 |
||
Catalog of the Fine Arts CollectionPlease note that the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum prohibits the use of images from its collection in public exhibition, broadcast, electronic reproduction or publication in any form without prior written permission from the institution. If you would like to reproduce any of the Art Gallery images in any form, contact us at 748-8291.
Charles Joshua Chaplin (1825-1891), French Portrait of Erastus Fairbanks, 1847 OIL ON CANVAS, 45 ½ x 35 inches Gift of Arthur F. and Phillip H. Stone Erastus Fairbanks, father of the Athenaeum's founder Horace, led the family's scale manufacturing business in St. Johnsbury for over thirty years, and is largely credited with its success. Elected governor twice, in 1852 and 1860, Fairbanks committed much of his life to public service and was a steadfast supporter of the Union as governor during the Civil War. In this portrait, Fairbanks is depicted as an unassuming New England businessman, dressed well but with little taste for finery or the trappings of wealth. Painted almost ten years after Fairbanks' death, the work commemorates Fairbanks' character as well as his vision. The portraitist, French academic painter Charles Chaplin, is perhaps best remembered today for having briefly taught the impressionist Mary Cassatt.
|
||
