Late 1800s - early 1900s floral oil painting by art teacher?

Miss R.E. Harvey? I'm with Brad, it looks like Harvey to me too.

 

Ok, I took a picture of the reverso and did a little research. With the information I found, it appears to be a Devoe & Co. Academy Board. Cor. Fulton & William sts.,NY. I searched a little and it appears that these were used around the mid 1800s to late 1800s. There's a sticker also that says the store where I guess it was bought at in Washington D.C. There's also a signature. I wonder though, if someone wrote it later on down the road. It reads, Mrs. Harvay.

 

I found an old archived newspaper from 1897 with Geo Ryneal Jr Art supply store listed in it. So it does appear to be in the time frame in which I thought. Now it's the headache part. Hopefully I can track down a Harvay in Washington D.C that might know those initials in that time frame.

 

It's not going to hurt the value to have it professionally cleaned, but the cost of the cleaning may be more than the painting is worth. If you intend to sell this, you could end up losing money (or keeping the painting by default).

 

I would keep this painting. I would spend the money to get it professionally clean. I don't intend to sell any of my paintings though. I would like to pass my collections down the generations.

 

"There's a sticker also that says the store where I guess it was bought at in Washington D.C."

Armando0831, what store was named in Washington, D.C.? That may be somewhat of a clue as to its "worth"?

 

Not to nitpick, but I think you could talk about the reverse, or the verso, of the painting, but I'm not sure that reverso is a word.

 

Haha, it's been an early and long day. Yes, the verso. Can't believe I did that.

 

I should of been a little bit more specific about that. It's the store that sold the board. Geo Ryneal Jr art supplies.

 

Re: "It's the store that sold the board. Geo Ryneal Jr art supplies."

Phooey -- I was hoping it was a sticker from a well-known well-connected store/gallery in DC with clientele (perhaps diplomats or other higher-ups in the DC area) who were interested in buying art while in DC.

 

I found her!! Anna Harvey (Mrs. Robert E.) born about 1860 in Ohio, living in Washington DC and working as a teacher of china and oil painting in 1910.

Her husband was a clerk in the War Dept.

 

What??? Really???

 

Dang! You are good!

 

I'm floored!! You're AWESOME!!! Thank you so much!!! How could I ever repay you for the information? I'm speechless.

 

Guess I was on the right track about it being from an art teacher.

 

You're welcome, Armando! It helps to have been doing genealogy work for a while.

She apparently only did this for a living for a few years. She still had family at home in 1900, so did not list an occupation. By 1920 after her husband died she had her elderly mother living with her and again did not list an occupation.

 

BTW, in case it helps with other research - Anna's maiden name was Stonebrook.

 

That's just astonishing. Love the information. That's what I love about researching an item. The information you get, puts that item in a different light.

 

I should tell you a personal art-genealogy story.

Maybe 30 years ago, my mother started to hand out to family members a large number of watercolors, unframed, that had dates from the mid-1890's to the early 1910's. All signed T. C. Hays. I got 3 and asked where they came from. She said they had been her grandmother's, but she thought they were done by "a friend of the family."

Fast forward to 2010 when I signed up for Ancestry and started building my family tree. To my astonishment, I found that a brother-in-law of that grandmother married a woman whose maiden name was Hays. They were all painted by her father - Thomas C Hays, whose "regular job" involved running a store at a train station serving the lower Hudson Valley/western Connecticut area. No wonder so many were "bucolic" scenes! They're actually very nicely done for a "Sunday painter."

 

That's a great story. My family had nothing to pass down. I hope that my kids and future grand kids, will appreciate the time and dedication it took to find out about the person behind the name.