August 2021 Catalogue

19th-Century Oil Portrait Of The Duke Of Wellington, Together With A Commemorative Waterloo Medal 64. (WELLINGTON, Duke of ) (WELLESLEY, Arthur). Oil portrait. WITH: Waterloo medal. No place, portrait circa 1853; medal circa 1815. Together, two items. Painting, in contemporary wooden gilt-painted frame, measuring 17-1/2 by 21 inches. Medal, measuring 1-3/8 inches diameter and attached to original red and blue silk ribbon. $4200. Fine 19th-century oil portrait of one of England’s most revered military heroes, together with a medal given to a participant in Wellington’s most famous success, the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. Known as “the Iron Duke,” Arthur Wellesley truly rose to prominence as a general during the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. Following Napoleon’s exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the allied army which, together with a Prussian army under Blücher, defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. After, he was twice Prime Minister, and continued as one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement. The side of the medal is inscribed with the name of the recipient, “William Halfpenny, 2nd Batt[alion] 95th Regiment Foot.” Light wear and minor repairs to mildly darkened frame; a bit of fraying to upper edge of ribbon. Medal fine. Native American Original Oil By Mary Belle Williams 65. WILLIAMS, Mary Belle. Oil painting [portrait of a Native American]. New York(?), 1901. Original oil painting on canvas. $7500. Original oil on canvas by renowned San Diego painter Mary Belle Williams—an early and characteristic painting of an unidentified Native American. Williams was a charter member of the San Diego Art Guild, and won silver and bronze medals in the Panama-California Exposition of 1915. This striking painting of an unidentified Native American is signed “Mary B. Williams” and dated “1901.” Expert restoration to one small tear. F r a m e d ! 2 0 2 1 B a u m a n R a r e B o o k s 55 54