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The Collection of Henry and Phyllis Brightman
Lot 8
Betts Family Memorialsigned Anna Betts, Stockton, New York, 1822
19 August 2025, 12:00 EDT
Skinner Marlborough, MassachusettsSold for US$3,200 inc. premium
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Elizabeth Muir
Senior Specialist, Head of Sale
Amy Griffin
Cataloguer

Paul O'Hara
Sale Coordinator & Cataloguer
Betts Family Memorial
signed Anna Betts, Stockton, New York, 1822
watercolor on silk, in later glazed frame
panel 15 3/4 x 20 1/4 in.
framed 19 1/2 x 23 3/4 in.
The monumental plinth is inscribed "Sacred to the Memory of James Betts Aged 33 years" and a low rectangular monument is dedicated to John Betts (age 5), Lavinia Betts (age 10), and Louisa Betts (age 12). The mourning figure is likely their wife and mother; a paper scroll at her feet reads:
In rural scene's
Where Stockton stands
This piece was done
By Anna's hands.
1822.
Silk was an ideal canvas for a watercolorist as skilled as Anna Betts. It is prized among natural fibers for its strength and luster, but most especially for its ability to absorb and retain dye colors. Anna's crisply rendered stone monuments stand in a rolling landscape of variegated greens, blues, and yellows, hardly faded after 200 years.
watercolor on silk, in later glazed frame
panel 15 3/4 x 20 1/4 in.
framed 19 1/2 x 23 3/4 in.
The monumental plinth is inscribed "Sacred to the Memory of James Betts Aged 33 years" and a low rectangular monument is dedicated to John Betts (age 5), Lavinia Betts (age 10), and Louisa Betts (age 12). The mourning figure is likely their wife and mother; a paper scroll at her feet reads:
In rural scene's
Where Stockton stands
This piece was done
By Anna's hands.
1822.
Silk was an ideal canvas for a watercolorist as skilled as Anna Betts. It is prized among natural fibers for its strength and luster, but most especially for its ability to absorb and retain dye colors. Anna's crisply rendered stone monuments stand in a rolling landscape of variegated greens, blues, and yellows, hardly faded after 200 years.
Footnotes
Provenance
Richard Axtell Antiques, Deposit, New York, 1980.



