Sebastian Pether: Moonlight & Poverty
Sebastian Pether’s paintings sell easily these days. His impressive milky moon light and his watery water needs no sales patter. Unfortunately for Pether, that wasn’t the case whilst he was alive and kicking.
His father Abraham Pether (born 1756) was also an artist. Moonlit landscapes ran in the Pether genes. In fact, Abraham Pether’s nickname as “Moonlight” Pether, which, as nicknames go, is pretty cool.
Despite earning the general respect of his peers and displaying his art in galleries far and wide, Pether senior never managed to make any more money than he needed to cater for his large family – a wife and 9 children.
He suffered from ill health which prevented him from working later in life, and he died aged 56, a pauper.
Sebastian was Abraham’s eldest son, born in 1790, he took the gauntlet and painted moonlit scenes in a similar manner to his father, who had no doubt shown him the ropes.
Because of the massive family which he needed to provide for, Sebastian Pether was forced to work for dealers. This meant that money was relatively regular, but miserly, and his works never made it into any galleries. Like his father, he was a top notch artist receiving a minimum wage.
He did send three paintings to the Royal Academy, but they were rejected. He died, poor, aged 54.
Nowadays, because his art is rare, but finally appreciated, it sells for good prices. If you can find them. Most are fakes.
Here are some of his lovely wonders:
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