Provenance
The artist, New York. (sale, Anderson Galleries, New York, 26 November 1920, no. 91); Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York;[1] his estate; sold as part of the Clarke collection 29 January 1936, through (M. Knoedler & Co., New York), to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1947 to NGA.
Exhibition History
- 1921
- Exhibition of Paintings by Early American Portrait Painters, The Union League Club, New York, December 1921, no. 19.
- 1928
- Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928-1931, unnumbered and unpaginated catalogue, as James Hall.
- 1967
- Loan for display with permanent collection, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1967-2000.
- 1972
- The Lazzaroni: Science and Scientists in Mid-Nineteenth Century America, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1972, p. 71.
Technical Summary
The support is a medium-weight, plain-weave fabric. The painting remains unlined and is attached with tacks to the original four-member, half-mitered half-slip-joined stretcher. Stenciled on the reverse of the fabric is "Williams, Stevens, Williams & Co.... 353 Broadway New York." The tan-colored ground is thin and smooth. The paint was largely applied with a wet-into-wet technique in fairly free strokes. The painting is in fair condition, with little inpainting. There are minor tears scattered in the tacking edges. A larger mended tear, approximately 5.7 cm in length, is located at upper right. Throughout the surface there is a fine crackle pattern. The varnish is uneven and has become extremely discolored.
Bibliography
- 1928
- Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Collected by Thomas B. Clarke. Exh. cat. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928, unnumbered.
- 1952
- Rutledge and Lane 1952, 123.
- 1970
- American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 70, repro.
- 1980
- American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 179, repro.
- 1987
- Earth Sciences History 6, no. 1 (1987): repro. 1.
- 1992
- American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 208, repro.
- 1992
- Romm, Sharon. The Changing Face of Beauty. St. Louis, 1992: 303, 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: 334-337, repro.
Related Content
- Sort by:
- Results layout: