Artwork
Sarah Homes Tappan (Mrs. Benjamin Tappan)
Sarah Homes Tappan (Mrs. Benjamin Tappan) is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Gilbert Stuart. It dates from 1814 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
A seated woman in old-fashioned dress looks directly out. Soft light across her face lends the portrait a quiet calm, and Gilbert Stuart's restrained palette keeps the mood subdued. Painted in 1814 in oil on wood.
Technique & Style
Benjamin Tappan) is executed in oil on wood, a support consistent with Gilbert Stuart's practice of painting on panel for smaller-format portraits.
Sarah Homes Tappan (Mrs. Benjamin Tappan) is executed in oil on wood, a support consistent with Gilbert Stuart's practice of painting on panel for smaller-format portraits. The work is classified as a portrait and measures 72.8 by 58.6 centimeters. The painting belongs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it has been held since a 1970 bequest.
The medium is documented as oil paint on panel, with the panel support providing a smooth ground suited to Stuart's controlled brushwork and restrained palette typical of his late portrait style.
History & Provenance
Gilbert Stuart executed this oil-on-wood portrait of Sarah Homes Tappan in 1814. The work remained within the sitter's family for over a century, initially passing to her son, Lewis Tappan, in Brooklyn. It subsequently descended to his daughter, Julianna Aspinwell Tappan, who bequeathed it to her sister, Ellen A. A. Hulett, and then to Ellen's daughter, Anna Hulett.
In June 1924, the painting was lent to the Smithsonian Institution while still in the Hulett family. On January 26, 1928, Anna Hulett's cousin, Clarence Winthrop Bowen, purchased the portrait through Ehrich Galleries in New York. Ownership later transferred to Bowen's daughter, Roxana Wentworth Bowen, Lady Gordon Vereker.
Upon her death, the work was bequeathed to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1970, where it remains in the permanent collection.
Legacy
The portrait remained in the Tappan family for several generations, passing from Sarah Homes Tappan to her son Lewis Tappan and later to descendants before being sold in 1928 and entering the National Gallery of Art in 1970, a trajectory that underscores its lasting personal significance. Its place in the National Gallery's collection reflects scholarly and institutional recognition of the painting as an example of early American portraiture, and the work continues to inform study of Stuart's technique and the representation of New England elites in the early republic.
Overview
Gilbert Stuart's 1814 oil painting, Sarah Homes Tappan (Mrs. Benjamin Tappan), presents a formal portrait of its namesake. Executed on wood, the work captures Mrs. Tappan in a seated pose, her gaze directed outward. The composition emphasizes a quiet dignity, characteristic of Stuart's approach to portraiture during this period.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait features Sarah Homes Tappan, depicted in period attire, seated and engaging directly with the viewer. Her composed posture and steady gaze convey a sense of quiet assurance. The artist's focus on her countenance, illuminated by a gentle light, contributes to the overall impression of serenity and individual presence within the formal setting.
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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.
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