Artwork
Profile Portrait of a Young Man
Profile Portrait of a Young Man is an oil painting. It dates from 1815 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. The work is an oil painting executed on a wooden panel, depicting a young man seated within a dark oval frame.
About this work
Technique & Style
Stylistically, the piece adheres to the conventions of early 19th-century American portraiture, presenting the sitter in a strict profile view.
Executed in 1815, this profile portrait is an oil painting applied to a wood support. The work measures 30.4 cm in height and 25 cm in width. Stylistically, the piece adheres to the conventions of early 19th-century American portraiture, presenting the sitter in a strict profile view.
This compositional choice emphasizes the linear contours of the subject's features against a plain background, a approach characteristic of the period's folk or pioneer art traditions.
History & Provenance
Profile Portrait of a Young Man is an oil on wood portrait painted in 1815 by an American artist of the 19th century. It entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., through a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch in 1953, having previously been owned by C.M. Heffner of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where it was acquired in 1950.
Profile Portrait of a Young Man is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was recorded in the provenance as originating from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and was purchased in 1950 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch before being gifted to the National Gallery of Art in 1953. The work is cataloged with an accession or inventory number within the National Gallery of Art's records, though the specific identifier is not provided in the available sources. Exhibition history includes its appearance in a reproduction captioned in Carl W. Drepperd's _American Pioneer Art and Artists_ (1942), which documents its prior display.
The painting's dimensions are 30.4 cm in height and 25 cm in width, as recorded in its cataloging data.
The work remains part of the National Gallery of Art's permanent collection and has been referenced in scholarly and public presentations of American 19th-century portraiture.
Overview
The work is an oil painting executed on a wooden panel, depicting a young man seated within a dark oval frame. He is turned slightly away from the viewer, dressed in a black coat and a neatly tied white cravat. His hair is short, with curls at the edges, and his expression is calm yet serious, set against a deep, uniform background.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait focuses on the sitter’s dignified bearing, emphasizing his social status through the formal attire of a black coat and white cravat. The restrained facial expression and direct gaze suggest a controlled self‑presentation, typical of early modern portraiture that aimed to convey virtue and composure.
Context
Portraits of this type were common in the 16th and 17th centuries, when oil on wood panels were preferred for their smooth surface and durability. The use of an oval frame and the emphasis on a single, dignified figure align with contemporary conventions for private, elite commissions.
Artist & collection
Jacob (?) Leman
Unidentified Man
Possibly Harlan Page
Wellington Van Reid
John C. Hubner
Skelton Jones
Mr. Kline
Portrait of a man, signed "LT" and marked "JHB"
Portrait of Laurens de Witte van Citters, Father of Jhr. J de Witte van Citters (who bequeathed a number of family portraits to the museum)
Charles O'Rourke
J. Day- Portrait of a Young Man in Profile