Artwork
Portrait of a Gentleman
Portrait of a Gentleman is a watercolor painting by the Rococo painting artist William Verstille. It dates from 1785 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Both the artist’s entry and the museum’s catalog record identify the main subject as a man, confirming the depiction of a gentleman.
The work titled Portrait of a Gentleman, painted by William Verstille in 1785, is classified as a portrait within The American Wing collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both the artist’s entry and the museum’s catalog record identify the main subject as a man, confirming the depiction of a gentleman. The painting’s iconography is limited to the conventional representation of a seated male sitter in formal attire, a standard mode for 18th‑century portraiture that conveys social status and respectability.
No additional symbolic elements or narrative attributes are documented in the available sources, leaving the meaning primarily tied to the sitter’s identity as an affluent gentleman of the period.
Technique & Style
The work is a watercolor portrait executed on a thin ivory support, a medium typical of early American portraiture. It measures approximately 3.7 inches by 2.5 inches and was created in 1785, as recorded in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection data. The composition depicts a gentleman in a straightforward, modest style characteristic of late‑18th‑century portraiture, with delicate brushwork and a restrained palette.
The piece is catalogued in The American Wing and remains in the museum’s care, though specific conservation details are not publicly documented.
History & Provenance
The miniature was painted by William Verstille in 1785, as indicated in the artist’s records and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s accession file. It entered the museum’s collection in 1975 through the Rogers Fund, accession number 1975.131.3, where it has remained as part of The American Wing. No documented commission or early ownership history prior to its acquisition by the Metropolitan Museum is recorded in available institutional sources.
Overview
This small watercolor on ivory, titled Portrait of a Gentleman, was created by American artist William Verstille around 1785. Active in major cities like Boston, Philadelphia, and New York, Verstille specialized in portraiture. The work exemplifies the Rococo period and depicts an unidentified man, presented in a format typical of personal, portable artworks of the era.
Context
Miniatures like this Portrait of a Gentleman served as intimate objects, often carried as personal mementos or worn in lockets. Their small scale made them highly portable, allowing individuals to keep images of loved ones close. This particular work, dating to the late 18th century, reflects a period when such finely detailed, personal portraits were highly valued for their craftsmanship and sentimental significance.
Legacy
William Verstille established himself as a prominent portrait artist in the newly formed United States, working across significant cultural centers. His skill in capturing individual likenesses in miniature form is recognized through the inclusion of his works in numerous prominent American museum collections. This presence underscores his contribution to American portraiture during the post-Revolutionary era.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Verstille (c. 1757 – 1803) was an American artist who worked in Boston, Philadelphia and New York. He specialized in portraits. Examples of his artwork reside in the collections of the Harvard Art Museum,…
