LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2008 May Signature Sports Collectibles #709  / 

19612

1920's Christy Mathewson Personally Owned Art

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD
1920's Christy Mathewson Personally Owned Art
<B>1920's Christy Mathewson Personally Owned Portrait of Himself with Wife.</B></I> Finely rendered portrait of Big Six and his bride finds the former in his World War I military uniform, returned from the front after suffering the training accident that would ultimately bring a premature end to his life. The damage caused to his lungs by the inhalation of chlorine gas while serving as a Captain in the newly established Chemical Service would bring Matty to develop tuberculosis, and lead his doctor to prescribe clean, fresh air as a method of rehabilitation. It is this move that allows us to definitively authenticate the painting, as it comes to us along with its original shipping crate, addressed to "Mrs. Christy Mathewson, Old Military Road, Saranac Lake, New York," where Mathewson would pass away in 1925 at the age of forty-five. Further proof comes in the form of a second affixed shipping label, directing the crate to an address in Lewisburg, PA, where Christy's widow passed away in 1967 at eighty-seven years of age. The oil on canvas work has been carefully preserved over the decades, and exhibits no flaws of note. The original frame shows some weathering, but this only adds to the vintage charm. The wooden shipping case shows expected handling wear, but serves perfectly in its role of provenance establishment. One of the few Christy Mathewson owned articles ever to make it to public auction, and among the best for display.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Framed - without Glass, Large (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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