Seated Man Reading Newspaper, Genre Scene, Framed

About the Item

An interior genre scene in warm sepia and ochre. An elderly man in a black overcoat, waistcoat and soft felt hat sits at an angle on a plain wooden chair, wire spectacles on his nose, holding an open newspaper across his knee; a heavy work boot juts into the foreground. Behind him a plaster wall carries four pinned notices - a blue printed sheet, a handbill headed 'Colored People's Union' and a yellow reward poster - and a table with papers and a blue book runs off to the left. The colouring is muted, almost monochrome brown, with the blue notice and a red flash at the sitter's pocket as the only accents. Medium: colour reproduction print (offset/photomechanical) on paper or board, glazed. Accompanied by a certificate: IMG_8853 is a certificate, but its text belongs to the Tom Caldwell print catalogued as A083, not to this picture. Inscribed on the reverse or mount: Within the picture, on the wall notices: 'RULES' (blue sheet, remaining lines illegible); 'Colored People's Union' (handbill above the sitter's shoulder); '50 C… / REWAR[D] / … / BROTHER … / President … / LIME-KIL[N] …' (yellow poster at the right, partly hidden by the frame). Condition: Surface shows overall warm discolouration and a faint vertical line at the right of the image; a few small dark flecks; no tears visible. Glass reflections obscure much of the surface.

Details

Creation Year:

late 19th century subject; the sheet itself probably a 20th-century reproduction

Dimensions:

Height: 21.25 in (53.98 cm)
Width: 17.0 in (43.18 cm)
outside of frame

Medium:

colour reproduction print (offset/photomechanical) on paper or board, glazed

Period:

20Th

Condition:

Offered in the condition shown in the photographs.

Reference Number:

VO-133

Documentation:

IMG_8853 is a certificate, but its text belongs to the Tom Caldwell print catalogued as A083, not to this picture.

Gallery Location:

Within the picture, on the wall notices: 'RULES' (blue sheet, remaining lines illegible); 'Colored People's Union' (handbill above the sitter's shoulder); '50 C… / REWAR[D] / … / BROTHER … / President … / LIME-KIL[N] …' (yellow poster at the right, partly hidden by the frame)