William Crook Rudman, Jr.

c. 1845

American 19th Century

Associated Names
American 19th Century

Painter

The portrait shows a young man seated with his body turned slightly to the side, facing toward the viewer. He has fair skin and neatly styled, light brown hair that is parted to one side. His face is smooth and youthful, with prominent cheekbones and a defined jawline. He wears a dark coat over a white shirt with a decorative patterned edge. A vivid blue bow tie is neatly tied around his neck. Draped over his waistcoat, a gold chain features a circular pendant and a key-like ornament. His right hand is resting on two large books positioned in front of him, one of which has 'SILVAN' and 'SHONBERG' inscribed on its spine in gold letters. The background consists of a plain, softly shaded wall, with a small portion showing a distant landscape outside a window on the left, depicting a serene natural scene.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 76.4 x 64 cm (30 1/16 x 25 3/16 in.)
    framed: 90.2 x 80 x 7.3 cm (35 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 2 7/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1947.17.80

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Carlotta Herring Broune, the sitter's niece, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; (sale, Stan V. Henkels, Philadelphia, 30 June and 1 July 1921, no. 48, as by John Neagle);[1] 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.
[1] It is listed in the sale catalogue "Fine Old Paintings, Estate of Julia Bailey...and from other sources," as by John Neagle [sic], but the consignor is not identified. The Clarke collection records give the date of the sale inaccurately as 14 October 1921. Carlotta Herring Broune's name is also spelled Browne in the Clarke records, but her signature on a 26 November 1921 letter to Charles Harris appears to read Broune. (This note does not appear in the provenance as published in the NGA systematic catalogue entry.)

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1923

  • Exhibition of Portraits by Early American Portrait Painters, The Union League Club, New York, 1923, no. 16, as William C. Rudman 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 William C. Rudman 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 by John Neagle.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 150, repro.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 295, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 425, 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: 303-304, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20187584

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