Artwork
Portrait of an Old Man
Portrait of an Old Man is an oil painting by the Realist artist J.C. Robinson. It dates from 1848 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. J.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center, on cuff: Painted Dec. 9 / 18 48; center left: Ag[e]. 76; on reverse (no longer visible, photograph in object file [1955.11.14] in NGA curatorial records): J.C. Robinson
About this work
Subject & Meaning
It entered the National Gallery of Art collection after being purchased in 1950 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch and gifted to the museum in 1955.
The painting depicts an elderly man rendered in a conventional three‑quarter view typical of mid‑nineteenth‑century portraiture. Robinson emphasizes the sitter’s lined face and silver hair to convey age, experience, and a quiet authority, motifs that align with contemporary ideals of wisdom associated with older gentlemen.
The work is executed in oil on canvas, measures approximately 66 cm by 55.4 cm, and was completed in 1848. It entered the National Gallery of Art collection after being purchased in 1950 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch and gifted to the museum in 1955.
Technique & Style
Portrait of an Old Man is executed in oil on canvas, a standard support for mid-nineteenth-century American portraiture. The painting measures 66 by 55.4 cm, a modest upright format suited to a single sitter. It is classified as a painting within the portrait genre and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
The available records do not describe the handling of the brushwork, palette, or specific stylistic features, nor do they address the work's current condition or any conservation history.
History & Provenance
Portrait of an Old Man is an oil-on-canvas painting dated 1848 by American artist J.C. Robinson. The work originated in Pennsylvania before entering the private collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, who purchased it in 1950. The Garbisches donated the portrait to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1955, where it remains today.
It is classified as a portrait genre work. No documentation of a specific commission survives in the available records.
Portrait of an Old Man is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The painting entered the museum as a gift from Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch in 1955, as recorded in its provenance. The provided sources do not document any exhibition history for the work.
Context
The work, an oil‑on‑canvas portrait painted by J.C. Robinson in 1848, entered the National Gallery of Art in 1955 after being acquired in 1950 by Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch in Pennsylvania. It is listed in the museum’s collection and described in Wikidata as a portrait measuring 66 × 55.4 cm, confirming its material and dimensions.
Because the painting is part of the Gallery’s documented holdings of 19th‑century American portraiture, it has been referenced in scholarly studies of Robinson’s oeuvre and the development of portrait conventions in the United States.
Overview
J.C. Robinson created Portrait of an Old Man in 1848, executing the work in oil on canvas. This painting depicts an elderly male figure, presented with a neutral expression and a direct gaze. The artist utilizes chiaroscuro to emphasize the subject's features and create a sense of depth against a subdued background, contributing to the artwork's realistic quality and drawing the viewer's attention to the sitter.
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