The young girl in this 1864 watercolor approaches maybe a little too sweet for me, but then the marvelously rendered rabbit nibbling clover from her hands grounds the whole thing, as does the beautifully inked lettering at the bottom: The Favorite Rabbit. Really all quite beautifully done. And on the back, protected under an old sheet of acetate, a page from the Herald Tribune, 1864, which dates it and makes for some pretty interesting reading itself!
The ink and watercolor is after an c. 1792 engraving by Charles Knight (1743-1826), which was after an original painting by John Russell (1745 - 1806), both British. This was a widely reproduced image it seems, as I have turned up Georgian silk embroideries as well as a range of folk renderings of this girl and her rabbit. (As would become the case with Currier & Ives prints, etc.) I have included a photo of the Knight engraving for reference at end of photos.
17 x 14 3/4". Under glass is period/original frame, with the masking taped sheeting showing the newspaper backing obviously added later. Good overall condition, shows very well, with general wear to the antique wooden frame and some scattered stains and toning to the watercolor/paper, mostly along bottom edge over portion of title and extending up to the fingers of her hand. Perhaps there is a clean tear running along the rabbit's back--I only noticed when photographing; maybe mended from the reverse or maybe just a scratching to the surface of the paper, hard to tell but I don't think detracting, and I'd very much leave this one in this frame, just as it is.
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