Artwork
Charles Loring Elliott
Charles Loring Elliott is an oil painting. It dates from 1865 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
A portrait of a seated man, Charles Loring Elliott, looking straight out. The face is closely observed, down to the wrinkles and hair. Painted by an American hand in 1865, oil on canvas.
Subject & Meaning
Created in 1865, this oil on canvas functions as a self-portrait, with the American artist Charles Loring Elliott serving as both the creator and the sole subject depicted. The work's iconography is rooted in the genre of portraiture, focusing entirely on the likeness of the painter himself rather than incorporating external narrative elements or complex symbolic attributes. As a representation of the artist, the painting primarily signifies a document of personal identity and professional presence within the nineteenth-century American art context.
The composition directs its meaning through the direct depiction of Elliott, establishing the work as a visual record of the individual without reliance on allegorical devices or secondary figures to convey its intent.
Technique & Style
The portrait of Charles Loring Elliott is executed in oil on canvas, a medium recorded for the work.
The portrait of Charles Loring Elliott is executed in oil on canvas, a medium recorded for the work. The support is canvas, and the painting measures 68.9 cm in height by 56.2 cm in width, as documented in the collection records. It belongs to the portrait genre and is classified as a 19th‑century American painting.
The available documentation does not provide further details on the artist’s technique, brushwork, or handling of the medium, nor does it describe the current condition of the surface. Likewise, specific formal or stylistic qualities are not outlined in the sources consulted.
History & Provenance
The portrait was completed in 1865 as an oil on canvas work depicting Charles Loring Elliott; it entered the ownership of Thomas B. Clarke, who acquired it on 14 December 1921, and after his death passed to his estate, which sold the piece through M. Knoedler & Co., New York, to the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust in 1936; the Trust later gifted the painting to the National Gallery of Art in 1947. No documentation of a specific commission is found in the cited records.
Overview
This oil on canvas painting, titled Charles Loring Elliott, is a self-portrait by the American artist. It depicts the artist seated, gazing directly forward, presenting a detailed and realistic likeness. The work serves as a direct visual record of Elliott's appearance, executed by his own hand, offering a personal insight into his artistic practice and self-perception.
Artist & collection
