Joseph DeCamp Oil Painting on Canvas "Portrait of William Gilbert"
Item Details
Joseph DeCamp (American; 1858 – 1923)
Portrait of William Gilbert
Oil on canvas
Signed to lower right corner
28.5″ W × 33.5″ H
An oil painting on canvas titled Portrait of William Gilbert by celebrated American artist Joseph Decamp (1858 – 1923). This half-body portrait features a three-quarter view of a young man wearing a black suit and a tie; with a serious expression on his face, he turns his head and gazes off to the left. The painting is signed to the lower right and is presented in a gilt and gesso Foster Brothers’ frame featuring acanthus leaf and foliate moulding. A descriptive label is present to the verso.
This work was most recently exhibited at the 2017 summer exhibition Students of Duveneck held at Cincinnati Art Galleries. Over a century ago, the portrait was included in the Twenty-Second Annual Exhibition of American Art at the Cincinnati Art Museum in 1915. The sitter is a nephew of Cincinnati businessman Albert Hayden Chatfield, another subject painted by DeCamp and strong advocate of the arts who established a studio for the artist in Camden, Maine. Less than 100 paintings by DeCamp are known to exist today, over a third of which are housed in museum collections, making this composition a rare example of his in the market.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Joseph Rodefer DeCamp was a lifelong friend and student of Frank Duveneck (1848-1919) at the Munich Academy. As a preeminent American portraitist, he was a leading member of the Boston School of Painting; but perhaps most notably, DeCamp is among the original Ten American Painters, a group of American artists formed in 1898, which included Frank W. Benson, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Childe Hassam, Willard Leroy Metcalf, Robert Reid, Edward Simmons, Edmund C. Tarbell, J. Alden Weir, and John Henry Twachtman (later replaced by William Merritt Chase after his death). Famed individuals painted by the artist include President Theodore Roosevelt, Frank Duveneck, and Horace Howard Furness, to name a few. DeCamp’s work has been collected and exhibited by numerous art institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Cincinnati Art Museum; and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, among many others.
- Please note, this is an item that may be especially difficult to move and/or transport. Unless shipping arrangements are available and made by the winning bidder, that individual is advised to bring appropriate assistance, vehicle, proper materials, and any necessary tools to pickup.
Condition
- craquelure throughout painting; some paint loss and rubbing along painting edges; small spots of flaked paint scattered throughout, otherwise in good condition; some wear in frame includes small chips, scratches, stains, and finish loss scattered throughout.
Dimensions
- measurement of frame; visible image measures approximately 28.5" W x 33.5" H.
Item #
17DCC300-325
