Oct 10, 2025 11:00 EST
Americana in Boston
1019
Asa Park
Property from Descendants of Nina Fletcher and Bertram K. Little
American, 1790-1827
Pair of Portraits: Charles and Rebecca Park
Each, oil on canvas
Each, signed and dated on the reverse
34 x 27 inches
Unframed
Please note: This lot will be on view in Boston.
Provenance:
Melvin French, from direct descendants in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Roger Bacon, Exeter, New Hampshire.
Literature:
Edna Talbott Whitley, Kentucky Ante-Bellum Portraiture, (National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1956).
Baines, Woodwind Instruments and Their History, p. 299, fig. XXVII.
Elisabeth Donaghy Garrett, "Living with antiques: Pumpkin House in New England," Magazine Antiques, March 1981, p. 677.
Nina Fletcher Little, Little by Little: Six Decades of Collecting American Decorative Arts, (New York: E.P. Dutton, Inc., 1984), p. 125, figs. 161-2.
Note: Asa Park was a portrait painter born in 1790 in Newton, Massachusetts. During his early career, he studied with famed decorative painter John Ritto Penniman and the prominent portraitist Gilbert Stuart. Two years after the present works were painted, which depict his brother and his sister-in-law, he moved to Pittsburgh and shortly after to Lexington, Kentucky, where he spent much of the rest of his life, advertising for work in Lexington and in nearby Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sold for $9,600
Estimated at $3,000 - $5,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
Property from Descendants of Nina Fletcher and Bertram K. Little
American, 1790-1827
Pair of Portraits: Charles and Rebecca Park
Each, oil on canvas
Each, signed and dated on the reverse
34 x 27 inches
Unframed
Please note: This lot will be on view in Boston.
Provenance:
Melvin French, from direct descendants in Sudbury, Massachusetts.
Roger Bacon, Exeter, New Hampshire.
Literature:
Edna Talbott Whitley, Kentucky Ante-Bellum Portraiture, (National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, 1956).
Baines, Woodwind Instruments and Their History, p. 299, fig. XXVII.
Elisabeth Donaghy Garrett, "Living with antiques: Pumpkin House in New England," Magazine Antiques, March 1981, p. 677.
Nina Fletcher Little, Little by Little: Six Decades of Collecting American Decorative Arts, (New York: E.P. Dutton, Inc., 1984), p. 125, figs. 161-2.
Note: Asa Park was a portrait painter born in 1790 in Newton, Massachusetts. During his early career, he studied with famed decorative painter John Ritto Penniman and the prominent portraitist Gilbert Stuart. Two years after the present works were painted, which depict his brother and his sister-in-law, he moved to Pittsburgh and shortly after to Lexington, Kentucky, where he spent much of the rest of his life, advertising for work in Lexington and in nearby Cincinnati, Ohio.
relined; repaired tears visible to the naked eye in the upper background of each; scattered spots and areas of inpainting in each to repairs ,and elsewhere mostly to background and clothes.
Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and our Organization shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.
Auction: Americana in Boston, Oct 10, 2025
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Inaugural Americana in Boston Auction on October 10, 2025 Far Surpassed Expectations
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Held in Our Newly Expanded Location at 290 Darmouth Street in The Vendome
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY – Doyle's inaugural Americana in Boston auction on October 10, 2025 far surpassed expectations! Held at our newly expanded location at 290 Dartmouth Street at The Vendome in Boston’s Back Bay, the sale attracted competitive bidding for folk paintings and portrait miniatures, furniture and decorative arts, silver, porcelain, toys and more.
Highlighting the sale was an important 1793 folk portrait by the Duxbury, Massachusetts artist Rufus Hathaway of 2-year-old Church Sampson, which soared past its $10,000-15,000 estimate to achieve $95,750. The painting had changed hands only twice in its long history—first from descendants of the Duxbury family of the sitter to legendary folk art collectors and scholars Nina Fletcher and Bertram K. Little, in whose family it has remained until the present.
Two folky and charming American portrait miniatures, also of children, brought prices far exceeding their estimates, selling for $20,480 and $16,640. Those who viewed the little gems were beguiled by the confidence of the children and the skill of the artists in capturing it.
Among the furniture offerings, a diminutive and quirky red-painted corner cupboard generated excitement among bidders for its utility, unusual proportions, and immaculate condition, selling for $9,600, far above its $1,000-1,500 estimate.
A couple of collections offered in the sale are also worth noting, as they demonstrate that when a strong group of property in one category appears in a single sale, collectors worldwide tend to take notice. Sixteen lots of 18th and 19th century English creamware from a Boston estate brought over $24,000 against a $7,000-10,000 estimate, and a collection of 27 horse-drawn cast iron toys realized $45,000, exceeding an aggregate pre-sale estimate of $18,000-28,000.
American Paintings & Prints
The sale of American Paintings & Prints on Oct 9 in New York presented a wide range of works spanning the late 18th through 20th centuries. Read More
American Silver
The sale of American Silver on Oct 9 showcased fine examples by prominent makers from the colonial era to the modern period. Read More
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for complimentary auction estimates. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
