An ALS to Davy Crockett, written and signed by S. S. Osgood, one page, 8 x 9.75, December 24, 1834. Osgood writes, in full: “I have received your note requesting permission to have a small engraving for your book taken from the print of which I hold a copyright and I am happy to have it in my power to grant so small a favour and therefore do hereby give you permission to make such use of that print as may suit your purposes.” Second integral page bears an address panel in Osgood’s hand to “Hon. D. Crockett, Washington, D. C.” In very good condition, with intersecting folds, one through a single letter of signature, a few small separations along folds, paper loss to left corners along hinge, and scattered creasing.
Crockett was so impressed by S. S. Osgood’s portrait of fellow Tennessean Henry Clay that he commissioned the artist to paint a likeness of him as well. He was extremely pleased with the resulting portrait and glowingly endorsed Osgood’s prowess, saying “[He] has done me the favour to paint my portrate [sic] and as it is due to him that I shall State the masterly manner in which he has performed that work.” Indeed, Crockett believed that the portrait referred to in this letter was a most accurate rendering, proclaiming Osgood's painting to be "the only correct likeness of me that has been taken."
Osgood’s association with Crockett’s national celebrity raised the portraitist's profile within the art community and beyond. In his December 24, 1834, letter to Crockett, Osgood takes the opportunity to return the favor by granting his onetime subject's request to use the copyrighted portrait in a forthcoming memoir of his recent travels. At the time Crockett received Osgood’s letter, the future Alamo martyr was writing to friends about his intention to move to Texas. The former Anti-Jackson Congressman departed his West Tennessee home in August 1835. He arrived in Nacogdoches in early January and reached the Alamo on February 9, 1836, a little less than a month before the legendary battle began.
Osgood painted portraits of some of Crockett's most eminent contemporaries including Edgar Allen Poe and John Sutter. He was an Associate of the National Academy of Design and exhibited in some of America's most prestigious galleries. Today, his work can be found in the collections of the Alamo Museum and the Brooklyn Museum, among others.
This letter from an important nineteenth-century artist to an icon of the American frontier provides collectors with the chance to own a document directly tied to one of the most famous portraits ever painted of this larger-than-life figure. The Robert Davis Collection, read more about Robert Davis. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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