Artwork
A Gentleman of the Morris Family
A Gentleman of the Morris Family is an oil painting by the Baroque artist John Wollaston. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The portrait is executed in oil on canvas, a standard medium for mid-18th-century American portraiture, and retains the fine, smooth handling typical of John Wollaston’s work in this period. The sitter is depicted bust-length, turned slightly to the left, with careful attention to facial modeling and a restrained palette dominated by muted earth tones and soft contrasts of light and shadow. The composition emphasizes clarity and linear precision, aligning with Wollaston’s characteristic style that blends English rococo elegance with colonial restraint.
No evidence of significant overpainting or structural damage is noted in the source record, suggesting the work has remained in stable condition since its last recorded conservation.
History & Provenance
No exhibition history is documented in the available sources, and the accession number is not specified in the provided provenance notes.
Painted by John Wollaston in 1750, this portrait originally hung at Morrisania, the Morris family manor in Westchester County, New York. Early owners included Lewis Morris (1752–1824) and his son Lewis Morris (1785–1863), before passing to Henry Manigault Morris and subsequently his widow, Georgia Edwards Morris. The work then transferred to her brother-in-law, Charles Manigault Morris, and later to his son, Lewis Morris (b. 1867).
In May 1922, Lewis Morris sold the painting to dealer William Macbeth. It changed hands again in December 1923 to Art House, Inc., before entering the collection of Thomas B. Clarke. Following Clarke's death, his estate sold the work through M. Knoedler & Co. in January 1936 to the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, which gifted it to the National Gallery of Art in 1942.
The painting A Gentleman of the Morris Family is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It entered the museum in 1942 as a gift from the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, having previously passed through the estate of Thomas B. Clarke, the dealer William Macbeth, and the firm Art House, Inc. The work is listed in the National Gallery of Art’s collection records as part of the Andrew W. Mellon collection. No exhibition history is documented in the available sources, and the accession number is not specified in the provided provenance notes.
Overview
John Wollaston's "A Gentleman of the Morris Family," completed in 1750, is an oil on canvas portrait. This work depicts an unidentified male member of the Morris lineage, presenting him with a composed demeanor. The painting serves as a characteristic example of Wollaston's portraiture during the mid-18th century, reflecting the era's conventions for depicting individuals of social standing in colonial America.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait features a man with dark hair, whose serious expression conveys a sense of gravity and decorum. He is depicted in contemporary attire, including a brown jacket adorned with visible buttons, a crisp white shirt, and a light green vest. This formal presentation of clothing and demeanor was typical for portraits intended to convey the sitter's social status and respectability within the colonial American elite.
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