Artwork
Lawrence Reid Yates
Lawrence Reid Yates is an oil painting by the Romanticist artist Gilbert Stuart. It dates from 1794 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Stuart's rendering emphasizes his status through fine clothing and dignified bearing, reflecting the subject's prominence in early American society.
The painting shows Lawrence Reid Yates seated with composed posture and direct gaze, typical of elite portraiture of the era. Stuart's rendering emphasizes his status through fine clothing and dignified bearing, reflecting the subject's prominence in early American society. The work belongs to the portrait genre and demonstrates the artist's skill in capturing both physical likeness and social distinction.
Technique & Style
Lawrence Reid Yates is an oil painting on canvas created in 1794 by Gilbert Stuart. It measures 76.2 cm in height and 63.5 cm in width and portrays the subject in a formal portrait style typical of late 18th-century American painting. It is part of the National Gallery of Art's collection in Washington, D.C. Its composition features a restrained palette and precise brushwork that emphasize the sitter's status and character.
History & Provenance
Painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1794, the portrait of Lawrence Reid Yates descended through the sitter's family before entering the art market. The painting passed from the sitter's niece Catherine Yates Pollock and her husband George Pollock to their son Carlile Pollock of New Orleans, then to his daughter Marie Louise Pollock Chiapella, and possibly to her son Henry Chiapella. It subsequently went to Louise Chiapella Formento in New Orleans, who sold it in 1911 to Isaac Monroe Cline.
Cline sold the portrait on 16 January 1918 to Thomas B. Clarke of New York. After Clarke's death, it was sold as part of his collection on 29 January 1936 through M. Knoedler & Co. to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust in Pittsburgh, which gave it to the National Gallery of Art in 1940.
The work is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 76.2 by 63.5 centimeters, and is held by the National Gallery of Art as part of the Andrew W. Mellon Collection under accession number 1940.1.5.
Context
Gilbert Stuart painted Lawrence Reid Yates in 1794. The portrait entered an American private collection in 1911 and was acquired by Thomas B. Clarke in 1918 before entering the National Gallery of Art in 1940, where it remains part of the Andrew W. Mellon Collection. Its provenance reflects a continuous chain of ownership from the Yates family through several New Orleans owners to prominent collectors, underscoring its place within early American portraiture and the broader context of Stuart's career.
Legacy
The portrait of Lawrence Reid Yates by Gilbert Stuart entered the National Gallery of Art in 1940 through the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, having been acquired from the estate of Thomas B. Clarke in 1936 via M. Knoedler & Co. The work remains part of the museum's permanent collection and continues to be referenced in scholarly discussions of Stuart's mature portrait style as an example of late 18th-century American portraiture.
Overview
Gilbert Stuart’s oil portrait, completed in 1794, presents Lawrence Reid Yates seated in a chair. The work measures the conventions of late eighteenth‑century American portraiture, focusing on a dignified, solitary figure rendered in a restrained palette.
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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.
