1964.5
Portrait of a Gentleman
Artist
Artist Unidentified
Title
Portrait of a Gentleman
Creation Date
ca. 1830
Century
19th century
Dimensions
26 in. x 21 5/16 in. (66.04 cm x 54.13 cm)
Object Type
painting
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
oil on panel
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Hamlin Fund
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1964.5
Neither the sitter nor the artist of this portrait has been identified. However, the Black subject’s attire and pose suggest a certain level of affluence and distinction that was rarely found during in the antebellum period. This painting was purchased for the Museum’s seminal exhibition, The Portrayal of the Negro in American Painting (1964), which examined mostly positive portrayals of African Americans in art between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.