Long Shot

[stevengugas]

Purchased two late 19th century portraits by Willis Pepoon at an estate sale. He did portraits of famous southern aristocrats. He did most of the Robert E. Lee portraits that until recently hung in our court houses here in Virginia. Just trying to see if anyone might recognize these two portraits and who they might be. I am assuming the woman is the wife of the man or possibly his sister. Pepoon generally painted his portraits from old photos or tin types . No luck in checking the National Art Museum. Lee's daughter said his portraits were the most accurate of any. Could this, maybe, have been a young Lee?

 

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[SD51]

Here's a portrait of Robert E. Lee when he was enrolled at West Point in 1829. He was 22 years old t the time.

 

[stevengugas]

Yep, I have seen it. Checked all the images on Google for early Lee's but didn't find any of his childhood. Thanks

 

[bronco]

Wow quite a find. Looks like Lee to me. FWIW

 

[Red-Coat]

Nice portraits, but I have some comments on the chronology. Robert E Lee was born in 1807, but the first publicly available photographic process was the Daguerreotype, invented in 1839 and then widely used in the 1840s and 1850s. Tintypes took over during the 1860s and 1870s. For the portrait to have been copied from a photograph of any kind, the original would have to have been captured when Lee was in his thirties at minimum.

For it to be him as a youth, it would have to have been painted ‘from life’, but I’m also doubtful that the clothing is consistent with Lee as a young man sitting for such a portrait. The collar looks like the forerunner of what became known as the ‘Eton’ collar and it appears the subject is wearing it with a foppish bow. I would think it more consistent with rich folks ‘Sunday best’ in the 1880s-1890s at the earliest… ie after Lee’s death.

 

[pepperj]

Nice portraits, but I have some comments on the chronology. Robert E Lee was born in 1807, but the first publicly available photographic process was the Daguerreotype, invented in 1839 and then widely used in the 1840s and 1850s. Tintypes took over during the 1860s and 1870s. For the portrait to have been copied from a photograph of any kind, the original would have to have been captured when Lee was in his thirties at minimum.

For it to be him as a youth, it would have to have been painted ‘from life’, but I’m also doubtful that the clothing is consistent with Lee as a young man sitting for such a portrait. The collar looks like the forerunner of what became known as the ‘Eton’ collar and it appears the subject is wearing it with a foppish bow. I would think it more consistent with rich folks ‘Sunday best’ in the 1880s-1890s at the earliest… ie after Lee’s death.

Just a thought about portraits that were taken from the early times as the person would wear their "Sunday best". Though wasn't there studios that had dress/suites or better attire for some to wear for the portraits?

 

[Red-Coat]

Just a thought about portraits that were taken from the early times as the person would wear their "Sunday best". Though wasn't there studios that had dress/suites or better attire for some to wear for the portraits?

Indeed yes, but if that's Robert E Lee as a youth (say, not older than 20) then the portrait would have to have been from before 1827. I would suggest that the collar style is much later than that and couldn't have been part of the sitter's own wardrobe (pre-1827), nor that of a professional studio operating at that time.

 

[DCMatt]

I see no reason to think the portrait is Lee or any member of the Lee family.

I would start with the family name from the estate sale.