Portrait of John Martin (ca. 1780-?)

Date1833

Artist Asahel Lynde Powers (1813-1843)

MediumOil on wood panel

DimensionsUnframed: 33 1/2 x 25 1/2in. (85.1 x 64.8cm) and Framed: 36 x 28 1/4in.

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1975.100.1

DescriptionA three-quarter-length portrait of a man seated in a decorated, yellow-painted, plank-seat arm chair. He is turned slightly towards the viewer's left. He wears a black coat over a black, waist-length waistcoat; the red, white, and blue striped edge showing along one lapel of the waistcoat may be an edging or part of a second waistcoat worn beneath the black one. He also wears brown trousers, a white shirt, and a black stock. He holds an elaborate watch fob in his proper right hand. He has brown eyes and brown hair turning to gray. His thinning hair is parted low on the side and pulled over the top of his hand to cover his baldness. He also wears sideburns. The background is a mottled black and brown.

The 1 1/2-inch molded frame, painted black with gold-painted edges, is original.
Label TextAsahel Powers's expressive portraits of Debrah and John Martin exhibit many of the characteristics of the artist's early work, including heavy gray shadowing, strong black outlines, and boldly painted, loose, swirling depictions of fabrics. Fastidious attention to details of costumes and accessories is evidenced in the elegant black embroidery of John Martin's vest and colorful floral design of Debrah's dress.

The portrait subjects' exact relationship to one another remains undetermined. At age thirty-one, Debrah could have been a young wife or a daughter of fifty-three-year-old John, or she may have been more distantly related to him.

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InscribedOn the verso is "John Martin/AE 53 Painted by/A Powers". The initials "A" and "P" of the signature are combined.
ProvenanceMr. and Mrs. Donald H. Ladd, Hampton, Conn.; Maze Pottinger Antiques, Bloomfield, Mich.