Portrait of Dr. William Gwathmey (1794-1875)
Date1836
Artist
William Henry Fairfax (ac. 1830s)
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOther (unframed): 14 x 11in. (35.6 x 27.9cm) and Framed: 19 x 16 1/4in. (48.3 x 41.3cm)
Credit LineGift of the Burlington Gwathmey Memorial Foundation
Object number1988-450,A
DescriptionA half-length portrait of a seated man turned 3/4 to the right. His hands are not included in the composition. He sits in a stick-back chair with solid crest rail. He wears a black tie and coat, white shirt with upturned collar. He has dark hair and eyes. The background is a gray-mauve; only the chair provides a context, and only part of that is visible.Label TextWilliam Gwathmey was the youngest son of Major Joseph Gwathmey and his wife, Mary Brooke Hill Gwathmey, of Burlington plantation in King William County, Virginia. In 1826, William married Eliazabeth Theresa Burnley, and the couple had eight children. They were living at Wakefield plantation when Fairfax painted their portraits in 1836.
InscribedOn a stretcher appears, "W H F pt 1836". [We still need to determine which stretcher, style of lettering, and medium of lettering as of 1/23/2004].
ProvenanceGift of the Burlington-Gwathmey Memorial Foundation. Evidence suggests the paintings descended through the family at Burlington.
The group of portraits, 1988-448 through 451, were a previous loan to CW in 1987.
Exhibition(s)
ca. 1845
1840-1845 (probably)
