Henry Inman

I am getting ready to put my original Henry Inman (1801- 1846) on the market.  He was a central figure in founding the National Academy of design, along with Thomas S. Cummings. It was a surprise find among my uncle's possession. I suspect that it has been in my family a long time. My family roots are in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Inman lived in Philadelphia from 1831 to 1834. There is a good chance that he painted it when living there. Dennis Calabi who restored it for me said that it was mostly covered with coal dust residue, but otherwise in very good condition. He also said that the amount of residue was consistent with being on a wall for a very long time.

One of Inman's favorite subjects was children. Here is a teaching moment- a grandfatherly character showing a child how to graft a branch on to a tree. Dennis thought that he may have painted this just his own pleasure. The brush strokes are free. The paint is laid on lightly.

The Grafter, 9" X 12" by Henry Inman