(HAITI) Kay John; artist Etched portrait of Toussaint Louver

Sale 2471 - Lot 214

Price Realized: $ 1,000

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500

(HAITI.) Kay, John; artist. Etched portrait of Toussaint Louverture. Etching, 10 1/4 x 8 inches (platemark 6 3/4 x 4 1/4 inches); minimal foxing. [Edinburgh, Scotland], 1802

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Additional Details

The general is seen in profile from behind, standing on a hilltop with an outstretched sword, addressing an encampment of dark-skinned soldiers. It was drawn at the end of his career as Haitian leader, and his imprisonment by the French. The artist was Scottish caricaturist John Kay (1742-1826), who produced portraits of many of the leading world figures of his day. Kay's various etchings were collected and republished after his death in 1838 under the title "A Series of Original Portraits and Caricature Etchings." The Toussaint portrait from that book is seen occasionally on the market, with plate number 337 in the lower right. The present version, without the "337" but with an ink-stamped "8" in the upper margin, would appear to be Kay's original stand-alone etching. We have traced no examples in OCLC or at auction.