Antique of the Week: "Chickens I," Painting by A.F. Tate

As everyone in Kensington knows, Antique Row is one of the community’s points of pride. Howard Avenue and its side streets are lined with shops specializing in antique furniture, rugs, vintage toys, used books and more. This large presence in the community sparked our feature, Antique of the Week, where we will showcase a different item or curiosity each week to bring attention to pieces from the past.

This week, we are featuring “Chickens I,” an original oil painting on board by A.F. Tait. Known for painting animals, Arthur Fitzwilliam Taitwas an English artist who had immigrated to New York in 1850, and he divided his time between New York City and the Adirondack Mountains. This particular painting was completed near the end of the American Civil War, and it was chromo-lithographed by L. Prang & Co. 

L. Prang & Co. sold more than 30,000 chromo-lithographs of Tait’s painting of the chickens in 1866, and it marked Prang’s first success. Prang commissioned Tait to paint other animals, including ducklings, quails and doe and a fawn, according to The Philadelphia Printshop.

This original painting of the chickens is being sold for $5,500 at History for Sale, located at 3758 Howard Ave. The phone number is 240-264-7274.