Portrait of a Man

Probably Lewis Charles Wallach (1871–1964), The Grange, Northington, Hampshire, by May 2, 1955 [1];

Purchased from his sale, Catalogue of Fine Portrait Miniatures, Sotheby’s, London, May 2, 1955, lot 61, as by Thomas Hargreaves, A Miniature of a Young Man, by Leggatt Brothers, London, probably on behalf of Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1955–1958 [2];

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

NOTES:

[1] “The principal owners of The Grange, 1664–present [. . .] Lewis Charles Wallach, born 1871, purchased property 1934, died 1964;” Christopher Currie in “Archaeological Recording at The Grange, Northington, Hampshire” (Hampshire, CKC Archaeology, 2001), 36. “Wallach, Eileen [. . .] The Grange, Northington, Alresford, Hampshire, Wife of Lewis Charles Wallach. 12 September, 1944 [Died],” quoted from “Notices Under the Trustee Act, 1925 S. 27,” The London Gazette, May 17, 1949, p. 2457. “The house was owned by Lewis Wallach, who used it to display his collection of antiques and paintings;” Jane Geddes, “The Grange, Northington,” Architectural History 26 (1983): 35. “Wallach had bought The Grange [. . .] specifically to house his pictures. During the Second World War, his collection was sent, inexplicably, to Southampton for safe keeping. All but a few of the paintings were destroyed in an air raid;” Kenneth Powell in “Parthenon-style The Grange’s façade,” The Telegraph (July 4, 1998). “WALLACH.—On August 21, Mr. Lewis Charles Wallach, governing director of Sterns, Ltd., Royal London House, Finsbury Square, London E.C.2. Mr. Wallach, who was in his ninety-fourth year, was also president of Sterns Inc., New York, and technical advisor to Sternol, Ltd., London. Mr. Wallach was a pioneer of safety appliances for protection of workmen in factories and mines and of introduction of medicinal liquid paraffin for internal use;” listed in an obituary: “Deaths,” The Chemist and Druggist: For Retailer, Wholesaler and Manufacturer (August 29, 1964): 190.

[2] The annotated catalogue for this sale is located at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Miller Nichols Library. The annotations are most likely by Mr. or Mrs. Starr. Lot 61 is annotated in pen with a dash and a circled lot number. “£11” is written in pencil to the left of the lot. Leggatt bought the miniature for £11. Archival research has shown that Leggatt Brothers served as purchasing agents for the Starrs. See correspondence between Betty Hogg and Martha Jane Starr, May 15 and June 3, 1950, Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.