Portrait of a Gentleman

c. 1770-1773

Joseph Wright

Associated Names
Joseph Wright

Painter, British, 1734 - 1797

The painting depicts a man shown from the knees up, standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his head turned to the right. He has light skin, ruddy cheeks with a brown mole, a long nose, and small red lips in a neutral expression. His gray hair is styled into curls above his ears that peek out from under a black hat. His clothing is rich in detail, consisting of a dark blue-and-red coat with gold embroidery and gold buttons, and an off-white scarf or cravat wrapped around his neck. His right hand wears a black glove and holds a cane, as well as the other glove. The background features large, moss-covered rock formations, with a few green vines trailing across them. The pale-yellow sky behind it is filled with clouds, with some hints of blue at the top.

Media Options

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery M59

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 128 x 102 cm (50 3/8 x 40 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1940.1.11

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

William Curzon [1836-1916], Lockington Hall, Derbyshire; purchased 1916, at the dispersal of the Curzon estate, by Mrs. Claire Marion Cox, London, as Richard, Earl Howe, by John Singleton Copley; consigned 1932 by Mrs. Cox to (The Hackett Galleries, New York); returned to Mrs. Cox and later consigned to (Mrs. Chambers Wood, New York), who sold it 1932 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York);[1] purchased May 1936 by The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1940 to NGA.
[1] Knoedler's records give the early provenance (letter from Elizabeth Clare to NGA curator William Campbell, 5 November 1963, in NGA curatorial files). Clare quotes a letter from Mrs. Cox to Mrs. Wood, undated but presumably 1932, in which Mrs. Cox states that the 1916 dispersal "was a hurried executors' sale and few persons attended it."

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1932

  • Inaugural exhibition, Museum of the City of New York, 1932, no catalogue, as by Copley.

1933

  • The Opening Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1933, no. 1, as by Copley.

Bibliography

1941

  • Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 43, no. 497, as Richard, Earl Howe by John Singleton Copley.

1942

  • Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 249, repro. 7, as Richard, Earl Howe by John Singleton Copley.

1949

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 130, repro., as Richard, Earl Howe, by John Singleton Copley.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 140, as Richard, Earl Howe.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 127, repro., as Richard, Earl Howe.

  • Nicolson, Benedict. Joseph Wright of Derby: Painter of Light. 2 vols. London, 1968: 1:36, 207; 2:pl. 90.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 166, repro., as Richard, Earl Howe (?).

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 376, repro., as Richard, Earl Howe (?).

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: no. 530, color repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 307, as Richard, Earl Howe (?).

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 439, repro., as Richard, Earl Howe (?).

1992

  • Hayes, John. British Paintings of the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 342-344, repro. 343.

Wikidata ID

Q20178491

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