Mrs. Thomas B. Bryan

George Peter Alexander Healy, Mrs. Thomas B. Bryan, 1856, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William Boswell in memory of H. Curley Boswell, 1973.144
Copied George Peter Alexander Healy, Mrs. Thomas B. Bryan, 1856, oil on canvas, 3025 in. (76.263.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William Boswell in memory of H. Curley Boswell, 1973.144
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Artwork Details

Title
Mrs. Thomas B. Bryan
Date
1856
Dimensions
3025 in. (76.263.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of William Boswell in memory of H. Curley Boswell
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Portrait female — Bryan, Thomas B., Mrs. — waist length
Object Number
1973.144

Artwork Description

Miss Byrd Page married Thomas B. Bryan in 1851, and they were quite a social match. She was from an old Virginia family, he was an important businessman and civic leader in Chicago, where he practiced law, invested in real estate, and eventually lobbied for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. The Bryans and George Peter Alexander Healy were good friends. Healy painted Mrs. Bryan in what appears to be a morning robe, her hair hanging casually under a black lace veil. Her expression conveys the lively and confident personality of a woman comfortable in her world. In 1898 the Chicago Daily Tribune noted in her obituary her popularity and appeal: She had been “the belle of Washington for several seasons, and was renowned for her great beauty.” Healy had moved to Chicago the year before he made this portrait.