Artwork
Portrait of a Gentleman
Portrait of a Gentleman is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Joseph Blackburn. It dates from 1760 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:center left: I: Blackburn Pinx
About this work
Technique & Style
Portrait of a Gentleman is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support and medium for mid-eighteenth-century British-American portraiture.
Portrait of a Gentleman is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support and medium for mid-eighteenth-century British-American portraiture. The painting measures 127.2 by 101.9 centimeters, a near-square format suited to a half- or three-quarter-length sitter. Classified as a portrait painting, it depicts a man and was produced in 1760 by Joseph Blackburn.
Beyond these documented attributes, the available records do not describe specific handling, brushwork, palette, surface condition, or stylistic qualities of the work.
History & Provenance
Created by Joseph Blackburn in 1760, this oil-on-canvas portrait depicts an unidentified man. The documented ownership chain begins with dealer Charles Childs of Boston, from whom Eunice Chambers acquired the work. Chambers held the painting in Hartsville, South Carolina, by 1962, as confirmed by correspondence with the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
She subsequently sold the piece to the Osborne Gallery/Tribune Gallery in New York. The Corcoran Gallery of Art purchased the portrait on October 31, 1966, after it had been exhibited at the John Nicholson Gallery in 1958. Following the dissolution of the Corcoran, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., acquired the work in 2014, where it remains part of the collection.
Portrait of a Gentleman by Joseph Blackburn (c. 1760) is presently in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it was acquired in 2014; its earlier ownership includes the John Nicholson Gallery (exhibited 1958), the Charles Childs collection in Boston, and Miss Eunice Chambers of Hartsville, SC, who sold it to the Osborne Gallery in 1962 before the Corcoran Gallery of Art purchased it in 1966. The work was first shown publicly at the Nicholson Gallery in 1958 and has not been recorded in further exhibition catalogs.
Overview
This oil on canvas painting, titled Portrait of a Gentleman, was created by Joseph Blackburn around 1760. It presents a formal depiction of an unidentified man, characteristic of portraiture from the mid-18th century. The artwork serves as a record of an individual from that era, rendered with attention to the conventions of the genre.
Subject & Meaning
The painting features a male sitter positioned formally, conveying a sense of decorum typical of the period. He is depicted in elaborate attire, suggesting a certain social standing, and his expression is solemn. The artist meticulously rendered the intricate details of his clothing and the surrounding environment, contributing to the portrait's overall sense of dignity and status.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Joseph Blackburn (died 1787) was an English painter who worked mainly in British North America. His notable works include portraits of Hugh Jones (circa 1777) and Colonel Theodore Atkinson (circa 1760).
