Portrait of a Man

c. 1830

British 19th Century

Associated Names
British 19th Century

Painter

The painting depicts the upper half of a man standing straight and facing us. He has pale skin, rosy cheeks, a long nose, strong brows, and sideburns that lead to his curly, gray-brown hair. He is wearing a black coat over a high-collared white shirt. In one hand he holds papers, while in the other hand he holds a pair of nearly-invisible spectacles against his torso. His right arm is bent and resting on a surface next to him on the left, and there is an inkwell with a quill and a paper on a lower desk or surface on the right. The background is dark brown with some visible brushstrokes.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 122.9 x 92.4 cm (48 3/8 x 36 3/8 in.)
    framed: 143.5 x 113 x 7 cm (56 1/2 x 44 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1947.17.76

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Rose M. de Forest [Mrs. Augustus de Forest], New York); sold 9 December 1925 to Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York; 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.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1926

  • A Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Early American Portrait Painters, The Century Association, New York, 1926, no. 15, as John Davis by John Neagle.

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 John Davis by John Neagle.

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, as John Davis by John Neagle.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 166, repro.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 48, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 308.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 22, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20185723

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