Interpretation
Descended from an old New Jersey family, merchant William Bayard was highly regarded for his intelligence and integrity. He sat for Stuart during the artist’s stay in New York, following a long period of portrait painting in Ireland. The resulting image, at once decorative, dignified, and virtuosic, is distinguished by the tension between its exuberant palette and the sitter’s sober pose and demeanor. Stuart’s picture is further enlivened by its characteristically soft modeling and sketchy finish, as well as by its incomplete composition, especially evident in the merely suggested quill and pounce pot—the latter used for drying ink—and the nonexistent chair upon which the "sitter" would normally rest. Whether the portrait’s unfinished state is due to circumstance or was, as in other works by the artist, by design is unknown.
Descended from an old New Jersey family, merchant William Bayard was highly regarded for acumen and probity. He sat for Stuart during the artist’s stay in New York, following a long period of portrait painting in Ireland. The resulting image, at once decorative, dignified, and virtuosic, is distinguished by the tension between its exuberant palette and the sitter’s sober pose and demeanor. Stuart’s picture is further enlivened by its characteristically soft modeling and sketchy finish, as well as by its incomplete composition, especially evident in the merely suggested quill and inkwell — the latter curiously rendered twice — and the nonexistent chair upon which the "sitter" would normally rest. Whether the portrait’s unfinished state is due to circumstance or, as in other works by the artist, was by design is unknown.
Information
- Title
- William Bayard
- Object Number
- 2004-37
- Maker
- Gilbert Stuart
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dates
- 1794
- Dimensions
- 90 × 69 cm (35 7/16 × 27 3/16 in.) frame: 112.7 × 93 × 8.9 cm (44 3/8 × 36 5/8 × 3 1/2 in.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mary Eccles, Viscountess Eccles
- Culture
- American
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2004," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 64 (2005): p. 91-135., pp. 93–94 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), 223 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 233
- Object Lessons in American Art: Selections from the Princeton University Art Museum Saturday, February 4, 2023 - Sunday, January 7, 2024
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The Museum regularly researches its objects and their collecting histories, updating its records to reflect new information. We also strive to catalogue works of art using language that is consistent with how people, subjects, artists, and cultures describe themselves. As this effort is ongoing, the Museum’s records may be incomplete or contain terms that are no longer acceptable. We welcome your feedback, questions, and additional information that you feel may be useful to us. Email us at collectionsinfo@princeton.edu.
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