Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Captain Benjamin Smith |
Place of Origin |
China, Guangzhou (Canton) |
Artist or Maker |
Spoilum |
Date |
c. 1790 |
Materials |
Oil on Canvas, Gilt frame |
Dimension Details |
Height: 27 1/2"; Width: 20 7/8" Framed Height: 30 1/2"; Width: 23 1/2" |
Description |
This portrait depicts Benjamin Smith half-length at close range, turned slightly to the right, but facing the viewer. The grey-haired American sea captain is portrayed outdoors in front of a large tree and next to a body of water where a sailing ship is shown at right center in the distance. He is wearing a dark blue coat with a white vest, shirt, and neckcloth. The painting remains in its original Chinese export frame. Spoilum was a Cantonese artist known for his portraits of Chinese as well as Western sitters. In Spoilum’s time, Canton (now Guangzhou) was the only Chinese port where Westerners were allowed to trade. Spoilum was the earliest identifiable Chinese artist who worked in oil on canvas for the Western market. |
Provenance |
Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch Gift to The Whitney Museum of American Art, 1968 Sotheby's, New York, New York, January 16, 1999, Lot 270 of Important Americana Purchased by Martyn Gregory, London, England, as no. 114 in his catalogue 74 "From China to the West", October 27, 1999 Sold to H. Richard Dietrich, Jr. (1938-2007), Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, 1999 Gift to The Dietrich American Foundation, 2007 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Object ID |
6.1.HRD.1935 |
Search Terms |
paintings |