Painting by Richard Clague Jr., portrait of Zachary Taylor will headline at Stevens Auction May 11th

ABERDEEN, Miss. - May 1, 2024 - PRLog -- Stevens Auction Company's annual Spring Multi-Estate Auction was originally planned for April 27^th, but auctioneer and auction house owner Dwight Stevens was so busy getting elected mayor of Aberdeen (and in the process unseating a longtime incumbent), the sale date had to be pushed ahead to Saturday, May 11^th, starting promptly at 11 am Central time.

It will be well worth the wait, as just over 400 lots comprising the contents of several prominent estates from across the South will come up for bid, led by a vibrant figural landscape painting by renowned New Orleans artist Richard Clague, Jr. (1821-1873) and what is believed to be the last portrait painting President Zachary Taylor sat for prior to his death in office from cancer in 1850.

The auction will be held live in Stevens Auction Company's new gallery facility in downtown Aberdeen, at 129 East Commerce Street, as well as online via LiveAuctioneers.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. An open house preview will be held at the gallery on Friday, May 10^th, from 10 am-6 pm Central time. Doors will open to the public on auction day at 10 am.

The painting signed by Richard Clague, Jr. is an 1862 oil on cradled wood panel titled Hunter and Fisherman, Louisiana Countryside. It measures 18 inches by 22 inches (sight) and is nicely housed in a 28 ½ inch by 33 inch period gilt frame. Clague studied with Earnest Herbert and at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. The painting carries a pre-sale estimate of $50,000-$100,000.

The 19^th century oil on canvas portrait of Zachary Taylor is after the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista lithograph titled Gen. Z. Taylor Rough and Ready, according to the Smithsonian Institute. The painting was given to William Dudley Talley from Taylor himself, to solve a debt. It has remained in the Talley family all these years and has an estimate of $4,000-$8,000.

The rest of the auction is packed with beautiful antiques and pieces of Southern finery that include handmade Persian rugs, premier artworks from the 19^th century to the present day, antique lighting, porcelain, cast iron garden items, primitives, bronze statues, antique mirrors, china, half and full tester beds, clocks, statuary and hundreds of other items too numerous to list.

To learn more visit www.stevensauction.com.