(American, 1814 - 1885)
Portrait of Daisy Elizabeth Brooke Grubb
Oil on canvas, 54 1/2 x 38 inches
Signed and dated at lower right: “S.B. Waugh/1880”
This work is accompanied by a check for $500 drawn on City National Bank Philadelphia dated June 23, 1880 and signed by Clement B. Grubb with the note “Portrait of Daisy.” It is endorsed on the reverse “S. B. Waugh.”
The daughter of Clement Brooke and Mary Ann (Brooke) Grubb, Daisy was one of the youngest of the fifth generation of what has been termed the Grubb Family Iron Dynasty: a series of family-owned iron mining and production companies spanning about 165 years. Clement Grubb, one of the largest iron manufacturers in the state, was also a president of Lancaster’s First National Bank. At the time of his death he was said to have been the wealthiest citizen in Lancaster. Daisy inherited the family’s Mount Hope Estate in Lancaster County PA where she spent her summers. Her home in Lancaster—the Grubb Mansion—is now home to the Lancaster Museum of Art.
About the Artist
(American, 1814 - 1885)
The portraitist Samuel Bell Waugh was born in Mercer, Pennsylvania, and as a young man studied drawing with John Rubens Smith (1775-1849). He lived in Montreal, Canada, for a time and exhibited portraits at the Society of Artists and Amateurs in Toronto. He continued his study of art in England, France, and Italy. Although Waugh spent short periods of time in Buffalo, New York, New York City, and Bordentown, New Jersey, his primary residence for most of his career was Philadelphia. His panoramas of Italy were exhibited there and contributed greatly to his reputation, leading to numerous portrait commissions from the city’s elite. Waugh’s son Frederick (1861-1940) and his daughter Ida (died 1919) both became professional artists. Waugh exhibited at the Boston Athenaeum and the National Academy of Design in New York, which elected him an Associate Member in 1845 and an Honorary Member, Professional, in 1847. He also participated in exhibitions of the Artists’ Fund Society and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
