Artwork
Vermont Lawyer
Vermont Lawyer is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Horace Bundy. It dates from 1841 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:at top of letter sitter is writing: Manchester August 1841 [ ]; titles on top row of books, left to right: [ ]OBY; JUSTINIAN; VINER; KENT; [ ]ITTY / VOL.; on bottom row: BLACKS[TONE?]; BLACKST[ONE?]; VERMONT / REPORTS / VOL 1; VERMONT / REPORTS / VOL 2; VERMONT / REPOR[TS]; book on table: COKE / VOL 1; on reverse (no longer visible; photo in object file in NGA curatorial records): H. Bundy / 1841.
About this work
Technique & Style
The portrait Vermont Lawyer (1841) by Horace Bundy is executed in oil on canvas, a standard medium for mid-19th-century American portraiture.
The portrait Vermont Lawyer (1841) by Horace Bundy is executed in oil on canvas, a standard medium for mid-19th-century American portraiture. The painting measures 111.8 cm in height and 90.3 cm in width, indicating a large-scale composition designed for prominent display. Stylistically, Bundy employs a restrained realism, emphasizing clear delineation of facial features and controlled handling of light to model the subject’s form.
The brushwork remains smooth and blended, typical of academic portrait conventions of the period, with careful attention to the sitter’s attire and facial expression to convey dignity and professionalism.
History & Provenance
Horace Bundy created the oil-on-canvas portrait titled Vermont Lawyer in 1841. The work was originally recorded as originating from Vermont. In 1949, the painting was acquired by collectors Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch.
It subsequently entered the public domain when the Garbisches gifted the piece to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1953.
Vermont Lawyer is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it forms part of the Garbisch Collection of American naive art. The work entered the museum as a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who had purchased it in 1949; the Garbisch donation was made in 1953. Sources do not provide an accession number or detail any recorded past exhibition history for the painting.
Overview
Horace Bundy's 1841 oil on canvas, titled Vermont Lawyer, presents a portrait of an unidentified man. The painting captures the subject seated at a desk, surrounded by various objects that signify his professional life. This work offers a glimpse into the working environment of a legal or academic figure during the early 19th century.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, clad in a dark coat and bow tie, is positioned before a cluttered desk. Behind him, shelves are filled with numerous thick, leather-bound books, while the desk itself holds a quill pen, an inkwell, written papers, and a small candle. The man holds a piece of paper, suggesting he has just completed or is contemplating a significant document, reinforcing his identity as a lawyer or scholar.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
