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Lot Essay
Seated in a brass-tacked Federal armchair with a scroll in hand, James Monroe (1758-1831) as painted by John Wesley Paradise (1809-1862) is portrayed with a quiet and erudite demeanor. This portrait is a wonderful example of little-known Paradise’s masterful ability to capture an individual’s likeness.
Not much has been recorded of Paradise’s life and few works have been attributed to him. He was born in 1809 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey to his father and namesake John Paradise (1783-1834), a portraitist and founding member of the National Academy of Design in New York City. Paradise primarily produced engraved portraits and banknotes, although his works on canvas, such as the present lot, clearly show his strength in painting. Other works by Paradise include a portrait of Elizabeth Oakes Prince Smith (The Collection of the National Gallery of Art, accession no. 1963.10.188).
As declared in the inscription found on the back of the present portrait, this painting is 'a most perfect likeness' to the fifth President. Before serving as President from 1817-1825, Monroe acted as Minister to France from 1794-1796. Here, Paradise paints Monroe with a scroll in his hand with the writing Mr Monroes addings to the national / convention of France in 1794. The note refers to the address Monroe made to the National Convention in Paris on August 14, 1794 for which he received a standing ovation. In his speech, Monroe celebrated republicanism and the friendship between France and the United States, '…by doing every thing in my power to preserve and perpetuate the harmony so happily subsisting between the two Republicks’ (James Monroe, 'To the National Convention of France, 15 August 1794', Papers of James Monroe, vol. III, p. 30.)
The portrait was first owned by a friend of Monroe’s, Silas E. Burrows (1794-1870). Burrows lived with the painting at 1 Carroll Place, Bleecker Street, New York until 1842 when he sold his city home to move to South America. The painting passed hands to his friend Judge Robert Craig Standard (1814-1857) of Richmond, Virginia. The portrait is the last or a very late picture of Monroe before his death on July 4, 1831.
Not much has been recorded of Paradise’s life and few works have been attributed to him. He was born in 1809 in Hunterdon County, New Jersey to his father and namesake John Paradise (1783-1834), a portraitist and founding member of the National Academy of Design in New York City. Paradise primarily produced engraved portraits and banknotes, although his works on canvas, such as the present lot, clearly show his strength in painting. Other works by Paradise include a portrait of Elizabeth Oakes Prince Smith (The Collection of the National Gallery of Art, accession no. 1963.10.188).
As declared in the inscription found on the back of the present portrait, this painting is 'a most perfect likeness' to the fifth President. Before serving as President from 1817-1825, Monroe acted as Minister to France from 1794-1796. Here, Paradise paints Monroe with a scroll in his hand with the writing Mr Monroes addings to the national / convention of France in 1794. The note refers to the address Monroe made to the National Convention in Paris on August 14, 1794 for which he received a standing ovation. In his speech, Monroe celebrated republicanism and the friendship between France and the United States, '…by doing every thing in my power to preserve and perpetuate the harmony so happily subsisting between the two Republicks’ (James Monroe, 'To the National Convention of France, 15 August 1794', Papers of James Monroe, vol. III, p. 30.)
The portrait was first owned by a friend of Monroe’s, Silas E. Burrows (1794-1870). Burrows lived with the painting at 1 Carroll Place, Bleecker Street, New York until 1842 when he sold his city home to move to South America. The painting passed hands to his friend Judge Robert Craig Standard (1814-1857) of Richmond, Virginia. The portrait is the last or a very late picture of Monroe before his death on July 4, 1831.