Portrait of George C. Troutman

Details

Cecilia Beaux (1855-1942)
Portrait of George C. Troutman
signed and dated 'Cecilia Beaux-'86' (lower right)
oil on canvas
48 x 38 in. (121.9 x 96.5 cm.)

Provenance

Central National Bank, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Richard York Gallery, New York, circa 1994.

Literature

Philadelphia Evening Telegraph, June 22, 1886.
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Paintings and Drawings of Cecilia Beaux, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1955, p. 103.
T.L. Tappert, Cecilia Beaux and the Art of Portraiture, Washington, D.C., 1995, pp. 18-9, illustrated.

Exhibited

Washington, D.C., The National Portrait Library, Smithsonian Institution, Cecilia Beaux and the Art of Portraiture, October 6, 1995-January 28, 1996, no. 3.

Lot Essay

The present work was commissioned by the Central National Bank of Philadelphia and depicts George M. Troutman, president of the bank from 1865-1898. Upon viewing the portrait of Troutman in Beaux's studio in June 1886, a reporter for the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph commented: "Miss Beaux has always been particularly successful with her masculine portraits, and another fine work now in her studio is a portrait of Mr. George M. Troutman, [a] representation of an alert, energetic, and enterprising man of business...Miss Beaux has always been strong as a colorist, and [this picture is] noteworthy as showing that she is obtaining a firmer grasp than ever on the essential principles of good color." (W. Clarke, "Some New Art Works," Philadelphia Evening Telegram, June 22, 1886)

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