Posted 4 years ago
TreasureTex
(222 items)
I purchased this framed etching today and just learned about the American artist, from a nice C.W. person. What a beautiful frame and etching! The picture is nice too and is signed twice John Hill Millspaugh and dated 1889. I revised this posting when I was informed of who the artist is. The glass is wavy and distorted.
Artists Bio;
"John Hill Millspaugh, born at Crawford in New York State, became a painter and etcher in the late 19th century and earned much respect for the quality of his work. However, he is little known today. He was raised at Crawford on the Hudson River."
You will find a lot of information about him if you google "John H. Millspaugh". I was interested to see that he was a friend and collaborator of Louis K. Harlow. I have several works by Harlow but it has been a while since I visited his biography. Millspaugh sounded familiar when I saw his name. Perhaps that is why. There is quite a bit of toning and discoloration to your etching. If you like the piece, I advise having the backing materials replaced with acid free materials. It may be laid down, however, in which case there is not much you can do without significant expense.
Oh, thank you so much! I couldn't even make out the name. I will certainly check it out now. I sure do love the nice and smart people that I find on C.W. so helpful.
I often save these old mats by lining them with acid free paper if they are special. The mat on this one is nothing special so I would replace it, too. I like the ivory color, so a new mat of the same color would be nice. I have no guess on the frame. It could be bone or ivory laid down on wood. Hard to tell from your image, but it is definitely worth saving. What are the dimensions of the opening in the mat?
Another comment on the frame.... If you look at how the sides of the frame are joined at the corners, no attempt has been made to make the decoration on the corners match up to each other. This is not a really expensive or well made frame, but it is still a nice, probably period, frame if you aren't overly critical. In a good frame, the decorations at the corners would match.
Sorry if I caused any confusion by mentioning Louis K. Harlow! These two artists (Millspaugh and Harlow) are often mentioned together.
The creator of your etching is John H. Millspaugh and it is signed "Jno H. Millspaugh". The dark signature is called "signing in the plate" meaning that the signature was part of the etching plate, so becomes part of the picture. The bottom signature is a pencil signed signature by the artist himself.
Very nice etching. I like it!
5 7/8" x 17" is the inside measurement of the mat. Thank you again for the great information. I did notice the edges of the pattern not matching on the frame work.