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DS1998-0095
Portrait of Hopestill Potter Dimond (1790-1857)
DS1998-0095

Portrait of Hopestill Potter Dimond (1790-1857)

Date1816
Artist Cephas Thompson (1775-1856)
OriginAmerica, Rhode Island, Bristol
MediumOil on wood panel
DimensionsUnframed: 30 x 24 5/8in. (76.2 x 62.5cm) and Framed: 36 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 2 1/8in. (92.7 x 80 x 5.4cm)
Credit LineGift of William A. Diman
Object number1997-119,A&B
DescriptionA half-length depiction of a young man seated in a slat-crested dark-painted side chair whose visible stile is accented with gold or yellow in simulation of bamboo. The subject is turned three-quarters to his proper left but gazes at the viewer. His proper right arm appears to rest on the edge of a table covered with a green cloth; the fingers of this hand are curled under, except the index finger, which is extended; he wears a gold ring with a lavender-colored gem on his little finger. His proper left arm extends out of the picture, and that hand is not visible. He wears a black high-collared coat bearing frog-like closures consisting of gold balls on shanks; a white shirt with pleated ruffles; and a white bow-tied stock. He has curly brown hair and blue/gray eyes. The background is darkly painted and, aside from the chair and table, includes no allusion to a setting.

The 3 1/2-inch gilded frame has a flat inner step followed by a cove molding followed by a quarter round outer edge. The inner step bears molded composition ornamentation of repeated anthemion palmettes; the outer cove bears composition bead molding. The corners of the flat inner step are each accented with a single ball. Note: this frame is quite similar to that on a companion portrait of Eliza Dimond, but the ball ornamentation in the corners differs, and there are relatively subtle differences between the anthemion palmettes on the two frames.
Label TextCephas Thompson's portraits of the subject's wife and father are also in the collection, all three having been given to Colonial Williamsburg by a family descendant.
MarkingsNo original markings found. See "Curatorial Remarks" for documentation of the artist ascription. In yellow chalk on the back of the uppr frame member is "TF2343A". A modern plaque attached to the front of the lower frame member reads "HOPESTILL POTTER DIMOND/1790-1857/BY CEPHAS THOMPSON 1816".
ProvenanceThe portrait shares a line of family descent and donation to the CWF with acc. nos. 1997-118 and 1997-120; the three descended to CWF's donor, William A. Diman, having been bequeathed to him by his cousin, Elizabeth Church Chase of Bristol, Rhode Island, in her will dated April 14, 1976. (See copy of pertinent section in file.)