Superb American Portrait of Young Gentleman, Circa 1835–1840, Oil on Canvas

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A superbly detailed, handsome and evocative American School portrait of a young gentleman, dating to approximately 1835–1840, painted in oil … Read more A superbly detailed, handsome and evocative American School portrait of a young gentleman, dating to approximately 1835–1840, painted in oil on canvas and presented in a substantial period-style giltwood frame. The portrait captures its sitter at the height of the Romantic era, when fashionable portraiture combined careful observation with an emphasis on refinement, character, and individual presence. The artist was quite obviously very accomplished, though we have not determined who they were.

While the identity of both sitter and artist remains unknown, the work belongs to the important tradition of antebellum American portraiture, when itinerant and established portrait painters recorded the appearance and social aspirations of the country's growing professional and mercantile classes. Its combination of period fashion, handsome young sitter, dark Romantic palette, and substantial gilt frame gives the painting considerable decorative presence.

An appealing example of early nineteenth-century American portraiture, the work would be equally at home in a traditional collection of Americana or juxtaposed with modern and contemporary furnishings in a more eclectic interior.

Proudly offered by Guy Lyman Fine Art of New Orleans.

Framed size: 15" x 14". Image area 9.5" x 8.5". See less