Artwork
Robert Liston
Robert Liston is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Gilbert Stuart. It dates from 1800 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:on reverse, in a later hand: Sir Robert Liston--Died 1837 / G C B / Her Britannic Majesty's / Ambassador to / the Sublime Porte / Painted by Raeburn
About this work
Robert Liston sits in a formal setting, soberly dressed and serious in expression. Gilbert Stuart's close, observant handling of the face shows his skill at portraiture. Oil on canvas, 1800.
Subject & Meaning
The work is a portrait of Robert Liston executed by Gilbert Stuart in 1800 in oil on canvas; as a portrait it functions to record the sitter's appearance and convey his social standing, a common purpose of elite likenesses. The depiction captures Liston in a manner typical of early-19th-century portraiture, emphasizing his identity through clothing and pose, while the painting's provenance, from the Liston family through multiple owners to its donation to the National Gallery of Art, underscores its enduring significance as a family heritage object.
Technique & Style
It employs a three-quarter pose and a muted palette characteristic of Stuart's mature style, with a formal balance that emphasizes the sitter's status.
The painting is an oil on canvas portrait created in 1800 by Gilbert Stuart. The image is built up in oil paint on a canvas support, a technique typical of early nineteenth-century portraiture. The work measures 73.8 cm in height and 61 cm in width, the standard format for a bust-length portrait of the period.
It employs a three-quarter pose and a muted palette characteristic of Stuart's mature style, with a formal balance that emphasizes the sitter's status. The piece is catalogued as a portrait in the National Gallery of Art's collection.
History & Provenance
The portrait of Robert Liston was painted in 1800 by Gilbert Stuart in oil on canvas. It remained in the Liston family, passing from the sitter's grand-niece Henrietta Ramage Liston Foulis to her son Sir James Liston Foulis and then to Sir William Liston Foulis. In 1919 the work was sold through P. & D. Colnaghi & Obach and M. Knoedler & Co. to Elbert H. Gary; his estate disposed of it at auction in 1934, after which Helena Woolworth McCann acquired it.
Subsequent owners included the Tarkington family and Chester Dale, who acquired it in November 1947 and gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1957. The work's sale history includes the American Art Association in New York on 8 December 1934 (lot 386) and Parke-Bernet Galleries on 21 February 1945 (lot 48).
Overview
This oil on canvas painting, titled Robert Liston, was created by American artist Gilbert Stuart in 1800. It presents a formal portrait of its namesake, Robert Liston, rendered with a serious demeanor. The work exemplifies Stuart's renowned skill in capturing individual likenesses through the medium of oil paint, a characteristic feature of his extensive portraiture practice during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
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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.
