Henry L. Wells
1845
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 115 x 72 cm (45 1/4 x 28 3/8 in.) framed: 114.9 x 85.4 x 5.1 cm (45 1/4 x 33 5/8 x 2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CAB
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
Accession Number
1955.11.8
Art Historical Context
**Henry L. Wells** is a compelling mid-19th-century portrait by Susan C. Waters, painted in 1845 in oil on canvas. Measuring 115 x 72 cm, this half-length depiction captures the young Henry L. Wells with the straightforward realism characteristic of American itinerant portraiture. Waters (1808–1901), a pioneering female artist from New York, traveled rural communities offering affordable likenesses to middle-class families, preserving everyday lives in an era before photography dominated. Completed during the antebellum period, the painting reflects the cultural importance of portraiture as a...