Auction introduction: Christie’s is honored to present From Peale to Peto: American Masters from the Pollack Collection – a dedicated auction of 19th Century American Art in New York on 19 January 2023. Daniel A. Pollack (1939-2019), was an avid collector and connoisseur of early American still life and portraiture. With a keen eye for quality, he thoughtfully assembled his collection over three decades, featuring some of the brightest names in these artistic traditions. For over a decade, he served as the chair of the American Arts Committee of the Harvard Art Museums, where he was a long-standing supporter and to which his collection of early American silver was donated. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Poly Prep Country Day School, Harvard College, Harvard Law School and University College Oxford. Pollack was widely considered one of the foremost trial lawyers in the nation. Pollack led the firm of Pollack & Kaminsky for over 40 years. Within the auction, William Michael Harnett’s Lobster, Fruit, Champagne and Newspaper anchors the still life offerings alongside works by John Frederick Peto and John Francis. The collection notably features multiple examples from the celebrated Peale family of artists— including an important Charles Peale Polk portrait of George Washington and still lifes by Raphaelle Peale, James Peale, Sarah Miriam Peale and Titian Ramsay Peale. The sale also includes portraiture by John Singleton Copley and Thomas Sully, as well as maritime paintings by Fitz Henry Lane and James Edward Buttersworth.