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Chester Harding

Charles Carroll of Carrollton, c. 1828

Not on View

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 90.2 x 70.2 cm (35 1/2 x 27 5/8 in.)

framed: 110.5 x 90.2 x 6.4 cm (43 1/2 x 35 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Dallas Thayer

Accession Number

1956.15.1

Artists / Makers

Chester Harding (artist) American, 1792 - 1866

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Provenance

Mrs. Benjamin Rush Toland, Philadelphia;[1] sold to (Ehrich Galleries, New York). (McClees Gallery, Philadelphia) by 1928;[2] sold to Alexander Dallas Thayer, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania; gift 1956 to NGA.

[1] Letter of 4 January 1962 from L. E. Magargal, secretary to Alexander Thayer (in NGA curatorial files), provides provenance information and states that the painting was also owned at an unknown date by "Mr. R.H.R. Toland of Philadelphia."

[2] Typescript letter dated 3 December 1928 from Albert Rosenthal (in NGA curatorial files) provides provenance information regarding the Ehrich and McClees galleries.

Associated Names

Ehrich Galleries
McClees Gallery
Thayer, Alexander D.
Toland, Benjamin Rush, Mrs.

Exhibition History

1960: American Painters of the South, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1960, no. 84.

1969: A Nineteenth-Century Gallery of Distinguished American, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1969, p. 23.

1970: Two Centuries of American Portraits, University of Kentucky Art Gallery, Lexington; Paducah Art Gallery, Kentucky; J. B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, 1970, no cat.

1975: "Anywhere So Long As There Be Freedom," Charles Carroll of Carrollton, His Family & His Maryland, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1975, no. 39.

1976: Portraits USA 1776-1976, Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, 1976, p. 40.

1985: A Truthful Likeness: Chester Harding and His Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; J. B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky, 1985, no. 20.

Technical Summary

The painting was executed on a medium-weight, plain-weave fabric that has been lined. Cusping on all four cut edges suggests that the image has not been reduced. The off-white ground is thick and, although seemingly smooth, has a distinctively brushy appearance under x-radiography. Subsequent paint, generally thick, was broadly and rapidly applied. The exceptions are the shadowed areas of the face and hair, which are more thinly executed. It appears that the face, coat, and background were painted directly on the ground, while the hand, book, and chair back were added over the coat and background color. In 1957 the painting was relined and discolored varnish was removed. Two small losses to the right of the sitter's head have been inpainted, as well as smaller losses in the sitter's right cheek and in the background. His right shoulder has been reinforced. The varnish has discolored.

Bibliography

1869: Dunlap, William. A History of the Rise and Progress of The Arts of Design in the United States. 2 vols. Reprinted in 3. New York, 1969 (1834): 2:289.

1969: Stewart, Robert G. A Nineteenth-Century Gallery of Distinguished Americans. Washington, 1969: 23, repro.

1970: American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 62, repro.

1975: "Anywhere So Long as There Be Freedom": Charles Carroll of Carrollton, His Family & His Maryland. Baltimore, 1975: 176, no. 39.

1976: Dickson, Harold E. Portraits USA: 1776-1976. Exh. cat. Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, State College, 1976: 40-41.

1980: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 168, repro.

1981: Williams, William James. A Heritage of American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1981: 88, repro. 106.

1985: Lipton, Leah. A Truthful Likeness: Chester Harding and His Portraits. Exh. cat. National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.; J. B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville. Washington, D.C., 1985: no. 20, 81-82.

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 192, repro.

1996: Kelly, Franklin, with Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Deborah Chotner, and John Davis. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part I. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1996: 246-250, color repro.