William Mathew Prior, Portrait of Mature, Pleasent, and Agreeable Lady
$2,800.00
William Mathew Prior, Portrait of Mature, Pleasent, and Agreeable Lady
Attributed to W.M. Prior (1806 to 1873)
Mid 19th Century
Oil on artboard, original condition, possibly original frame Prior /Hamblen school beautiful portrait of an older women in a bonnet. All the details are the best. You can even see her ear and hair under the light weave of the fabric of the bonnet
William Matthew Prior, born in Bath, Maine, was a self-taught itinerant portrait and landscape painter. During the late 1820's and 1830's, Prior traveled all through New England and as far south as Baltimore painting likenesses. In 1841, he settled in Boston where he established a portrait studio with his brothers-in-law, the Hamblens, who were artists as well.
Prior actually had two styles, one well-drawn and modeled, and the other flat. While the quality of his likenesses was never compromised, he tailored his work to the purse of his sitters. In 1831, he advertised in the Maine Inquirer, "Persons wishing for a flat picture can have a likeness without shade or shadow for one-quarter the price." His portraits ranged in price from one to twenty-five dollars.
This economical "flat" style of portraiture enabled Prior to compete with the booming photography business. A rare printed label attached to the back of one of Prior's cut-rate likeness demonstrates his response to this new competition from the daguerreotype studios: "PORTRAITS/PAINTED IN THIS STYLE!/Done in about an hour's sitting./Price $2.92 including Frame, Glass, &c./Please call at Trenton Street/East Boston/WM. M. PRIOR."
