Judah LeVasseur (American, 19th Century). Lake Nicaragua, circa 1840. Oil on canvas. 12 x 20 inches (30.5 x 50.8 cm). Si...

Description

Judah LeVasseur (American, 19th Century)
Lake Nicaragua, circa 1840
Oil on canvas
12 x 20 inches (30.5 x 50.8 cm)
Signed lower left: LeVasseur

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Atlanta, Georgia, acquired circa 1985.

Very little is known of the French-American painter Judah Levasseur. Although he did work in and around New Orleans between the years 1838 and 1842, the present work is an extraordinary and rare example of an American artist's portrayal of Nicaragua executed in the first half of the 19th Century. While Frederic Edwin Church, Martin Johnson Heade and Norton Bush did travel to Central and South America, their respective trips took place later than Levasseur's excursion. Therefore, Lake Nicaragua is one of the earliest known depictions of Central America, by the hand of an American artist.

Heritage Auctions recently established a new auction record for the artist, when Fishing on the Lake of Managua, Nicaragua: A Pair of Works sold for $137,500 on May 3, 2019.


More information about Levasseur, Judah Artist.

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