Posted 3 years ago
Watchsearc…
(88 items)
Someone here on CW, about a year ago, got me interested in the picture. That member had found it on the back of another picture he had bought.
On that post, this was not the primary picture shown so, after lots of browsing CW, I have not found that particular post.
Whoever that was, I want to thank them for making me aware of this picture’s existence.
I finally got one of my own from an antique prints and map shop in England, so I’m sharing it here.
In the tiniest of print at top right edge it says:
Supplement to Myra’s Journal Dec 1899.
From what I gathered, Myra’s Journal was like the Ladies’ Home Journal or Good Housekeeping magazine of it’s day. The Journal always included a supplement of patterns for making clothes, hats, home goods, framable art prints, and such.
“A Start In Life” is a touching reminder to me of babies whose deliveries I participated in during my career as an NICU nurse.
As you can see, the artist’s name is partially cut off….it looks like there is a least one letter after Koppol (or Koppal).
My searches for artists by that name in the 1800s have turned up nothing.
I’m hoping someone here on CW can help with the name.
I’d love to see the original picture.
The baby’s expression with the glance over it’s shoulder and the hint of a little smile is so sweet. I get the impression he (or she) has just climbed aboard the stork for his turn at traveling into life.
All comments and help appreciated.
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Update on Mystery Solved by Celiene….the artist is Josef Koppay from Hungary and the actual name of the piece of art is “The Journey Into Life”…….it’s unknown why the incorrect title was printed on the supplement in Myra’s Journal….that has likely created confusion since the 1899 publication which included the framable supplement.
So a huge THANK YOU to CW member Celiene
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Here’s yet another update: I’m so pleased with the way this picture turned out in a black frame with a double mat of gold and black.
I wanted the mistaken title that was printed in Myra’s Journal of Dec 1899 to still show so I had the correct title and name of the artist engraved on a plaque and affixed to the frame.
So, thank you again to Celene for clearing up the mystery. Perhaps I will someday learn where the original picture is located and get to see it first-hand. >>>>wistful thinking<<<<<<
why they chose a stock bird for baby's is be on me,...... I mean Why do storks kill their babies
While stronger chicks are not aggressive towards weaker siblings, as is the case in some species, weak or small chicks are sometimes killed by their parents. This behavior occurs in times of food shortage to reduce brood size and hence increase the chance of survival of the remaining nestlings,.. hope you don't have twins on a slow economy,...
Josef Arpad Koppay.
https://www.hippostcard.com/listing/240838-birth-baby-on-stork-w-butterfly-by-koppay-vintage-pc/14048643
Also spelled: Jozsi Koppay. The print is actually called Die Reise ins Leben. (The Journey Into Life)
He was Hungary's most famous portrait painter. 1859-1927.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:J%C3%B3zsef_%C3%81rp%C3%A1d_Koppay
I see he also painted a picture of Theodore Roosevelt...wow....
might be something here as well fingers cross....smiling
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Selbst-koppay.jpg
Celiene, I appreciate this so much….when I first started looking for the print, I was thinking it was called something like Journeying Into Life….So it’s really The Journey Into Life, by Koppay!
Now I wonder how/why the name of the picture was changed on the Supplement to Myra’s Journal?
Rocky22222, I think other birds also eliminate the weaker chick to provide resources to the one most likely to survive….Mother Nature’s way, yet it is sad.
Thanks for your link to Koppay….I will look further at his works tomorrow.
I really appreciate all this help.
Thank you, everyone, for the loves!
Sweet & poignant image, I can see why this touched your heart as a caring nurse, a very special & much needed profession
Newfld, thank you for the sweet comment….you have made me feel appreciated, even in retirement now.
It is well deserved praise Watchsearcher, from the brave hands on nursing care now during covid, to my own personal experiences incl car accident & back injuries, and my mom's 10 yr COPD illness, I have immense gratitude for all nurses everywhere - a huge thank you :) Jenni
Jenni, you and your mom have had more than your share of health troubles. As we Southerners say, “Bless you heart”. I’m glad there were nurses and others in the medical field who helped you along the way.
Patricia
Thank you so much for your kind understanding Patricia, I think we all have our fair share of troubles health & otherwise, as the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right. And yes I've been blessed to know some wonderful warm hearted people in the medical field who have given alot of comfort & expertise to myself and my family through the years. Now if only we can conquer this covid scourge, how wonderful would that be! Here's hoping, Jenni
I second that!!!!
Patricia
Thank you to all who “Loved” this picture!
I updated the photos to show how it now looks framed and with the proper title and artist identified.
You did a beautiful job with the matting, framing and credit bar, it looks fantastic Patricia and certainly deserves pride of place in your home. Well done!
Newfld, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
I’m actively looking around the house, trying to decide where it can be enjoyed by everyone who visits. :^D
Watchsearcher, I don't know why I started looking this up. But I believe that I owned the original painting. I was married to a man in Montana, USA and this painting hung in our home for many years. I believe it was an oil painting. It was said to have hung in the Rialto Bar in Helena, Mt. For many years. When I moved to Oregon, USA in 2004 I donated the painting to the Montana Historical Society in Helena Montana. It needed cleaning and had a couple of small holes in it. I felt the need to have it restored to it's original glory. I hope they did it justice and isn't just sitting there in the basement waiting to be seen again.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Bone
Oh, Elizabeth! Thank you very much for giving me this lead toward locating the original of the sweet picture. I thought it was probably somewhere in Europe…being in Helena Montana would make locating it a heck of a lot easier!
I will be sending the Historical Society an inquiry after the holidays.
I spent a couple of days in Helena a few years ago but that was long before I got fixated on this beguiling baby and stork.
It is a fairly large painting approximately 18"x24".
Ok! Hopefully, it being such a large painting, and having the unusual subject matter, someone will know about it. You have been extremely helpful and I’m grateful!
Just wondering if the museum was able to help you?
Hello Elizabeth, So good to hear from you again!
I’ve spent a good bit of time online looking thru data of the Montana Historical Society. I did not find what I was looking for….so much to wade thru!
I did leave a voice message with the museum staff member who, I was told, is the person who could help me.
I expect information soon so I’ll keep you posted.
Thank you SO much for this, my one and only, lead!
Thank you to all of the, now 17, members who have given a Love to this tender and touching picture.
Embone, I SO excited to have just listened to a voicemail from the Historical Society!!
They DO have in their collection a painting of a stork with a baby climbing upon it’s back. It’s noted to have been donated in 1998 and the donor’s last name is Poole….could that have been you?
I will get more info tomorrow when I return the call. :^D
Yes!! My married name was Elizabeth Pool, I must have donated it before I got remarried and not when I moved to Oregon, lol. I lived on Wilder Ave, Helena, Mt. Memories!! So happy!
Elizabeth and other CW members, I’m excited to share with you what I learned from Jennifer who is the Curator and Museum Manager of the Montana Historical Society.
Elizabeth, your painting is still there. Jennifer sent me a picture of it. It’s the same as mine but with slight variations in the baby’s torso, shoulder and arm and with slight variations in the foliage.
Jennifer also looked at this CW post; she pointed out the various differences in the 2 pictures and explained that an artist might paint several variations of the same subject, changing various aspects of the painting until he was satisfied with it.
Also, some artists may have copied another artist’s paintings, adding or leaving out details.
And to add yet another version of the painting for comparison, she sent me a link to a stork/baby painting about to be auctioned in Germany.
That one most closely looks like mine but in color with lovely pinks, yellows and blues of the distant sun rise (or sunset)and beautiful detail in the eyes of the baby and the stork. This version measures 30.7 X 50.4”. It’s medium is described as “Pastel/paper/canvas”. The estimated price is listed at $2400 USD.
How I would love to bid and win on this auction!!!
But then, I’d have some enormous shipping cost….I must be sensible, exercise self-restraint, be satisfied with my little black and white copy of a print from an old magazine. Oh, the sad reality of having only ordinary means!
But on a positive note, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed
my conversations with Jennifer from the Montana Historical Society…what a nice lady to share her knowledge with me!
And, Elizabeth and Celiene: I owe you both a huge Thank You!!
Patricia, here's one that's on Worthpoint:
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/start-life-antique-print-framed-baby-1806849323
It's tinted and reversed! Bill :^)
Bill, thank you so much for finding that one….yet another version!
Looking at all the points of comparison I initially was checking on the other versions, I believe this is the same as the version I own and posted here, only reversed and tinted.
The Worthpoint version doesn’t show the upper right margin that attributes it to Myra’s Journal but the description does acknowledge that magazine as the source…..so I’m sure they are one and the same, except reversed. :^)
Keep me posted of any others you come across or hear about. Thanks!
Patricia