SOUTHERN PORTRAIT BY GEORGE COOKE

George Esten Cooke (American/Maryland, 1793-1849) -1840-41. "Mrs. William Wirt Clayton (Caroline Semmes) and Daughter Julia", oil on canvas. Signed center right "GC", period frame. Illustrated: Rudulph, Marilou Alston, "George Cooke and HisPaintings" (Savannah:Georgia Historical Society, 1960) plate 2. Note: Born in Maryland, portrait painter George Cooke visited Athens, Ga on several occasions in the 1840s. There he completed this portrait ofCaroline Maria Semmes Clayton (1819-1893) and her daughter Julia (1839-1909) on her lap, playfully tugging her mother's curl. As was customary, Cooke painted Caroline's husband William Wirt Clayton (1812-1885) in a separate portrait. Thefamily moved to Atlanta where Clayton became a political figure and all are buried there in Oakland Cemetery. Cooke died in 1849 in New Orleans. Besides his portraits, he is well known for panoramic city views, four of which,Charleston, Washington DC, West Point, and Richmond, were turned into aquatint prints by William Bennett in the 1830s.Approx. 41.5" x 36.5" (framed), 30.5" x 25.125" (canvas)
Condition Report: Layer of discolored varnish. canvas laid down to board, scattered inpainting throughout, the largest area located in the mother's hair, examined under blacklight.