Artwork
Captain Warren Delano
Captain Warren Delano is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Charles Loring Elliott. It dates from 1852 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:center left: C.L.E.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work is an 1852 oil-on-canvas portrait of Captain Warren Delano, a New York merchant of the Delano family, painted by Charles Loring Elliott.
The work is an 1852 oil-on-canvas portrait of Captain Warren Delano, a New York merchant of the Delano family, painted by Charles Loring Elliott. Its iconography is limited to the conventional representation of a respectable male sitter in formal attire, a format that signals the subject's social standing and commercial success. The painting's provenance, documented descent within the Delano family to the National Gallery of Art in 1942, underscores its role as a familial emblem and a marker of lineage.
As a commissioned portrait, it functions both as a personal record and as a public assertion of the family's economic prominence.
Technique & Style
Created in 1852, Captain Warren Delano is an oil painting executed on a canvas support by Charles Loring Elliott. The work measures 91.9 centimeters in height and 72.1 centimeters in width. As a portrait, the piece uses oil paint to render the likeness of the male subject.
The medium and support are consistent with mid-nineteenth-century American portraiture practices. The painting is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been gifted to the institution in 1942 by a descendant of the sitter.
History & Provenance
Charles Loring Elliott painted the portrait of Captain Warren Delano in 1852 using oil on canvas; the work measures 91.9 by 72.1 centimeters. The painting entered the Delano family shortly after its execution, passing from the sitter's son Frederic A. Delano (1811–1857) to his grandson Frederic A. Delano (1863–1953), and remained in the family until 1942, when it was gifted to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The work was exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1852 and descended through the Delano family in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, before reaching the Washington branch of the family. A letter dated 18 March 1948 in the NGA curatorial files documents this lineage.
Overview
Charles Loring Elliott's oil on canvas, Captain Warren Delano, dates to approximately 1852. This painting presents a formal portrait of an older man, identified as Captain Warren Delano. It exemplifies Elliott's skill in capturing individual likenesses through a direct and unembellished approach to portraiture.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Charles Loring Elliott (1812 – 1868) was an American painter known for his portraits.
