GILBERT STUART (American, 1755-1828). Portrait of the Right Honorable William Brownlow, circa 1790. Oil on canvas. 30 x ...

Description

GILBERT STUART (American, 1755-1828)
Portrait of the Right Honorable William Brownlow, circa 1790
Oil on canvas
30 x 25 inches (76.2 x 63.5 cm)
Inscribed on the stretcher in pencil: Lurgan

PROVENANCE:
By descent in the family to Charles, second Baron Lurgan, Brownlow House, until 1990;
Private collection, New York.

LITERATURE:
L. Park, Gilbert Stuart, vol. I, pp. 1893-1894, no. 121; vol. III, p. 77.
W.G. Strickland, A Dictionary of Irish Artists, vol. II.

William Brownlow (1726-1794), whose family helped found the linen industry in Ireland, was the son of William Brownlow and Lady Elizabeth Hamilton. An accomplished musician who trained in Italy from 1744 to 1748, Brownlow ultimately pursued a career in politics and represented the County Armagh in the Parliament of Lurgan from 1753 to 1794. Gilbert Stuart, who, in financial turmoil, had moved from London to Dublin in 1787, painted this portrait of Brownlow shortly before returning to the United States in 1792. Here, Stuart presents 64 year-old Brownlow during his parliamentary tenure, at his desk with a sample of linen in hand and books nearby. The marvelous translucency of the skin and flesh tones for which Stuart was justly celebrated are beautifully preserved in this portrait, and set off by the rich contrasts of the sitter's blue velvet jacket and the green tablecloth.



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