Abbott Handerson Thayer, Townsend Bradley Martin, 1919, oil on canvas, 27 5⁄8 x 21 3⁄4 in. (70.1 x 55.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Grosvenor Backus, 1950.11.14
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Townsend Bradley Martin
- Artist
- Date
- 1919
- Location
- Dimensions
- 27 5⁄8 x 21 3⁄4 in. (70.1 x 55.2 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mrs. Grosvenor Backus
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Portrait male — Martin, Townsend Bradley — child
- Object Number
- 1950.11.14
Artwork Description
Townsend Bradley Martin was the grandson of Henry Phipps, the business partner of steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. In this portrait sketch of the young boy in a garden, Townsend’s shirt nearly disappears in the foliage. Abbott Thayer was fascinated with natural history, and he developed a theory of natural camouflage that is obvious in his paintings of animals but often creeps into his portraits as well. (Nemerov, “Vanishing Americans: Abbott Thayer, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Attraction of Camouflage,” American Art, Summer 1997)
