American School, 19th Century

This large and impressive portrait along with its accoutrements was bequeathed to the Filoli Historic House and Garden located in Woodside, California in 1998 by Melville Martin of Palos Verdes, a decorative arts collector and aficionado, upon his passing. Martin's brother subsequently visited the museum and relayed that the portrait was "of Captain Whitaker;" an ancestor from whom they were direct descendants of, and which allowed for the preservation of the painting and retention of all its accoutrements, surviving in remarkable condition.

While the provenance of the Martin family is uncontested, the subject's uniform is not that of a Captain but instead of a Major General of the New York Militia dating to the mid 1830s. This is due to the two stars on the epaulettes as well as the grouping of three buttons, followed by a space and another set of three buttons etcetera on his jacket. His buff colored sash also signifies he is a high ranking General. An elaborate eagle-in-starburst design is featured on the cockade, which would have been placed on his chapeau bras, match the raised spread-winged eagles on his spurs and the eagle head pommel of his hanger sword. The completeness and condition of this lot containing a large scale portrait of the General with six of his accoutrements survives as a remarkable rarity in the fields of American military history as well as American folk art.