Tucked away in an old house in rural West Virginia, the painting was an enigma coated with a century's dust. Depicting a seemingly obscure battle scene, its presence amid the attic's cobwebs stirred little interest among those living below.
But Jon Buell, who discovered the painting while rummaging through his grandparents' Weston, W. Va., attic last Thanksgiving, was fired with excitement.
He grilled relatives and searched the Internet, soon confirming that the 5-by-7-foot painting was the work of his great-great-grandfather, Texas artist Henry Arthur McArdle. It is a smaller version of McArdle's famed 8-by-14-foot painting, The Battle of San Jacinto, which hangs in the Texas Senate chamber.
Art experts for decades thought the smaller canvas had perished in a 1918 house fire.
"I thought it might be worth $10,000 or $20,000," said Buell, the suburban Washington, D.C., district manager for a hamburger chain. "My grandmother told me to do what I wanted, to see if I could sell it. I thought happy days were here."
Atlee Phillips of Dallas' Heritage Auctions said the painting is expected to bring about $100,000 when it is offered to bidders on Nov. 20.
In 'remarkable condition'
The painting, she said, is in "really remarkable condition," although it has a few small punctures and is "really, really dirty." Repair and cleaning should not be difficult, she said.
"This is a huge deal," said Texas art scholar Sam Ratcliffe, who oversees the Harmon Arts Library's Bywaters Special Collection at Southern Methodist University.
"Not many McArdles are just floating around," he said. "The ones that do exist are primarily in institutions, mainly the Texas Capitol … McArdle had this whole vision — even making sculptures - of depicting heroes and statesmen of the Texas revolution. This painting is part of that series. It was an ambitious vision, never fully fulfilled."
The smaller battle painting, Ratcliffe said, focuses on the images in the center of the giant version in the Senate chamber, notably Sam Houston leading the charge against Santa Anna.
Capitol curator Ali James said the big San Jacinto painting and its companion, McArdle's Dawn at the Alamo, have hung in the Senate since the late 1800s.
"They are two of the most-visited," she said. "They are not only monumental in size, but monumental in scope. They are on our tours. We get requests to include them in history books."
The small San Jacinto painting has a murkier past.
Supposedly commissioned by Texas historian and art patron James McShields in 1901, the battle canvas is seen in a 1909 photograph of a state library art exhibit, James said.
Many believed the painting was destroyed when DeShields' house burned in 1918. Buell, though, believes McArdle gave the painting to his son, Ruskin McArdle, who took the work with him when he became librarian of the U.S. Senate. Upon retirement, the younger McArdle joined other family members in West Virginia.
Henry McArdle was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1836. At age 14, he immigrated to Baltimore, where he studied art. During the Civil War, McArdle made maps for the Confederate Navy and served on the staff of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
A passion for history
After the war, McArdle moved to Independence, Texas, where he taught art at the Baylor Female College.
An interest in painting portraits of Civil War veterans grew into a passion for Texas history.
In addition to the battle paintings, McArdle produced portraits of Houston and Texas frontiersman and Texas Ranger Erastus "Deaf" Smith.
"McCardle isn't thought of as a great painter," Ratcliffe said. "He's not very well-known. He's known as a painter of Texas scenes, and that's what he wanted. I think he'd be happy with that."
McArdle, who late in life worked from a San Antonio studio, died in 1908.
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But Jon Buell, who discovered the painting while rummaging through his grandparents' Weston, W. Va., attic last Thanksgiving, was fired with excitement.
He grilled relatives and searched the Internet, soon confirming that the 5-by-7-foot painting was the work of his great-great-grandfather, Texas artist Henry Arthur McArdle. It is a smaller version of McArdle's famed 8-by-14-foot painting, The Battle of San Jacinto, which hangs in the Texas Senate chamber.
Art experts for decades thought the smaller canvas had perished in a 1918 house fire.
"I thought it might be worth $10,000 or $20,000," said Buell, the suburban Washington, D.C., district manager for a hamburger chain. "My grandmother told me to do what I wanted, to see if I could sell it. I thought happy days were here."
Atlee Phillips of Dallas' Heritage Auctions said the painting is expected to bring about $100,000 when it is offered to bidders on Nov. 20.
In 'remarkable condition'
The painting, she said, is in "really remarkable condition," although it has a few small punctures and is "really, really dirty." Repair and cleaning should not be difficult, she said.
"This is a huge deal," said Texas art scholar Sam Ratcliffe, who oversees the Harmon Arts Library's Bywaters Special Collection at Southern Methodist University.
"Not many McArdles are just floating around," he said. "The ones that do exist are primarily in institutions, mainly the Texas Capitol … McArdle had this whole vision — even making sculptures - of depicting heroes and statesmen of the Texas revolution. This painting is part of that series. It was an ambitious vision, never fully fulfilled."
The smaller battle painting, Ratcliffe said, focuses on the images in the center of the giant version in the Senate chamber, notably Sam Houston leading the charge against Santa Anna.
Capitol curator Ali James said the big San Jacinto painting and its companion, McArdle's Dawn at the Alamo, have hung in the Senate since the late 1800s.
"They are two of the most-visited," she said. "They are not only monumental in size, but monumental in scope. They are on our tours. We get requests to include them in history books."
The small San Jacinto painting has a murkier past.
Supposedly commissioned by Texas historian and art patron James McShields in 1901, the battle canvas is seen in a 1909 photograph of a state library art exhibit, James said.
Many believed the painting was destroyed when DeShields' house burned in 1918. Buell, though, believes McArdle gave the painting to his son, Ruskin McArdle, who took the work with him when he became librarian of the U.S. Senate. Upon retirement, the younger McArdle joined other family members in West Virginia.
Henry McArdle was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1836. At age 14, he immigrated to Baltimore, where he studied art. During the Civil War, McArdle made maps for the Confederate Navy and served on the staff of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
A passion for history
After the war, McArdle moved to Independence, Texas, where he taught art at the Baylor Female College.
An interest in painting portraits of Civil War veterans grew into a passion for Texas history.
In addition to the battle paintings, McArdle produced portraits of Houston and Texas frontiersman and Texas Ranger Erastus "Deaf" Smith.
"McCardle isn't thought of as a great painter," Ratcliffe said. "He's not very well-known. He's known as a painter of Texas scenes, and that's what he wanted. I think he'd be happy with that."
McArdle, who late in life worked from a San Antonio studio, died in 1908.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7284023.html
http://fineart.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=5050&Lot_No=76013
