Portraits Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
PA.015 |
Title |
Henry Collins |
Artist |
Feke, Robert, circa 1707-circa 1752 |
Date |
1749 circa; 1748 (AAP, Foote) |
Description |
Henry Collins (1699-1764), Richard Ward's half-brother, was a Newport merchant in the cordage business, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Among his many contributions to the city of Newport was the donation of land on which the Redwood Library was built (Collins served as one of the Directors of the Redwood Library 1748-61). He commissioned Feke to paint portraits of a number of his contemporaries. Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse referred to Collins as the "Lorenzo de Medici of Rhode Island". Portrait. Adult sitting male subject in Colonial dress, knee-length view, facing left three-quarter turn with left shoulder forward, eyes facing left. He is seated in a stuffed high-back chair, covered with a dull red upholstery, its curved back adorned with carved shell and scroll work. His right arm rests on a table at lower left with a blue covering and book while his left hand rests on his upper leg. The subject has brown eyes and is wearing a grey wig, light grey coat (lined with red silk in sleeves) and dark gray waistcoat and breeches, white shirt and white stockings (identical to outfit of Ebenezer Flagg and Captain Wilkinson by Feke). His complexion is ruddy and the treatment of his wig is typical of Feke's portraits. His stockings, and the ruffles on his shirt sleeves and neck linen, reflect the fashions of the period. Interior setting with dark brown background broken by vertical strip of tan behind right side of subject's head. (AAP; Powell 53) |
Object Name |
Painting |
Medium |
Oil Paint |
Material |
Canvas |
Dimensions |
H-126 W-101 cm |
Credit line |
The Gladys Moore Vanderbilt Széchényi Memorial Collection |
Provenance |
1991, December 30 - The Gladys Moore Vanderbilt Széchényi Memorial Collection Previously owned by Lazlo Széchényi until 1965 |
Collection |
Painting |
People |
Szechenyi, Gladys Vanderbilt, Countess, 1887-1965 Szápáry, Sylvia Széchényi Feke, Robert, circa 1707-circa 1752 Collins, Henry, 1699-1764 |
Notes |
Formerly #150. Henry Collins, Ebenezer Flagg and Captain Wilkinson are all wearing identical outfits. This painting is part of a collection of eight paintings given to the Redwood Library by descendents of Countess László Sechényi, a daughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt (1843-1899). It was the wish of Countess Sechényi that the portraits remain together as a group in Newport. Since the family enjoyed a long association with the Redwood Library and a majority of the people depicted in the paintings are part of the history of Newport, it was felt that the Library was the appropriate repository for the portraits. 1949 Art Institute of Chicago From Colony to Nation - An Exhibition of American Painting, Silver, and Architecture from 1650 to the war of 1812; 1969-70 (Oct -May) Wichita Art Museum traveling exhibition American Paintings from Newport: Wilmington, Delaware; San Francisco, California; Wichita, Kansas; Cincinnati, Ohio |
Related Publications |
1959 "American Colonial Painting" by Belknap ( ); 1946 (Sept) Robert Feke Active ca. 1741-ca.1750. Art Bulletin 28 (192-202); 1969 American Paintings from Newport by Boyle (50); 1986 The Flagg Family: An Artistic Legacy and the Provenance of a Collection by Powell (cover) |