Artwork
Patrick Tracy
Patrick Tracy is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist John Trumbull. It dates from 1785 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The painting belongs to the portrait genre and is classified as a painting within the National Gallery of Art collection in Washington, D.
Patrick Tracy is an oil-on-canvas portrait painted by John Trumbull in 1785. The work is executed in oil paint on a canvas support, a standard combination for late-eighteenth-century Anglo-American portraiture. Its physical dimensions are 232.5 cm in height by 133.7 cm in width, giving it an imposing, nearly two-to-one vertical orientation suited to a full-length seated figure.
The painting belongs to the portrait genre and is classified as a painting within the National Gallery of Art collection in Washington, D.C. No condition report or detailed handling notes are provided in the available documentation.
The provenance notes that the portrait was probably bequeathed by the sitter to his daughter as one of three "Family Pictures" valued at thirty pounds in his estate, indicating it was treated as a substantial household possession rather than a casual likeness.
History & Provenance
The painting is held by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it is recorded with dimensions 232.5 × 133.7 cm. It entered the collection in 1964 as a gift. Earlier, it descended through successive generations of the Tracy-Jackson family, from Hannah Tracy Jackson to Patrick Tracy Jackson Sr. and then to his descendants, before being gifted to the museum.
Overview
John Trumbull's 1785 oil on canvas, Patrick Tracy, presents a formal portrait of a seated gentleman. This work exemplifies the artist's early career, capturing the subject with a direct gaze and a sense of quiet dignity. The painting offers a window into the era's portraiture conventions and the social standing of its subjects, rendered with careful attention to detail and composition.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts Patrick Tracy, seated in a chair and dressed in period attire, suggesting his social status and the fashion of the late 18th century. The inclusion of books on a nearby table hints at the sitter's intellectual pursuits or professional life, common elements used in portraiture to convey character and occupation. Trumbull's portrayal aims to present a distinguished individual within his domestic or professional sphere.
Artist & collection
Artist
John Trumbull (June 6, 1756 – November 10, 1843) was an American painter and military officer best known for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran.
