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The Collection of Henry and Phyllis Brightman
Lot 32
Memorial to Eliza and Sarah LittleNewburyport, Massachusetts, c. 1810
19 August 2025, 12:00 EDT
Skinner Marlborough, MassachusettsSold for US$4,096 inc. premium
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Elizabeth Muir
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Amy Griffin
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Paul O'Hara
Sale Coordinator & Cataloguer
Memorial to Eliza and Sarah Little
Newburyport, Massachusetts, c. 1810
unsigned
watercolor, pencil, ink, and gouache on wove paper, in later glazed giltwood frame
sheet 15 3/4 x 21 1/2 in.
framed 18 3/8 x 24 in.
The urns are dedicated to Eliza Little (1808-9) and Sarah Little (1802-10), daughters of Newburyport lawyer Edward and his wife, Hannah Brown Little. Surprisingly, the memorial inscription for Eliza is inaccurate; she died in 1809 at age 13 months, not in 1802 at age 13 years, as stated. The artist was likely their sister, Hannah (1804-80), Maria (1806-17), or even another Sarah (1811-94), born one year after the other's death.
A grieving figure stands in contrast to the bustling Merrimac River and handsome town of Newburyport in the distance, with its Federal brick mansions and towering church spires. In May 1811, this landscape was drastically altered by a fire that consumed Newburyport's riverfront district, including most of Edward Little's property. The loss prompted him to move the family to Maine's Androscoggin Valley, where he gained distinction in local industry and government.
The young artist seems to mourn for her hometown as well as for her sisters. Only five of the eleven children born to Edward and Hannah are buried with them at Oak Hill Cemetery in Auburn, Maine. This painting is the best-preserved memorial to the other six, who did not survive to adulthood. Their actual graves in Newburyport - no doubt smaller and less conspicuous than the sepulchral monument depicted here - have faded into obscurity.
unsigned
watercolor, pencil, ink, and gouache on wove paper, in later glazed giltwood frame
sheet 15 3/4 x 21 1/2 in.
framed 18 3/8 x 24 in.
The urns are dedicated to Eliza Little (1808-9) and Sarah Little (1802-10), daughters of Newburyport lawyer Edward and his wife, Hannah Brown Little. Surprisingly, the memorial inscription for Eliza is inaccurate; she died in 1809 at age 13 months, not in 1802 at age 13 years, as stated. The artist was likely their sister, Hannah (1804-80), Maria (1806-17), or even another Sarah (1811-94), born one year after the other's death.
A grieving figure stands in contrast to the bustling Merrimac River and handsome town of Newburyport in the distance, with its Federal brick mansions and towering church spires. In May 1811, this landscape was drastically altered by a fire that consumed Newburyport's riverfront district, including most of Edward Little's property. The loss prompted him to move the family to Maine's Androscoggin Valley, where he gained distinction in local industry and government.
The young artist seems to mourn for her hometown as well as for her sisters. Only five of the eleven children born to Edward and Hannah are buried with them at Oak Hill Cemetery in Auburn, Maine. This painting is the best-preserved memorial to the other six, who did not survive to adulthood. Their actual graves in Newburyport - no doubt smaller and less conspicuous than the sepulchral monument depicted here - have faded into obscurity.
Footnotes
Provenance
Lewis W. Scranton Antiques, Killingworth, Connecticut.