Archibald Willard (1836-1918) Oil on academy board. Signed Lower Right: "A M Willard"

This recently discovered and historically significant vignette is of the fife player from the famous, monumental painting, "Spirit of 76", executed by Archibald McNeal Willard (1836-1918) for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

Provenance: from a North Shore, Massachusetts Estate. The family of the heir to this work was originally from Cleveland, Ohio area where Willard lived and worked. Her grandfather, Cleveland based Albert William Frehse was an executive and patents officer for General Motors in Detroit, Michigan. (Interestingly, the early 20th century backing on the work bears the printed name of a framer's shop in Detroit, Michigan). Affixed to the backing is a mimeographed letter dated 1899 from Archibald Willard replying to a "Mr. Williams" regarding exactly which month Willard had begun painting "Spirit of 76". This work is painted on an academy board with the label of "F.W. McBroom" of Cleveland, Ohio. It is also accompanied by a mimiograph of a letter from Archibald Willard, Cleveland, Ohio, dated Nov. 20 1899 to a Mr. Williams regarding when "the painting known as Yankee Doodle was commenced..." He tells Mr. Williams that it "...was commenced in the spring of 1876. I think in April." He continues by stating " Without ever giving this a thought-I think that the picture was started just about an even century after Lexington and Concord started the revolution. Cordially Yours, A M Willard" (Please see photos for an image of this letter, which is attached to the verso of the work.

The artist lived in Wellington, Ohio (about 41 miles from Cleveland) and fought in the Civil War as part of the 86th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was also a painter for a wagon maker both before and after the war. In 1875 Willard was encouraged by the owner of an art studio, J.F. Ryder, to produce a work for the upcoming 1876 Centenial Exhibition, to be held in Philadelphia. Hence, Willard began sketching for what would become one of the most famous images of the 19th century, a 10 ft by 8 ft painting which was originally named "Yankee Doodle" but ended up being known as "The Spirit of '76". Willard used local characters as models for the three figures. His father, The Reverend Samuel Willard was the Drummer, Henry Devereaux, a military cadet and son of the local railroad president was the drummer boy and fellow Civil War veteran Hugh Moser was the model for the fife player.

Dimensions: Height: 15 1/8 in.Width: 12 1/4 in.

Excellent original condition with some Craquelure, especially in background. Some flaking paint in background, mostly the upper half of painting, has been recently stabilized by Simon Parkes conservation. Two small spots of inpainting to upper background.