Christian von Schneidau (1893 – 1976)
Posted by Suzay Lamb on March 18, 2011
Summertime
5 O’Clock (Portrait Of Mrs. Elwood Riggs)
Mary Pickford
Mood Orientale
Esther With Violin
Woman With Blue Robe
Chinese Parasol
Portrait Of A Woman (possibly Mrs. Bell Fulton-Butts)
Lady In A White Fox Capelet
Elderly Woman Reading
An Appeal
Young Woman Playing An Organ
Sister Elba
Sunset Glow On Eucalyptus Trees
Four Eskimo Girls
Native Americans Greeting Swedish Settlers
Bruce said
I have fallen in love with Mrs. Elwood Riggs. A pure, chaste, respectable, platonic love from afar, of course!
Suzay Lamb said
She has her own style in pouring the tea. Lovely lady.
Bruce said
It bothered me a bit that Mrs. Elwood has no first name of her own, so I searched. Alas, no luck. She will forever be a shadow of her husband, known as “Mrs. Elwood Riggs.” However, we need not feel too sorry for her; apparently she and her husband were well-off (of course, money does not buy happiness – but it sure helps if you don’t have it!).
First I found this: “CHRISTIAN VON SCHNEIDAU OIL ON CANVAS (Orange, California 1893-1976) Landscape with John Wesley Riggs, the blonde young boy in wooden bath tub. 18 in. by 24 in. Signed C. von Schneidau l.r. & again in pencil verso. Provenance: photo with ink notation verso “John Wesley Riggs at Storm lake, Michigan July, 1925 (age 1 year & 10 months old”; consigned by Elwood T. Riggs, son of John Wesley Riggs, subject of photo and this oil painting. Provenance: by descent in the family. Note that on April 11, 2005 Butterfield’s sold portrait of Mrs. Elwood Riggs (our consignor’s grandmother) as Lot 161, 40 in. by 36 in., estimated at $20,000 to $30,000 for $45,000.” http://www.ogallerie.com/auctions/2008-06/index_13.shtml
Then I came across this: “ELWOOD RIGGS OIL ON CANVAS (American, Born 1863), A tall sailing ship, 36″ x 29″, Signed “Elwood Riggs, 1927″ lower right. Set in a 1920′s gilt wood frame. Elwood Riggs, the founder of a large optical company and a painter himself, was a friend of Christian Von Schneidau who painted several pictures of Elwood’s family members in the 1920′s.” http://www.ogallerie.com/auctions/2010-07/printable_catalog.shtml
Next was: “In 1925, one Elwood Riggs, founder of the Riggs Company, sold his interest in said company for $1,667,500 to Bausch & Lomb Company. http://in.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.%2FFCT%2FC07%2F1934%2F19340123_0040208.C07.htm/qx
Then I smiled when I saw the house that she apparently lived in with Mr. Riggs: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/simplesearch.htm?page=1&keyword=subject:%22Riggs%2C+Elwood%22
I am content. Rest in peace, Mrs. Elwood Riggs.
Suzay Lamb said
Super search indeed! It makes me think of detective McPherson (Dana Andrews in Otto Preminger’s “Laura”) investigating Gene Tierney’s past.
p.s.: Blonde baby John Wesley Riggs was a delicious little cutie!
Bruce said
[p.s.: Blonde baby John Wesley Riggs was a delicious little cutie!]
Heh, I’ll let you be the judge of that. As for me, I also saved “Mary Pickford” and “Portrait Of A Woman,” both remarkable paintings in my opinion.
Fortunately, Mary Pickford is well-known. Unfortunately, that is only POSSIBLY “Mrs. Bell Fulton-Butts.”
So expect no further research from me at this time!
Suzay Lamb said
I guess she’s too seasoned for you…anyway, Mrs. Bell Fulton-Butts was Robert Fulton’s granddaughter.
John Collings (London UK) said
Mrs Elwood Riggs name was Verla Conway Riggs, she died aged 86 , on 21 January 2010 in Kentucky.
See: http://www.maysville-online.com/news/local/obituaries/article_902659be-07e9-11df-b8cf-001cc4c03286.html
Suzay Lamb said
Thanks for the valuable information.
John Collings (London UK) said
I am puzzled now that the person that died in Kentucky was born in 1923, yet von Schneidau’s painting of her suggests she was born much earlier, so perhaps I’m wrong, although the maysville-online.com report that I refer to, does state that she was Elwood Riggs widow.