George Pope Morris

c. 1836

Henry Inman

Associated Names
Henry Inman

Artist, American, 1801 - 1846

The image shows a man's upper body in a formal portrait setting. He is depicted sitting or standing upright with his head turned slightly to the right, directly facing the viewer. The man has fair skin, distinct facial features including a full face with a slight smile and prominent cheeks. His hair is dark, thick, and curly, framing his face neatly. He is dressed in formal attire, wearing a dark coat and a white shirt with a high collar, complemented by a black bow tie. There is a hint of a gold chain peeking from beneath his coat. The background is a plain, dark brown.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 76.2 x 63.8 cm (30 x 25 1/8 in.)
    framed: 95.6 x 83.2 x 7.6 cm (37 5/8 x 32 3/4 x 3 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1947.17.8

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The sitter [1802-1864], Cold Spring, New York, and New York.[1] (Rose M. de Forest [Mrs. Augustus], New York); sold 8 November 1917 to Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York;[2] 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.
[1] In the 1836 National Academy catalogue, Morris is listed as the owner of the painting. [2] The name of the seller and the date of the purchase by Clarke are recorded in a copy of Portraits by Early American Artists of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Centuries Collected by Thomas B. Clarke (Exh. cat. Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1928) annotated with information from files of M. Knoedler & Co., NY (copy in NGA curatorial records and in NGA library).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1836

  • Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, 1836, no. 146.

1922

  • Exhibition of Portraits by Early American Artists, The Union League Club, New York, March 1922, no. 20.

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.

1950

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1950.

1951

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1951.

1953

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1953.

1955

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1955.

1956

  • American Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1956.

1987

  • The Art of Henry Inman, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1987, no. 45.

Bibliography

1836

  • "National Academy of Design." New York Evening Post (25 May 1836).

  • "National Academy of Design." New York Herald (12 May 1836).

  • "National Academy of Design." Spirit of the Times 6 (21 May 1836): 106.

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.

1933

  • Bolton, Theodore. "Henry Inman, Portrait Painter." Creative Art 12 (February 1933): 160, as George Peples Morris.

1940

  • Bolton, Theodore. "A Catalogue of the Paintings of Henry Inman." The Art Quarterly 3 (1940): 410, no. 98.

1944

  • Richardson, Edgar P. American Romantic Painting. New York, 1944: 38, no. 89, repro.

1952

  • Rutledge and Lane 1952, 87.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 72, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 180, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 209, 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: 347-349, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20186090

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