Apr 27, 2017 - Sale 2444

Sale 2444 - Lot 131

Price Realized: $ 6,500
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 4,000 - $ 6,000
DOOLITTLE, AMOS; engraver. The Prodigal Son Receiving his Patrimony * The Prodigal Son Revelling with Harlots * The Prodigal Son in Misery * The Prodigal Son Returned to his Father. Set of 4 hand-colored engravings. Each 14 x 10 1/4 inches, trimmed to plate mark; mat toning, browned and spotted, mount remnants on verso, notable dampstaining to second print. Cheshire, CT: Shelton & Kensett, 1814

Additional Details

Amos Doolittle (1754-1832) was one of the pioneers of American engraving, best known for his eye-witness images of the American Revolution. These representations of the parable of the Prodigal Son depict a young wastrel receiving an inheritance, squandering it in a tavern, sitting in tattered clothes among swine, and then begging his father for forgiveness. We know of no other complete sets at auction since 1990. "Presented with utter sincerity and resultant effectiveness"--Shadwell, American Printmaking 112-3. D'Oench, Prodigal Son Narratives 21; Stauffer, American Engravers 539-541 ("Patrimony" not recorded).