EXCEPTIONAL c. 1864 Portrait Confederate General Archibald Gracie III Civil War

Description: About this work: An extraordinary portrait of Confederate Brigadier General Archibald Gracie III (1832-1864) attributed to William Garl (Brown) Browne, Jr. (1823-1894). Gracie was one of the most notable Confederate generals, and a close friend of Robert E. Lee - even credited by some sources with saving his life. Born into a wealthy NYC family - his grandfather, Arichibald Gracie I, built Gracie Mansion (the current official residence of the Mayor of NYC). As a young man, he attended West Point when Robert E. Lee was the school’s superintendent. The two would meet quite early on at West Point when Gracie caused a fight on campus and reported to Lee’s office. Following his graduation in 1854, Gracie was sent to serve in the Washington Territory. He resigned in 1856 to join his father’s cotton export and brokerage firm in Mobile, Alabama. As captain of the Washington Light Infantry Company of Mobile (later a part of the 3rd Alabama Infantry) he came to Virginia at the beginning of the Civil War; on July 12, 1861, he was promoted to major of the 11th Alabama Infantry, and the following spring he raised a regiment of his own, the 43rd Alabama Infantry, which he commanded, as colonel, in eastern Tennessee. Gracie led the expedition against Fort Cliff, took part in the Kentucky campaign, and was in command of Lexington, Kentucky, during its occupation. Promoted to brigadier general on November 4, 1862, he led his command at Chickamauga, was severely wounded at Bean's Station, and thereafter served at Petersburg, where he was killed on December 2, 1864. As the story goes, “On the first day of December 1864, Archibald Gracie escorted Robert E. Lee through his brigade's sector of the defensive line around Petersburg. Because the Rebel fortifications there formed a salient protruding outward, they tended to draw heavier-than-usual sniper and artillery fire. The defending Alabamians dubbed their position "Gracie's Mortar-Hell.” As such the general was concerned for his commander’s safety. Gracie turned thirty-one the day Lee visited, yet he presented the bearing of a much older man, perhaps due to his social and military credentials, which placed him solidly in the South's patrician class… So it was that Lee's visit afforded Gracie both pleasant relief and unsolicited anxiety. At one point the commanding general stopped to observe the Federal lines from a spot where an Alabama private had recently been shot dead. Gracie indulged his superior for only a few seconds before gently nudging Lee out of harm's way. "It is better,” he reportedly told the general, "that I should be killed than you.” Evidently, Lee appreciated the gesture and soon departed. This inspired a poem by Frank O. Tichnor that included two stanzas that immortalized the moment: "And then the glass was lowered, / And voice that faltered not / Said in its measured cadence: / 'Why, Gracie, you'll be shot!' / And Alabama answered: 'The South will pardon me / If the ball that goes through Gracie / Comes short of Robert Lee." Naturally, there was an ironic ending to all of this chivalry. The day after Lee's inspection, Gracie returned to the spot and, as he viewed the enemy positions through a telescope, dropped dead from a shell burst directly over his head.” (Severance, Ben H.. Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Alabama in the Civil War. United States, University of Arkansas Press, 2012, p. 189) Writing to his own wife, General Lee said: "The death of General Gracie was a great grief to me. I do not know how to replace him. He was an excellent officer and a Christian gentleman. I had been all over his line with him the day before his death, and decided on some changes I wished made. He had just received the telegram announcing the birth of his daughter, and expected to visit his wife the next day. Our loss is heavy, but his gain great. May his wife, whom he loved so tenderly, be comforted in the recollection of his many virtues, his piety, his worth, his love." In the library at West Point is a tablet bearing Gracie's name with the posthumous rank of Major General, for which a commission was about to issue at the time of his death. This portrait depicts Gracie at half-length in his grey Confederate brigadier general uniform with his saber at his side. He sticks his right hand through the front of his coat and looks directly at the viewer. While apparently unsigned, there were few artists painting period portraits of Confederate generals of this quality. The style of this work suggests that it could be painted by William Garl Browne, Jr. Browne is known to have painted both from life and from photographic references in the South and in his NYC studio. While Gracie was based in the South, his son, Archibald Gracie IV, lived in NYC. Therefore, this work could have been painted sometime between 1862-1864 while Gracie was still alive, or shortly after his death, as a commission from his son. An old handwritten label on the back suggests that the work was painted by one of Gracie’s “adoring artist soldiers,” although this seems unlikely given its scale and quality. The work is oil on canvas and is housed in a monumental period frame by William Schaus of NYC. The painting comes from the collection of the Virginia Historical Society, who had owned it since 1937, when it was donated by the Gracie family. Size: 37.5 inches tall by 30 inches wide (painting) 48.75 inches tall by 41 inches wide by 4 inches deep (frame) Provenance: Archibald Gracie IV (1858-1912), NY; (Bequeathed to widow of above) Constance Elise (Schack) Gracie; (gift from the above in 1937) Virginia Historical Society; Deaccessioned from the above Literature: “Portraiture in the Virginia Historical Society” by Alexander Weddell, 1945, pp. 40-42; “Portraits in the Collection of the Virginia Historical Society” by Virginius Hall, Jr, 1981, p. 101 Condition: Relined. Small, unfilled touch-ups throughout. Isolated areas of minute, stable surface craquelure commensurate with age. Small losses along upper and lower margin. Difficult to discern all restoration under varnish. Small 1.5” repaired tear near the middle of left margin. Scattered light surface abrasions. Frame recently professionally cleaned and restored. It is ready to be displayed! This work will be carefully packed and shipped with insurance and signature confirmation. Free local pick up is also available. International buyers - please note I cannot lower the declared value of the package for customs. I frequently receive messages from people after I sell an item, asking if it is definitely gone. If something catches your eye, don't hesitate to inquire before it is sold! Feel free to ask any questions.

Price: 25000 USD

Location: Morrisville, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-10-23T16:41:50.000Z

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