For many years my mom and dad had a very large, three-quarter length portrait of my Great Grandfather Bovell hanging in their living room. It was in a very dark walnut frame and the painting was itself dark, most likely from being exposed to many years of oil heat, dust and dirt in an Iowa farmhouse.

The man in the painting was a Baptist minister and the father of my dad’s mother, Ruth Bovell Beebe. Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Beebe had the painting in their Burlington, IA, farmhouse for many years. My dad’s name was William Bovell Beebe and my brother is named Thomas Bovell Beebe. We ended up with the painting because of my mom’s appreciation for art and because of the sentimental connection to my dad’s mom and her family history.

Growing up my brother’s nickname among family members was and still is Bo, after his unusual middle name. Now he is the proud owner of the portrait of our Great Grandfather. We have all thought that the painting was masterfully painted but knew nothing about the artist who painted it. The name that is in the upper left corner has always looked to us like Geo Louis Larspecker, dated 1905.

Thomas Bovell Beebe and portrait of Thomas Scott Bovell

Being boys we used to make fun of the artist’s last name. We never gave it much thought about who the artist was or his legacy. The rumor through generations of family members was that the artist died at a young age.

Tom and his wife Jan decided it was finally time to get Great Grandfather Bovell cleaned before they hang him up in their home. Many, many years ago my mom had a gallery person over to see if it needed cleaning. The person took some unknown liquid on a cotton ball and rubbed it on the white vest of GG Bovell. It showed a huge difference leaving a big white spot on his vest. The price the person quoted my mom for cleaning the entire portrait was so high that Mom decided she didn’t want it cleaned.

For decades the portrait had a big white spot on his vest! When my brother mentioned that they were thinking about having the portrait cleaned, I told him that I just happened to know a guy! Right here in Charleston there is a master restorationist/conservationist Fernando Valverde, at Charleston Art Restorations.

Fernando Valverde with the cleaned painting!

Fernando grew up in Spain, painting at a very early age and learned his craft from masters. He surely was the one to entrust with our family portrait.

Fernando carefully took the film of dirt and grime off and then varnished it with several coats of satin varnish. The painting now has a warmth about it and the subtle colors in the face now enhance the painting. We are all most grateful to Fernando for his expertise and for his skilled hands.

The portrait has a simplicity to it in terms of brushwork. Yet, it has a painterly style with brilliant use of light and shadows. The artist definitely was old school and masterful in his handling of paint and brush.

The eyes always followed us around the living room, just like Rembrandt’s eyes do in his self-portrait, and Mona Lisa’s eyes do in Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous portrait. Thomas Scott Bovell, 1853-1927, was 52 years of age in his portrait.

Great Grandpa and his awesome mustache! ;-)

Our curiosity about the talented artist peaked after the painting was cleaned. We discovered that the artist’s name was actually George Louis Carspecken! Not Larspecker! His signature could be read either way on the painting.

George Louis Carspecken did die at a young age, 21, tragically falling down a flight of steps due to a bad case of Vertigo. He died in 1905, the same year as our family portrait was painted, possibly making this portrait his very last work. He died in Burlington, Iowa which is where my grandparents and my great grandparents lived.

George (Geo) Louis Carspecken was born in Pittsburgh, PA, studied at the Allegheny School of Art at a very early age and then joined the Art Students’ League in New York. At 17 years of age he had two portraits accepted into a juried exhibit which caught the attention of one of the wealthiest men in the world Andrew Carnegie. Mr. Carnegie saw in Geo a natural talent and considered him to be a “budding genius”. Geo became Mr. Carnegie’s sole artistic protégé. In 1902, Mr. Carnegie sent Geo to Paris to study abroad under several French masters. Unfortunately, Geo had to return home in 1904 due to ill health.

When he returned to the states in 1904 he settled in Burlington, Iowa. How he came to paint my great grandfather we don’t know, other than they lived in the same town. Did the church hire him to paint his portrait? Were they friends? Was Geo a member of the church where my great grandfather was the minister? That will remain a mystery.

Carspecken exhibited at Carnegie Intl., in 1901, 1903, and 1904. His Portrait of a Young Man, painted in 1901, is now in the permanent collection of the Worcester Art Museum.

The dark painting in our family living room turns out to be painted by a young master! Larspecker is actually Carspecken! Geo’s possible last painting is now all cleaned up (by another master) and will be hung proudly in his namesake’s home, Thomas Bovell Beebe.

I hope you enjoyed the story behind the family portrait. I’ve always loved the painting and my great grandfather’s impressive walrus mustache! Thank you for reading my journal and for your interest in my art!

I have a show coming up at Mary Martin Gallery on Broad Street, Friday July 7th. I’ll be exhibiting 19 of my bird paintings, including a number of large Brown Pelican portraits and other shorebird paintings. I hope y’all can make it. :)

“One of the joys of being an artist is having the freedom to follow my passion….”

— William R. Beebe

Portrait of My Great Grandfather Bovell ~ the artist and Andrew Carnegie!