Man with Gold Pencil

Prior-Hamblen School, Man with Gold Pencil, ca. 1850, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.133
Copied Prior-Hamblen School, Man with Gold Pencil, ca. 1850, oil on canvas, 27 1⁄4 x 22 1⁄4 in. (69.1 x 56.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.133
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Man with Gold Pencil
Artist
Attributed to Prior-Hamblen School
Date
ca. 1850
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
27 1⁄4 x 22 1⁄4 in. (69.1 x 56.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait male — unidentified — waist length
  • Object — other — writing tool
Object Number
1986.65.133
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.133

Artwork Description

Sturtevant Hamblin and William Matthew Prior charged their patrons higher prices for their portraits according to the amount of shading and detail they requested. The artists would have charged a high price for this portrait, since they included the pleats in the gentleman’s shirt and the shadows around the cleft of his chin. The gold pencil, which he wears around his neck, marks this sitter as a man of letters.