Kenyon Cox

William A. Coffin, Kenyon Cox, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox, 1983.31.3
Copied William A. Coffin, Kenyon Cox, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox, 1983.31.3
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Artwork Details

Title
Kenyon Cox
Credit Line
Bequest of Allyn Cox
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Occupation — art — painter
  • Portrait male — Cox, Kenyon — full length
  • Architecture Interior — studio — Cox
Object Number
1983.31.3

Artwork Description

American artist Kenyon Cox (1856-1919) was a portrait painter, illustrator, and writer, best known for the murals he created for public buildings such as the Library of Congress. He was also close friends with William Coffin, and in the summer of 1885, Cox stayed at the artist’s family farm in western Pennsylvania. Coffin made this portrait of his guest smoking a pipe in the carpentry shop. A painter’s palette behind Cox’s head symbolizes their professional kinship. (Morgan, Kenyon Cox, 1856-1919: A Life in American Art, 1994)