Provenance of Two Portraits by the artist Theodore Gegoux (1850-1931)

This provenance applies to two paintings herein referred to as “Portrait of Uncle Clint” and “Portrait of Aunt Maymie”.  These two portraits are from the collection of Robert R. Richter of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Originally from the estate of Robert’s late grandmother, Mabel H. Schultz (1885 -1968) of Portland, Oregon.  Maymie Gertrude Schultz (1887 - 1960) was the sister of Mabel.  These two sisters were among the six children of Charles M. Schultz (1849 - 1930) and Margaret Jane Moore (1860 - 1935) late of Aurora, Oregon and one time residents of the Robert Newell house. 

The Robert Newell House, built in 1852 and one of the few surviving structures from prior to the Willamette River flood of 1861, now owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The “Portrait of Uncle Clint” is that of Clinton Bert Barker (1887 - 1961), oil on board, 21 inches by 17 inches, painted in 1917 by the artist Theodore Gegoux (1850-1931) for which there is a receipt in the artist's own hand.

The “Portrait of Aunt Mamie” is that of Mamie Gertrude Schultz (1888 - 1960), oil on board, 21 inches by 17 inches, painted in 1919 by the artist Theodore Gegoux (1850-1931) for which there is a receipt in the artist's own hand.

Neither Clinton nor Mamie ever married.  When Clinton signed his WWII draft registration in 1942, he listed Mamie as his point of contact.  The U.S. Federal Census records that these two did not reside together during the years of 1920; 1930; or 1940.  However the 1910 Federal census showed Clinton as a servant on the Schultz farm near Aurora, Oregon.  Mamie died at her sister Mabel’s house in Portland on February 20, 1960 after a protracted illness from cancer.  Mabel was the grandmother of Robert R. Richter; who inherited the portraits through his mother, Gladys M. Sather (1907 - 1979).