Fitz Henry Lane (American, 1804-1865)
The Old Homestead, Castine, Maine
Titled, inscribed, and dated “.../F.H. Lane to
J.L. Stevens Jr. 1851” l.c., inscribed “Front
view of the Old Homestead - Castine- Me/
Taken by Fitz H. Lane, Gloucester - Mass -/for
Joseph L. Stevens Jr./August 1851/Lettered
by George F. Tilden/Architect/Milton-Boston”
in pencil on the reverse.
Watercolor and ink on paper, 10 5/8 x 15
15/16 in. (26.9 x 40.5 cm), framed.
Condition: Toning, scattered fox marks,
surface imperfections to u.l. corner, abrasions
and tape to the reverse.
Provenance: By descent within the family of
Joseph Lowe Stevens.
N.B. The gracious home shown in this
watercolor was the residence of Dr. Joseph
Lowe Stevens, Sr., in Castine, Maine. The
watercolor was dedicated by Fitz Henry Lane
to Dr. Stevens’s son, Joseph Lowe Stevens,
Jr. (1823-1908). The younger Stevens, who
moved from Castine to Gloucester in 1840,
became a close friend of Lane, most likely
meeting the artist through the Gloucester
Lyceum library, where both men were
members. The friendship blossomed as Lane
spent more time in Gloucester, especially
after he moved into his stone house on the
hill.^1 In 1848, Stevens invited Lane to visit
his family in Castine, a trip that would mark
Lane’s first visit to the Maine coast. A new
friendship blossomed between Lane and Dr.
and Mrs. Stevens, Sr., and they enjoyed visits
together in Gloucester and Castine. John
Wilmerding writes, “During subsequent visits
he [Lane] would paint many pictures of the
vicinity as well as small oils of the family house
and views done especially for presentation to
the Stevens family.”^2 Lane spent a number
of summers in the 1850s in Castine, staying
at the “Old Homestead,” as the Stevens’s
residence was known. From the house there
was a good view down to the waterfront and
the bay. Joseph Stevens, Jr., would row or
sail Lane to various locations in the Penobscot
Bay where Lane would sketch scenes he
would later turn into oils in his Gloucester
studio. In 1851 Lane sketched the Old
Homestead, including two watercolors of the
house for Stevens, Jr.^3 Lane later based an oil
painting on the watercolor, including in the oil
a view of Dr. Stevens approaching the house
on horseback. (Private Collection)^4- Dunlap, Sarah and Stephanie Buck, Fitz Henry Lane, Family and
Friends (Gloucester: Cape Ann Historical Museum, 2007), pp. 76-80. - Wilmerding, John, Fitz Henry Lane, the reprint of the 1971 book Fitz
Hugh Lane (Gloucester: Cape Ann Historical Association, 2005), p. 51. - Unpublished letter from a Stevens family descendant.
- http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=14017
$30,000-50,000
50 Additional information and photos at http://www.skinnerinc.com