Portrait of William Howard Smith (1832-1911)

Date1838

Artist Joseph Whiting Stock (1815-1855)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Springfield

MediumOil on canvas, with engraving glued to canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 52 1/4 x 35 7/8in. (132.7 x 91.1cm) and Framed: 59 1/8 x 43 1/8in.

Credit LineGift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller

Object number1941.100.8

DescriptionOil portrait of young boy standing full-length in interior setting on beige colored rug with green vines on it. The wall behind him is grey, and to his left is a brown table with a small dog lying below it and a greyish-brown book on it. The boy's high black hat rests on the table. His right hand is raised with a book in it, and the book has an engraved illustration of a battle scene glued into it. He wears his blond hair cut short and has brown eyes. He wears long black pants and a black coat which reaches to his knees, a white shirt with a black strong tie and large white collar. Through an open door to the boy's right is seen a large tree with a hoop leaning against it. Period replacement 3 3/4-inch mahogany-veneered splayed frames.
Label TextJoseph Whiting Stock lived in Springfield, Massachusetts, most of his life. An injury at age eleven left him disabled, but he was determined to support himself. At the suggestion of his physician, he began to study painting. Stock's early likeness of his sister was so convincing that friends and relatives commissioned other portraits. Stock's Journal reveals that during a nine- month period in 1842-1843 he "painted to order 37 portraits and 18 miniatures, besides several landscapes, etc." Of the 912 works known from the Journal that he painted, only about a tenth have been located. Stock's portrait of William Howard Smith (1832-1911) shows the artist's characteristic use of props to indicate the interests and personalities of his subject. William's outdoor activities are reflected by the hoop, while the schoolbook he holds is opened to an engraving of a battle between the British and Indians. ‚
MarkingsWritten on the back of the original canvas support is "Wm. Howard Smith, aged 5 years 7 months/Painted June 1838 by J. W. Stock"
ProvenanceDescended in the family; Mr. Richmond, Springfield, Mass.; Edith Gregor Halpert, New York, N. Y.; Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, AARFAM's donor.