Artwork
Dr. Samuel A. Bemis
Dr. Samuel A. Bemis is a watercolor painting by the American Folk Art artist Alvan Clark. It dates from 1840 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Accession no.
- 37.82
- Credit line
- Fletcher Fund, 1937
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a formal portrait, it functions to document the sitter's appearance and social standing, a common purpose of early American portraiture.
The painting portrays Dr. Samuel A. Bemis as a seated male sitter, rendered in watercolor on ivory by Alvan Clark in 1840. As a formal portrait, it functions to document the sitter's appearance and social standing, a common purpose of early American portraiture. The work's iconography is limited to conventional portrait elements, attire and posture, without additional symbolic attributes, suggesting its primary meaning is the representation of Bemis as an identified individual within the cultural context of the period. The piece is classified within The American Wing and is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Technique & Style
Dr. Samuel A. Bemis is a portrait miniature executed in watercolor on ivory by Alvan Clark in 1840. The work depicts a man in a bust-length pose, characteristic of the portrait genre, and measures approximately 7.6 cm in height and 6.4 cm in width. As a watercolor on ivory, the medium allows for delicate, translucent washes applied to a smooth, supportive surface, a technique frequently employed for small-scale portraiture in mid-nineteenth-century American art. The painting is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's American Wing collection.
History & Provenance
The portrait of Dr. Samuel A. Bemis was executed in 1840 by the artist Alvan Clark. Created as a watercolor on ivory, the work measures 7.6 by 6.4 centimeters. The piece is currently held within the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specifically located in The American Wing.
While the precise commissioning details or the specific chain of ownership prior to museum acquisition are not detailed in the available records, the work's inception is firmly dated to 1840. The artwork depicts a man and is classified as a portrait, representing Clark's contribution to American portraiture during that period.
Overview
Alvan Clark's watercolor portrait, Dr. Samuel A. Bemis, created around 1840, presents a man in formal attire. Executed on a small ivory support, this miniature work was designed for personal portability, akin to early photographs. The subject gazes directly forward, his features gently illuminated, reflecting a common style for intimate portraits of the period.
Legacy
While known for this delicate portraiture, Alvan Clark's professional trajectory shifted significantly. He later achieved considerable renown not as a painter, but as a pioneering manufacturer of astronomical telescopes. His firm, Alvan Clark & Sons, produced some of the largest and most powerful refracting telescopes of the 19th century, establishing a legacy in optical engineering rather than fine art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Clark made small, precise portraits on ivory and canvas in the 1830s–1850s, when Americans commissioned miniatures as keepsakes.
