Nathaniel Olds
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 76.5 × 61.2 cm · framed: 87 × 71.8 × 5.7 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
American Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Jeptha H. Wade III
Accession Number
1991.134.2
Tags
About this artwork
Nathaniel Olds’s glasses have four tinted lenses, two of which are hinged side shields. This style was typically worn to protect sensitive eyes from excessive light, dust, or wind. Due to their occasional use during open-air travel, they were sometimes referred to as carriage or railroad spectacles. The painter of this portrait founded the Western Union Telegraph Company in 1854 and soon became one of Cleveland’s wealthiest industrialists. His grandson, Jeptha Wade II, was a founder of the Cleve...