Carl Ludwig Friedrich Becker (German, 1820-1900)

Carl Ludwig Friedrich Becker (German, 1820-1900)

Sappho or Lady with Harp, 1881
oil on canvas
signed C. Becker and dated (lower left)
42 1/2 x 31 1/4 inches.
European Furniture & Decorative Arts
Canvas is lined. Moderate to heavy craquelure throughout commensurate with age. Minor puncture and associated overpainting to the upper-left quadrant. Very minor cockling to the canvas. Examination under UV light reveals the aforementioned overpainting to the puncture (upper-left), a vertical stretch of overpainting to the upper-right quadrant, and a brushy instance of possible overpainting immediately to the left of the subject's face.

Provenance:
American Art Association, New York, The Art Collection Formed by the Late Heber R. Bishop, January 19, 1906;
acquired directly from the above sale by Maurice Goldblatt;
gifted to the Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, 1942
Collection of D.D. Matthews;
thence by family descent