Monumental Edward K. Foote Oil on Canvas "Market Boy", with Cincinnati History
Item Details
Edward Kilbourne Foote (American; born 1857)
The Market Boy, 1880
Oil painting on canvas
Signed and dated to lower right
60.5’ W x 39.5’ H
A monumental oil painting on canvas titled The Market Boy by well-listed Cincinnati-born artist Edward Kilbourne Foote (born 1857), created in 1880. This Orientalist work depicts a young Middle Eastern boy selling fruit on the street. The overall painting is portrayed with meticulous detail, capturing a variety of textures and light refractions throughout the Middle Eastern commodities. The work is dated and signed ‘E. K. Foote’ to the lower right. It is presented in a heavy Victorian gilt wood frame embellished with cast moulding in motifs of acanthus leaves, beading, and scrolling foliate patterns. A metal plate is affixed to the lower leg of the frame, identifying the title, artist, and year of creation; the plate also indicates that the painting was presented to The Cincinnati Club in 1931, in memory of Karl Kiefer.
Edward Kilbourne Foote was born in Cincinnati and attended the Cincinnati School of Design. In addition to studying in France and Italy from 1884 to 1896, he spent a number of years traveling thoughout Europe and northern Africa. Foote practiced painting, etching, and illustration, but he was best known for his paintings of Orientalist scenes, some of which he exhibited at the Paris Salons.
Foote clearly was infatuated with North African subject matter like so many other European artists during the late 19th century, and a number of small, watercolor examples have surfaced on the market in recent years. This is the most substantial example we have seen, and one of the only extant works in oil that has been found. While Kilbourne’s career was relatively obscure, he did exhibit a work in the Paris Salon in 1884 (4 years after the execution of this work), and so it is entirely plausible that the example offered here may have been executed with Paris in mind, given the inclination for large, expansive oils in 19th-century Salon taste.
Foote was also notably a friend of the famed Cincinnati artist Henry Farny (American, 1847 – 1916), and it was documented in Cincinnati periodicals that the pair opened a private art school in 1880 (the same year as the completion of this work) devoted strictly to figural studies. Little else was reported, and the school was likely short-lived. It is possible the work offered here was completed under those auspices. In addition, a Cincinnatian, Edward Foote Hinkle (no clear relation between he and artist could be established, though it appears coincidental), notably showed an important work by Henry Farny in a 1935 show.
The 1931 donor, Karl Kiefer, was an inventor and President of the Karl Kiefer Machine Company. The work would likely have been willed to the Cincinnati Club upon his passing on April 16, 1931. He was a decades-long member of the Club.
- Please note, this is an item that may be especially difficult to move and/or transport. Unless shipping arrangements are available and made by the winning bidder, that individual is advised to bring appropriate assistance, vehicle, proper materials, and any necessary tools to pickup.
Condition
- signs of in painting scattered throughout composition; some rubbing and paint loss along painting edges; some rippling along canvas corners; painting has been cut and relined with canvas; small scratches scattered throughout painting; some wear throughout frame includes scratches, stains, small chips, and finish loss scattered throughout.
Dimensions
- measurement of frame; visible image measures approximately 60.5" W x 39.5" W.
Item #
17DCC300-001
