(PENNSYLVANIA) Tanner Benjamin engraver; after Barralet Memb

Sale 2473 - Lot 184

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Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800

SIGNED BY GEORGE CLYMER (PENNSYLVANIA.) Tanner, Benjamin, engraver; after Barralet. Membership certificate for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Engraved certificate, 11 3/4 x 9 inches, completed in manuscript, and signed by George Clymer as president, with embossed seal in lower corner; minor dampstaining, moderate wear and a few tasteful repairs. Philadelphia, 18 May 1809

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The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts was founded in 1805, and remains both the oldest museum and the oldest art school in the United States. This certificate is illustrated with an engraving of their first building, produced by the same Barralet-Tanner team which later produced such popular prints as "Perry's Victory on Lake Erie" and "America Guided by Popular Wisdom." This example was issued to industrialist and merchant Robert Enoch Hobart (1768-1826). Most notably, it was signed by George Clymer, first president of the Academy; he is best known as one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. We trace no other examples of this certificate in OCLC, though the engraving was later used for other purposes.