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HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY (American 1873-1952)

Currency:USD Category:Antiques Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1,500.00 - 2,000.00 USD
HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY (American 1873-1952)
<B>HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY (American 1873-1952)</B></I><BR>Portrait of Frankie Witherspoon<BR>Oil on canvas<BR>31.25in. x 24.5in. <BR>Signed lower right: Howard Chandler Christy<BR>Provenance: from the artist to Mr. Ambrose Witherspoon, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky; gifted to his wife Frankie Lillard Witherspoon<BR><BR>Frankie Lillard's family owned Bond Lillard Distillery, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, which later became National Distillery, whose descendants now own Brown Williamson Tobacco & Distilleries, Louisville, Kentucky. Mr. Ambrose Witherspoon, was a physician who started Anderson National Bank in Lawrenceburg. <BR><BR>Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose Witherspoon visited New York often where they met and befriended Howard Chandler Christy at the CafT des Artists. The present painting was a Christmas gift from Mr. Witherspoon to his wife Frankie. <BR><Noted portrait painter of Hollywood stars, presidents, and high-society, Howard Chandler Christy was originally from Ohio. Christy arrived in New York in 1890 and attended the Art Students League where he studied under William Merritt Chase. He first worked as and illustrator and was commissioned to illustrate Frank Crowninshield's book <I>In Camphor.</B></I> <BR><BR>Christy enlisted to help cover the Spanish-American War. He accompanied the Rough Riders into battle to make illustrations for articles published in <I>Scribner's, Harpers, Century,</B></I> and <I>Leslie's Weekly.</B></I> In the process, Christy befriended Col. Theodore Roosevelt and gained a broader interest in patriotic subjects. By the time he returned home in 1898, he was a celebrity. His fame and reputation was secured with <I>The Soldier's Dream</B></I> published in <I>Scribner's</B></I> where he portrayed a beautiful girl known as "The Christy Girl," an idea image for an all American woman. <BR><BR>From that point forward, Christy painted beautiful women for <I>McClure's</B></I> and other popular magazines. In 1908, he returned to Ohio and in spite of being far away from the mainstream, he still had numerous commissions. In 1915, Christy returned to New York and opened a studio apartment at the Hotel des Artistes and continued illustrating. As war once again appeared imminent, Christy rallied his talents to assist the war effort by painting posters for government war bonds, the Red Cross, Navy, Marines, and in support of civilian volunteer efforts. His famous poster of a young woman dressed in a sailors uniform with the caption, "If I were a man, I would join the Navy," is from this period.During the 1920s, Christy turned from illustration to portrait painting. He painted Benito Mussolini, Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, U.S. Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Coolidge, Hoover, Polk, Van Buren and Garfield; humorist Will Rogers, aviator Amelia Earhart, General Douglas MacArthur, and William Randolph Hearst. <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 24.5% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.