARCH 24th ...29th (1873). Purchased by well-known collector Thomas Gold Appleton at that auction, one of the founders of the MFA and a student of Kensett, as well as the brother in law to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Tom's sister, Fannie Appleton Longfellow, noted in a letter to her cousin Emile in the winter of 1854 that her brother Tom was "off sketching with Kensett in Newport", which means that Appleton was with Kensett in Newport at the very time he sketched the present painting. The Appleton/Kensett/Longfellow families were very close: It has been established that Kensett slept at Tom and Fannie Appleton's father's "little Newport Cottage" whenever he painted in Newport. JUNE OF 1873: Exhibited at The Boston Art Club in a lobby show for Kensett; The label for that show is still affixed to the verso of the work with a return address to "Thos.G. Appleton, 10 Commonwealth Ave. (Boston), 1884-1915- By inheritance from Appleton to his niece Edith Longfellow Dana (wife of Henry Dana III and daughter of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Fannie Appleton); 1915-1931-By inheritance from Edith Longfellow Dana to her husband, Richard Henry Dana. 1931- Disposed of by the Dana heirs to a prominent Boston family; 1931-2018 Property of the same prominent Boston family until sold to Artifacts LLC in 2018.

Dimensions: H. 18 1/4 in. W. 12 1/4 in.

The First Image is of this work before conservation. The second and third images are from after conservation and in the gold leaf frame. Soot and dirt had to be carefully removed from varnish and tiny areas in-painted by Simon Parkes Conservation (NYC 2018). Based on the opinions of both Simon Parkes and the authors of the Kensett catalogue raisonne, this work was originally designed and painted by Kensett as an oval shaped image in 1854 and it was signed along the curve of that oval in the center left of the painting. Parkes and the Kensett experts both feel that the corners were filled in by Kensett sometime between 1854 and his death, as oval-shaped paintings fell out of favor with the public (and clearly with him!) The picture was sold as a rectangular shaped painting at Kensett's Estate Auction but has recently been returned to the artist's original intent by the addition of a liner with an oval opening. Kensett's signature traces the shape at the edge of the original oval painting at the center left of the work. (See detail photo)