Exhibition - Early American Portraits December 6, 2008

For artists in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century America, portraits were the surest source of income and the backbone of their business. Early Americans were eager to establish their legitimacy as prosperous and genteel citizens, and having a portrait made served such desires. In order to create impressions of wealth and refinement, artists had a number of tools at their disposal. First was an attention to dress and setting. A rich satin gown or an elegant cravat, or an expansive lawn in the background hinting at large land-holdings, conveyed an abundance of information to the viewer. American portraitists also felt free to draw upon artistic conventions that seventeenth-century European artists had used to depict the nobility: a stately column or billowing drapery. Such associations helped to raise the status of the sitter in the viewer's eye. Serene facial expressions and classic poses also contributed to a sense of graceful monumentality. It is interesting to note, however, the instances in which these American artists departed from such formulae. Thomas Sully's portrait of Jared Sparks, for example, has a brushy, timeless, romantic style, but the sitter's gesture as he marks his place in his book transports the viewer to the exact moment captured by the artist. In John Singleton Copley's portrait of John Spooner, the portraitist certainly draws attention to the sitter's fine clothes, but the shadow of stubble on his cheek conveys a sense of Spooner's diligence—indeed, a no-nonsense Americanness—that is new and innovative. When :May 13, 2008 - March 16, 2009 Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. (No admittance after 4 p.m.) Closed Mondays, New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day)