GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Benjamin Franklin Butler was a lawyer and close friend of President Martin Van Buren, with whom he shared a law practice. This portrait, painted around 1833, when Butler was appointed Attorney General of the United States under president Andrew Jackson, was either commissioned by Van Buren or given to him.
The attentive, alert gaze of the sitter is typical of the work of Chester Harding, an itinerant painter who got his start painting in the frontier towns of Kentucky. Initially self-taught, Harding memorably described the excitement he felt after completing his first portrait in 1816: "The moment I saw the likeness I became frantic with delight: it was like the discovery of a new sense." By the time this portrait was made, Harding had spent three successful years in England and Scotland and had settled in Boston, where he enjoyed celebrity and a busy practice.
Excerpt from
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label text, 2007.
NOTES
c. 1833 (Changed search dates to five years added to each side of the date.)
Object File Reviewed
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Harding, Chester (American, 1792-1866)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Boston (Massachusetts/United States): TGN: 7013445
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1963: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Chester Dale [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Chester Harding, Biography~Learn more about the artist from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 1963.172
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General Description
Benjamin Franklin Butler was a lawyer and close friend of President Martin Van Buren, with whom he shared a law practice. This portrait, painted around 1833, when Butler was appointed Attorney General of the United States under president Andrew Jackson, was either commissioned by Van Buren or given to him.
The attentive, alert gaze of the sitter is typical of the work of Chester Harding, an itinerant painter who got his start painting in the frontier towns of Kentucky. Initially self-taught, Harding memorably described the excitement he felt after completing his first portrait in 1816: "The moment I saw the likeness I became frantic with delight: it was like the discovery of a new sense." By the time this portrait was made, Harding had spent three successful years in England and Scotland and had settled in Boston, where he enjoyed celebrity and a busy practice.
Excerpt from
William Keyse Rudolph, DMA label text, 2007.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Chester Harding, Biography~Learn more about the artist from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Notes
c. 1833 (Changed search dates to five years added to each side of the date.)
Object File Reviewed
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Harding, Chester (American, 1792-1866)
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Boston (Massachusetts/United States): TGN: 7013445
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
From 1963: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Chester Dale [1]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
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Objects
number
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1963.172
source file
object_notes_2_d-0166.xml.nores