Research/Essay Commissions

I now offer research and essay commissions! I'd be happy to look at your painting, figure it out to the best of my ability, and write about it, should you wish. Basic rate is $50/hr but I am flexible.

If you have any questions, email me with a picture of your painting & some information. Brief consultations are free. emilyesser1@gmail.com

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The Eyes of the Prior-Hamblins: Part 1 (Blake, Prior, Hartwell, Hamblin, Kennedy)

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The members of the so-called “Prior-Hamblin school” weren’t a school at all. Colleagues? Competitors? We still barely know. The five usual suspects - W.M. Prior, S.J. Hamblin, G.G. Hartwell, W W. Kennedy, and E.W. Blake - are constantly compared, mixed up, and conflated. However, despite their profound similarities, they all had their own quirks - especially when it comes to a pair of eyes. Part 1 of this post will address, illustrate, and explain the PHS's five unique methods for the so-called windows to the soul. The PHS problem has been tackled by exceptional folk art scholars for generations before me, so I don't expect this post to solve it. However, I hope that it will offer some useful clues.  Read on for the Eyes of the Prior-Hamblins.  - - -
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Misattribution Musical Chairs (Various Artists)

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What's your favorite Joseph Whiting Stock portrait? Maybe his charming niece and nephew? How about the one he painted after his death? - - - The girl on the left was sold as “Attributed to Joseph Whiting Stock (American, 1815-1855)” with much pomp and circumstance. It provides some wonderful catalog copy analyzing Stock’s difficulty with perspective, which I’m still very fond of, even if the attribution is dead wrong. Pun not intended. Guess what: the auction record for the identical companion portrait, the girl on the right , surfaced recently.
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Digging in Churchill's Garden (Fake or Fortune, Series 13 Episode 1)

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Unsolved cases are the gift that keeps on giving. Usually, that gift is frustration. Such is the case for even the most high-profile research projects, like the first episode of Fake or Fortune Series 13, “ The Mystery of Churchill’s Garden. ” More information must be out there - but where? Perhaps there’s a few more hints. Among them: a darker side to Claude Lowther; a clue in the underpainting; and proof that not every Churchill book can be trusted. - - - PART 1: Lowther’s Lambs to the Slaughter
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The Eyes of the Prior-Hamblins: Part 2 (The Sixth Hand)

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One of the most vexing questions of the Prior-Hamblin School is how to tell five artistic hands apart. Now we have six. Recent research has revealed there's a particular version of the “flat style” face that doesn’t conform to any of the five known and documented Prior-Hamblins. After compiling and comparing many dozens of paintings, it has become obvious: we have a new artist on the horizon. Many thanks to Dr. Paul D'Ambrosio of Fenimore Museum for proposing that there is another unknown painter! I had gathered together a compilation, but was uncertain what to make of it. I consider this an incredibly exciting development. Like the rest, this artist paints highly distinctive eyes, which can serve as an attribution guide. Read on for the Eyes of the Sixth Prior-Hamblin. - - - 
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"In Behalf of Oppressed Humanity" Transcript (Deacon Robert Peckham)

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Here's the transcript of my talk for the John Greenleaf Whittier Birthplace about Deacon Robert Peckham, "In Behalf of Oppressed Humanity." Many thanks to Whittier Birthplace director  Kaleigh Paré Shaughnessy, and everyone who attended.  Links are available here: Presentation Slides / Video . The transcript is verbatim (made with Turboscribe ); brackets indicate edits for clarity. This is a bit longer than most blog articles - thanks for reading, if you do! - - -
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