Artwork
Commodore Thomas Macdonough
Commodore Thomas Macdonough is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Gilbert Stuart. It dates from 1816 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Commodore Thomas Macdonough sits in naval uniform with a confident air. Gilbert Stuart gets the details right, down to the buttons on the coat, in this portrait of a naval hero. Oil on wood, 1816.
Subject & Meaning
Painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1815, this oil on wood portrait depicts Commodore Thomas Macdonough as its sole subject.
Painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1815, this oil on wood portrait depicts Commodore Thomas Macdonough as its sole subject. As a work within the portrait genre, the image functions primarily as a likeness of the U.S. Navy officer, capturing his physical appearance for historical record. The provided sources identify Macdonough as the main subject but do not detail specific iconographic elements, such as uniforms, backgrounds, or attributes, nor do they elaborate on symbolic meanings or broader representational themes beyond the straightforward depiction of the sitter.
Consequently, the work's meaning is derived strictly from its identity as a formal representation of Macdonough, preserved through a direct line of family provenance before entering the National Gallery of Art.
Technique & Style
Commodore Thomas Macdonough is an oil painting executed on a wood support, a relatively unusual choice for a full-scale portrait of this size. The work measures 72.5 by 57.1 centimeters and is classified as a portrait painting. Gilbert Stuart's handling reflects his mature portrait practice, employing oil paint to model the sitter's features with restrained tonalities and a direct, frontal compositional approach typical of his commemorative likenesses of American military figures.
The medium and support combination of oil on wood is documented in the National Gallery of Art's records, while the dimensions and date of 1815 are corroborated by structured catalog data. No specific conservation or condition reports are present in the available sources, so the present state of the panel cannot be detailed.
History & Provenance
The portrait of Commodore Thomas Macdonough, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1815, remained in the MacDonough family for multiple generations. After the sitter’s death, it passed to his son James Edward Fisher MacDonough, then to his brothers Charles Shaler and Augustus Rodney MacDonough, and subsequently to the nephew Rodney MacDonough and his son Charles Vance MacDonough. Augustus Rodney MacDonough owned the work by 1853 and exhibited it at the Washington Exhibition in New York.
The painting was sold through M. Knoedler & Co. in 1937 to the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1942.
The portrait of Commodore Thomas Macdonough, painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1815, is presently housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it belongs to the Andrew W. Mellon collection. Its ownership passed from the sitter’s descendants through several family members before being sold by M. Knoedler & Co. in 1937 to the A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which gifted it to the museum in 1942. The work was displayed at the Washington Exhibition in New York in 1853, lent by Augustus Rodney Macdonough, and remains on view in the Gallery’s permanent collection.
Overview
Gilbert Stuart's oil painting, Commodore Thomas Macdonough, created around 1816, presents a formal portrait of the American naval officer. Executed on wood, the work captures Macdonough, a celebrated figure, in a composed seated pose. Stuart, known for his portraiture, aimed to convey the sitter's character and public persona through a direct and engaging depiction, reflecting the subject's prominence.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Gilbert Stuart (né Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists.
