Search Results:

<< Viewing Record 614 of 1000 >>
View : Light Box | List View | Image List | Detailed
 


Your search has been limited to 1000 records. As your search has brought back a large number of records consider using more search terms to bring back a more accurate set of records.
 


Maker(s):Tuthill, Abraham Gulielmus Dominey (attributed to)
Culture:American (1776-1843)
Title:portrait: Judge Daniel Wells
Date Made:ca. 1823
Type:Painting
Materials:oil, board, wood, gilt
Place Made:United States; New York State; Oneida or Watertown
Measurements:overall: 32 in x 26 1/2 in; 81.28 cm x 67.31 cm
Accession Number:  HD 2010.5.1
Credit Line:Gift of Thomas W. Storrow in memory of Cornelia R. Storrow
Museum Collection:  Historic Deerfield
2010-5-1.jpg

Description:
One of a pair of half-length, oil portraits of Judge Daniel Wells (1791-1854) and his wife Mary Duncan Wells (1798-1882) of Greenfield, Massachusetts (HD 2010.5.2), which are possibly painted by Abraham Gulielmus Dominey Tuthill (1776-1843). Daniel Wells, Jr. graduated from Dartmouth College and served as Preceptor of Deerfield Academy in 1812. He then studied law with his brother-in-law Elijah Alvord, and became a member of the Franklin Bar Association in 1813, eventually heading the organization for thirty years. Wells was district attorney for four western counties from 1837 to 1844, when he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, a position he filled until his death in 1854. Wells married Mary Duncan (1798-1882) of Peterborough, New Hampshire, in Preble, Courtland County, New York, in 1823. The portrait depicts a middle aged man with brown hair, brown eyes, and an aqualine nose, dressed in a black coat and white shirt with tall collar and neck cloth or cravat, and painted against a brown background. The gilded frame is from a later 19th century date and is very damaged and flaking. A label on the back of the frame reads: "FROM / JOHN GOLDEN / Picture Frame Manufacturer, No. 26 Green St., up one flight, / Near Revere House, BOSTON. / Frames of all kinds Made to Order on reasonable terms." Abraham G. D. Tuthill was born in Oysterponds, NY in 1776. As a young man he came to the attention of Sylvester Dering of Shelter Island who recognized his budding talent and recommended him to a relative, William Broome, of New York. Thanks to Broome’s contacts, a very distinguished group of men, including Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and George Clinton provided funding to send young Abraham Tuthill to London in 1800 to study with the eminent American-born painter Benjamin West who was mentor to numerous young American artists. Tuthill’s talents, however, never reached the proficiency of other West students such as Gilbert Stuart or Samuel F. B. Morse. Tuthill returned to America by 1808 and became an itinerant portrait painter traveling back and forth to the mid-West. He ultimately settled in Vermont where he died in 1843. Although these paintings are not signed, Tuthill typically paints his noses rather similarly and almost all of
his works (male & female) have full rounded chins that differ from the treatment of most other painters. Mary Duncan (1798-1882) of Peterborough NH married Daniel Wells, in Preble, Courtland Co, NY in 1823. These portraits are almost certainly occasioned by their wedding. Preble is 86 miles south of Watertown NY and 35 mi
SW of Oneida NY, communities in which Tuthill was working at the time, in addition to Oswego & Rochester. In fact, he spent most of his time in this area from c1817 to 1830, with few exceptions. Historic Deerfield thanks Jon Bernard for sharing his research on these portraits.

Tags:
portraits

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2010.5.1

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.

4 Related Media Items

2010-5-1.jpg
2010-5-1.jpg
2010-5-1.jpg
2010-5-1_collar-detail.jpg
2010-5-1.jpg
2010-5-1_hair-detail.jpg
2010-5-1.jpg
2010-5-1_face-detail.jpg
<< Viewing Record 614 of 1000 >>