September 26, 2018 O'Connor's Americana Collection
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/26/2018
Oil on canvas board study for the famous 40" X 72" painting entitled " The March to Valley Forge, December 16, 1777" (1883) now located at the American Revolution Center in Philadelphia. Image measures 16" by 10 - 1/2": and is presented in an old, associated frame. An old tag on the back states that it was "in Valley Forge Historical Society. Price of Study (1966), $85"
The study was displayed at the James A. Michener Art Museum's exhibit "So Bravely and So Well: The Life and Art of WILLIAM T. TREGO" from June 4th to October 2nd, 2011. It is pictured on page 70, plate 8 in the exhibit's accompanying publication. "Partially hidden behind the mounted figure of George Washington in the final work. The soldier adjusting his footware (pl. 8) may be designed to call the viewers attention [to] the fact that some of the other figures are barefoot. He appears in the final version without his gun."
William Trego was trained by his father, artist Jonathan K. Trego, who studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Academie Julian in Paris. William was partially paralyzed as a child, most likely due to polio. Trego was adept at creating dramatic battle scenes with meticulous care.
Condition: Fair. This painting appears to be uncleaned with textures and random brush stokes around the figure.
This study was on exhibit in the at the Michener Museum and was once the property of the Valley Forge Historical Society.