Joseph Morse
Artist
John Tolman
(American, 1777 - 1863)
CultureAmerican
Date1807
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 30 1/4 x 24 in. (76.8 x 61 cm)
Credit LineGift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Object number76.53.32
Not on view
DescriptionOil on canvas painting. Portrait of a man holding a bookLabel TextAttributed to the Conant Limner American, active ca. 1807–13 Joseph Morse, 1807 Oil on canvas A square-and-compass pin proudly identifies the sitter, Joseph Morse, as a Freemason, while his open book offers a more generic symbol of education and refinement. This work’s creator is likely the so-called Conant Limner, an unidentified painter best known for portraits of the Conant family from the village of Sterling in central Massachusetts. This artist, perhaps also a sign painter by trade, used minimal details in his works, focusing on sitters’ faces and one or two distinctive accessories such as jewelry or handheld objects. Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch 76.53.32 ProvenanceGift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch to Chrysler Museum of Art, 1976.Exhibition History"Three Hundred Years of American Art in the Chrysler Museum," Chrysler Museum at Norfolk, Va., March 1 - July 4, 1976. "Democratic Designs: American Folk Paintings from the Chrysler Museum," Willoughby-Baylor House, Norfolk, VA, August 16, 2014 - April 5, 2015.Published ReferencesMichael R. Payne and Suzanne Rudnick Payne, "Who was the Burpee-Conant Limner?," in _The Magazine Antiques_ July-August 2020, p.64, fig. 3a.
Pair/Pair