Posted 9 years ago
captainslack
(4 items)
I purchased these from a now defunct thrift store in Smithfield, NC about 8-10 years ago. Believe I paid $20-$30 for the both of them. Not idea at the time what they were, but I liked the look of them and they were cheap.
Did some research upon getting home and discovered they were reproductions of bridal portraits Hans Holbein the Younger did for Henry VIII. Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour, had recently died in childbirth and the King was looking for a new wife. He dispatched Holbein all over Europe to make drawings of potential brides to help him make a decision. These two are of Lady Audley and M. Zouch. Henry eventually settled on Anne of Cleves.
No idea how old these things are. The sticker on the back of the Lady Audley frame says Clifford Art Studios, NYC and that they were framed for Joseph Winston. No date, unfortunately. I assume they were sold as a pair, but that's only guesswork on my part as the backing on the M. Zouch print is gone.
I did some searching for Clifford Art Studios online. Didn't find anything specific about them, but it seems they sold reproductions of famous art works. No idea who Joseph Winston was. Much too common of a name to yield anything of use online.
Any help is dating or determining value for these prints would be appreciated!
Very nice. I've seen the paintings in England and the resemble very well. But unfortunately I've no idea about the period.
Very cool story line, never would have thought of them doing something along those lines. Early version of "Farmersonly.com" sort of thing. I have no idea as to value, but the story behind these is priceless. Thanks for sharing this fantastic posting, as learned something new today.
BTW, thanks for all the support on my timepieces, I have a few, has many of the old timers can attest to, I had several posted(Been on CW since the early days) but got a bug one day and deleted them.
Welcome to the CW family/friends and hope to see more of your treasures. These are simply great!!!
Kerry
Thanks, Kerry! My wife makes jewelry out of old, broken & busted watches she finds at the flea market, so I've gotten somewhat interested in them. Would love to have an old men's pocket watch. Maybe I'll get lucky and find one that works that isn't too expensive!
A working 1920's-30's deco style pocket watch can be arranged at a minimal cost :-)...not supposed to do dealing here on CW,,,against the bi-laws and I understand that...it's for good reason, but I can steer you towards the right direction if you send me an email....kerry10456@yahoo.com