Artwork
Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist James Reid Lambdin. It dates from 1850 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:falsely signed and dated, lower left: JRL / 1848
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting presents Webster as the central figure, with no additional symbolic attributes or allegorical elements documented in the source records.
James Reid Lambdin's 1850 oil portrait depicts the American statesman Daniel Webster as its sole subject, classified as a portrait genre work. The painting presents Webster as the central figure, with no additional symbolic attributes or allegorical elements documented in the source records. As a straightforward commemorative likeness, the work functions as a representative image of the sitter rather than as an iconographic composition carrying layered symbolism, and the records do not describe specific objects, settings, or emblems that would convey broader meaning beyond Webster's identity as the portrayed individual.
Technique & Style
This 1850 portrait of Daniel Webster by James Reid Lambdin is executed in oil on canvas, a standard medium for mid-nineteenth-century American portraiture. The support is canvas, with recorded dimensions of 91.7 cm in height and 73.8 cm in width, giving the composition a vertical, half-length format suited to a formal sitter portrait. The work is classified as a painting within the portrait genre, consistent with Lambdin's practice as a portraitist active in the antebellum period.
No specific information regarding underdrawing, paint handling, surface condition, or conservation history is documented in the available records.
History & Provenance
James Reid Lambdin executed this oil-on-canvas portrait of Daniel Webster in 1850. The work originally belonged to Charles A. Gould of Buffalo, remaining in his estate until his death in 1926. It was subsequently sold at auction by the American Art Association and Anderson Galleries in New York on October 30–31, 1929.
Thomas B. Clarke of New York acquired the painting, where it remained until his death in 1931. Following Clarke's passing, his estate sold the piece through M. Knoedler & Co. on January 29, 1936, to the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust in Pittsburgh. The trust donated the artwork to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1954.
The painting Daniel Webster by James Reid Lambdin is presently housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it is part of the Andrew W. Mellon collection. Its ownership traces from Charles A. Gould to a 1929 sale at American Art Association and Anderson Galleries, then to Thomas B. Clarke, whose 1936 disposition through M. Knoedler & Co. transferred the work to the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust; the Trust gifted it to the National Gallery in 1954. The work was included in the 1928 Thomas B. Clarke exhibition catalogue, documenting its display as part of Clarke’s collection.
Overview
This oil on canvas painting, titled Daniel Webster, was created by James Reid Lambdin around 1850. It presents a formal portrait of the prominent American statesman, Daniel Webster, captured in a seated pose. The work serves as a direct visual record of a significant political figure from the mid-19th century, rendered in a traditional portraiture style.
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Artist & collection
Artist
James Reid Lambdin (May 10, 1807 – 1889) was an American born artist, famous for many of his portraits of U.S. Presidents.
