Artwork
Thomas Corcoran
Thomas Corcoran is an oil painting by the American Folk Art artist Charles Peale Polk. It dates from 1806 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a commissioned likeness, the work functions both as a record of personal identity and as a visual assertion of social standing within early American society.
The portrait shows Thomas Corcoran, a prominent 19th‑century American banker and philanthropist, rendered by Charles Peale Polk in 1806. Dressed in formal attire against a muted backdrop, the image conveys the sitter’s elite status and familial connection to the Corcoran lineage, particularly his brotherhood with William Wilson Corcoran, founder of the eponymous gallery. As a commissioned likeness, the work functions both as a record of personal identity and as a visual assertion of social standing within early American society.
The painting entered the Corcoran Gallery of Art by descent and was later acquired by the National Gallery of Art in 2014.
Technique & Style
Created in 1806, the portrait of Thomas Corcoran is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 92.71 cm in height and 75.09 cm in width. Classified as a portrait, the piece reflects the formal conventions of early 19th-century American painting through its medium and scale.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1806 by Charles Peale Polk, the portrait depicts Thomas Corcoran. The work descended through the sitter’s family to his granddaughter Kate Thom Wood, then to her daughter Katherine Wood Dunlap. In 1947, Katherine Wood Dunlap donated the painting to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington.
Following the Corcoran’s closure, the painting was acquired in 2014 by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
The portrait of Thomas Corcoran by Charles Peale Polk is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which acquired the work in 2014. Prior to this transfer, the painting was part of the collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, having been gifted to that institution in 1947. Before entering public collections, the work descended through the sitter's family, passing to his granddaughter, Kate Thom Wood, and subsequently to her daughter, Katherine Wood Dunlap.
The provided sources do not list specific inventory numbers or a record of past exhibitions for this piece.
Overview
Charles Peale Polk's oil painting, Thomas Corcoran, dates to approximately 1806. This formal portrait, executed in oil on canvas, depicts its namesake subject. The work presents a seated figure, engaging directly with the viewer, characteristic of early 19th-century portraiture and reflecting the period's interest in individual representation.
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