229: J. LIBERTY TADD (PHILADELPHIA B. 1863) OIL ON CANVAS

J. Liberty Tadd (Born 1863)
Thomas K. Kirkbride's Study (1880)
The rare work by this teacher and craftsman who is more known for having instructed painters and craftsmen is signed lower right front and again verso where the artist's address is listed as 1334 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia.

As headmaster of the Philadelphia Public School of Industrial Art and founder of the Adirondack Summer Art School near near Saranac Lake, New York, Liberty is more known as an art instructor and curriculum director.

The subject of this work is an interior view of noted Philadelphia psychiatrist Thomas K. Kirkbride's library and study. It is being deaccessioned by the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery of the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library where records confirm the painting was donated to the collection by the Menninger Foundation Museum and Archives. The Menninger Foundation consists of a clinic, sanatorium, and school of psychiatry founded in Topeka, Kansas in 1919.
Canvas measures 17.5 x 25.75 with a framed size of 26.25 x 34.25 inches.
Good original condition, noting craquelure and slight cupping in lower right corner, chipping along all edges and corners, previous frame marks, 6-inch scratch lower middle. No serious damage or repair.
Provenance: Deaccession from the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery - Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.
$600 - $900