Portrait of Solomon Avery (?-?)

Date1820-1825

Artist Micah Williams (1782-1837)

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsUnframed: 26 x 22in. (66 x 55.9cm) and Framed: 32 3/8 x 28 1/2 x 1 3/4in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958.100.24

DescriptionA half length portrait of a man facing right, seated in a chair and holding a book in his right hand. The sitter has gray hair pulled back in a black ribbon. The sitter has sharply delineated facial features,blue eyes, ruddy complexion. The hand, holding a leather bound book, is nicely executed. An ear of the chair the sitter is in appears on the left side. The solid background is painted in shades of dark green, with red highlights. Modern replacement 31/2-inch molded frame, painted black, with inner and outer gilt borders.
Label TextPresumably found in New London, Connecticut, the portrait is thought to represent Solomon Avery. Three men with that name, none of whom can be specifically related to the portrait, lived in New London during the early 1800s. Since Micah Williams is not documented as working in that area, a Connecticut provenance cannot be verified.
Avery's likeness is the only known signed oil painting by the artist, although at least one other portrait by him in this medium survives in a private collection; Williams's best-known and most typical work is in pastel. of which a number are known. Except for the almond-shaped eyes, chubby fingers, and the brown background, the Avery likeness exhibits few characteristics of the artist's pastels. Its rarity as an oil on canvas suggests that the artist was far more comfortable working in pastels.
InscribedInscribed in paint on the back of the original canvas is "Micah Williams/Painter."
ProvenanceJ. Stuart Halladay and Herrel George Thomas, Sheffield, Mass. Halladay died in 1951, leaving his interest in their jointly-owned collection to his partner, Thomas. Thomas died in 1957, leaving his estate to his sister, Mrs. Albert N. Petterson, who was AARFAC's vendor.