Captain Isaac Foster

1755

Joseph Badger

Associated Names
Joseph Badger

Painter, American, 1708 - 1765

The image shows an upper-body portrait of a man standing in a slight profile facing the viewer's left. He has a serious expression with a clean-shaven face, strong facial features, and white hair styled to the sides. He wears a dark coat with large buttons over a white shirt featuring ruffled cuffs and a dark waistcoat underneath. His left hand rests on an ornate piece of furniture, which displays intricate carvings. The background is a plain, textured wall. The date "1755" is inscribed in the lower right corner of the painting.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Mrs. David Buffum, Walpole, New Hampshire, by 1873;[1] her son, Dr. Thomas Bellows Buffum, Walpole, New Hampshire, by 1918;[2] Annie Buffum Williams [Mrs. Nathan W. Williams], Northampton, Massachusetts, 1943.[3] Purchased in Boston before 16 May 1949 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch;[4] gift 1957 to NGA.
[1] Augustus Thorndike Perkins, A Sketch of the Life and List of Some of the Works of John Singleton Copley, Boston, 1873, 125; Mrs. Buffum is described as a descendant. Frank W. Bayley, The Life and Works of John Singleton Copley, Boston, 1915, 108-109 repeats Perkins's information.
[2] Lawrence Park, Joseph Badger (1708-1765), And a Descriptive List of some of his Works, Boston, 1918, 14; Historical Records Survey 1942, 8.
[3] Letter from Mrs. Williams to the Frick Art Reference Library, 28 November 1943.
[4] A treatment report made for the Garbisches by conservators Sheldon and Caroline Keck notes that the Kecks received the painting on 16 May 1949. An undated information sheet compiled for the Garbisches states that the painting was acquired in Boston. (Both documents are in NGA curatorial files.)

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1975

  • The World of Franklin and Jefferson, traveling exhibition circulated by the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, 6 venues (Paris, Warsaw, London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles), 1975-1977, not included in cat.

1981

  • American Naive Paintings from the National Gallery of Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, IL, 1981-1982, no. 16

Bibliography

1873

  • Perkins, Augustus Thorndike. A Sketch of the Life and a List of some of the Works of John Singleton Copley. Boston, 1873: 125.

1915

  • Bayley, Frank W. The Life and Works of John Singleton Copley. Boston, 1915: 108-109.

1918

  • Park 1918, 14.

1942

  • Historical Records Survey. "Preliminary Checklist of American Portraits 1620-1860 Found in New Hampshire." Boston, 1942: 8.

1970

  • American Paintings and Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1970: 12, repro.

1972

  • Nylander, Richard C. "Joseph Badger, American Portrait Painter". M.A. thesis, State University of New York at Oneonta, 1972: 54.

1980

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1980: 22, repro.

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 23, repro.

1995

  • Miles, Ellen G. American Paintings of the Eighteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 3-4, repro. 2.

Inscriptions

lower right: 1755; on reverse of the original canvas: Isaac Foster; / Son of Richard;Foster Esqr. / And Parnell His Wife Was Born Janu Ye 3rd, 1703 / 4

Wikidata ID

Q20178084

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