A vintage “Oil-Art” portrait depicting Major Biddle, adapted from the celebrated painting by American portraitist Thomas Sully (1783–1872).
Produced by the B.A.P. Company of Chicago, this piece retains its original manufacturer’s label identifying the subject and artist. The portrait is presented in an oval gilt frame and features the richly textured surface characteristic of early Oil-Art portraits, a decorative process designed to emulate the appearance of an original oil painting.
The sitter, Major Biddle, was a member of Philadelphia’s prominent Biddle family. Sully’s original portrait remains in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
With its warm palette, historic subject matter, and handsome scale, this portrait adds depth and character to bookshelves, libraries, studies, gallery walls, and collected interiors.
Overall measures approximately 11 x 13.5” and has age related wear to the frame.
A wonderful example of early American decorative art and an accessible way to bring the look of nineteenth-century portraiture into the home.
