The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

Portrait of a Man

Portrait of a Man

1795
(British, 1752–1829)
England, 18th century
watercolor on ivory in an original gold frame
Framed: 7.6 x 6.2 cm (3 x 2 7/16 in.); Sight: 7 x 5.7 cm (2 3/4 x 2 1/4 in.)
The Edward B. Greene Collection 1943.640
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Engleheart charged 10 to 12 guineas for his miniature portraits; such a fee would have been within the means of aristocratic and upper-middle-class patrons.

Description

Executed around 1795, this work exhibits strong yet restrained tones. The background is painted in muted gray-browns, not the bright blue cloudy sky for which George Engleheart became known. The sitter’s position is somewhat awkward, with his shoulders nearly squared with the picture plane but his head in a three-quarter view. He wears a gray coat with fabric-covered buttons and the high collar fashionable in the 1790s. His hair is carefully delineated with dark gray brushstrokes applied over a pale gray ground. The sitter’s powdered hair is worn long, and his dark, deep-set eyes cast shadows that lend drama to the portrait. This proto-romantic sensibility is characteristic of the artist’s work between 1780 and 1795, as is its relatively modest size. Painted on ivory measuring 6.9 centimeters high, it is the smaller format of Engleheart miniatures before the turn of the century, after which the format expanded, as seen in the museum’s other two works by the artist. The portrait is unsigned, which is typical for his works of this period. The simple gold frame is original. The work was in the collection of Sir Harry Waechter, Bart., the British businessman and philanthropist, until his 1929 death at his home in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
  • Before 1929
    Sir Harry Waechter (1871-1929), Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe))
    By 1929-1930
    Leo Schidlof (1886-1966), Paris, France, sold to Edward B. Greene
    1930-1943
    Edward B. Greene (1878-1957), Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1943-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art. Portrait Miniatures: The Edward B. Greene Collection. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1951. Mentioned: p. 26, no. 11; Reproduced: pl. XVII archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Alan Chong. European & American Painting in the Cleveland Museum of Art: A Summary Catalogue. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1993. p. 286
    Korkow, Cory, and Dario Robleto. Disembodied: Portrait Miniatures and Their Contemporary Relatives. 2013. Mentioned: p.86
    Korkow, Cory, and Jon L. Seydl. British Portrait Miniatures: The Cleveland Museum of Art. 2013. Cat. no. 61, pp. 239-240
  • Disembodied: Portrait Minatures and their Contemporary Relatives. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 10, 2013-February 16, 2014).
    Main Gallery Rotation (Gallery 202), The Cleveland Musuem of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 5, 2009 - April 6, 2009).
    Intimate Images: Portrait Miniatures from Europe and America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-October 17, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of a Man|url=false|author=George Engleheart|year=1795|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1943.640