English born, Hamilton Hamilton (1847 – 1928), emigrated to Cowlesville, New York as a young child. To a great extent, he was a self-taught artist, but he would make a number of trips to Europe where he studied in Paris in Brittany. In 1881, he moved to New York City, renting a place at Sherwood Studios, on West 57th street. At the time, his friends included some of the biggest names of the Hudson River School: Thomas Moran, Robert Blum, Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase and Birge Harrison. Due to ill health, in 1910, he moved to California, where his art palette adopted lighter tones.

The painting suffers from scratches, dents, and cupping, along with deterioration due to aging. In the canvas there is also a fungal invasion. The frame, too, is in poor condition. Several cracks have revealed that the top bronze layer is covering the original layer made of gold. Stay tuned for more…