Oil on canvas, signed and inscribed at center left "David Silvette / after / Gari Melchers 1923," presented in a period gilt frame, the top stretcher with stamp for Robert Stone Gallery of Richmond, Virginia.

DOA 44.75 x 42.75 in.

This painting is a copy of the original painting by Gari Melchers (1860-1932) completed in 1923 and in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. The Detroit born artist spent many years studying and painting abroad, but returned to the United States in 1915 where he established a studio at the Beaux-Arts building at Bryant Park in New York City. He and his wife were keen to find a country escape from the city. In 1916 they purchased an 18th century estate in Falmouth, Virginia known as Belmont. This idyllic spot along the Rappahannock River was a great inspiration for Melcher. He had long been drawn to the theme of mother and child, and in this charming painterly work he places the figures in a contemporary setting above the falls of the Rappahannock.

David Silvette was a prominent portrait artist living on Richmond's North Side. He painted the only known life-sitting of F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1935 which hangs in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Other portraits by Silvette may be found in private homes, the US Treasury, and Virginia's State Capitol.

Stable craquelure; several scattered areas of re-touch visible under UV light.

$1,000 - 3,000