Henry Pratt
1815
Artist, American, born England, 1783 - 1872
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 91.8 x 73.5 cm (36 1/8 x 28 15/16 in.)
framed: 118.1 x 99.7 cm (46 1/2 x 39 1/4 in.) -
Accession
1942.13.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
The sitter's granddaughter, Maria Fennell [c. 1800-1880], Philadelphia; her niece, Rosalie Vallance Tiers Jackson [Mrs. Charles P. Jackson, 1852-1944], Jupiter, Florida;[1] given 1915 to her nephew, Clarence Van Dyke Tiers [1869-1959], Oakmont, Pennsylvania, and Daytona Beach, Florida; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Rosalie Valence Tiers Jackson was the great-granddaughter of the artist Matthew Pratt. His daughter Mary (Mrs. William Fennell, 1771-1849) had three daughters, Maria and Susan, who never married, and Anna Matilda (1809-1854), who married Arundius Tiers II (b. 1795) in 1828 and had at least two children by him, Rosalie and LaRue. Rosalie married Charles P. Jackson, and in addition to this painting, she inherited from her aunt Maria Fennell two of Pratt's paintings which she also gave to the NGA (1942.13.2 and 1944.17.1). Maria Fennell's will, dated September 4, 1879 (Philadelphia, Register of Wills, W476-1880), left most of her estate to Rosalie Tiers. She provided that her niece inherit "my share of the pictures and household furniture, which I own jointly with my sister Susan Fennell." None of the paintings is mentioned specifically.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1887
Loan Exhibition of Historical Portraits, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, no. 350.
1943
American Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1943.
1954
[Exhibition], Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 1954.
1955
Famous Americans, Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland, 1955, no cat.
1973
Thomas Sully 1783-1872, Bedford Gallery, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, 1973, no. 6.
1974
Selected American Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, University Center Gallery, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, 1974, no cat.
Extended loan for use by the Ambassador, U.S. Embassy residence, East Berlin, East Germany, 1974-1977.
1986
Extended loan for use by Ambassador Ronald Lauder, U.S. Embassy residence, Vienna, Austria, 1986-1987.
1987
Extended loan for use by Ambassador Henry Anatole Grunwald, U.S. Embassy residence, Vienna, Austria, 1987-1990.
1991
Extended loan for use by Justice Anthony Scalia, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1991-2008.
Bibliography
1909
Hart 1909, no. 1363, 136.
1921
Biddle, Edward, and Mantle Fielding. The Life and Works of Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Philadelphia, 1921: no. 1425, 254.
1970
American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 112, repro.
1973
Flynn, Elizabeth L. Thomas Sully, 1783-1872. Exh. cat. Bedford Gallery, Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia, 1973: 14, repro.
1980
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 243, repro.
1992
American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 360, repro.
1998
Torchia, Robert Wilson, with Deborah Chotner and Ellen G. Miles. American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century, Part II. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1998: 148-150, color repro.
Wikidata ID
Q20183657