Portrait of the Painter
1859
Medium
Oil on wood panel
Dimensions
16 1/16 x 11 1/2 in. (40.8 x 29.2 cm)
Classification
Painting
Culture
American
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Samuel D. Lee Fund, 1934
Accession Number
34.134
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
John La Farge’s *Portrait of the Painter* (1859) offers an intimate glimpse into the early career of one of America’s most versatile artists. Painted in oil on a modest wood panel measuring just 16 by 11½ inches, the work is a self-portrait that captures the young artist at age twenty-four. The choice of a small, portable support suggests a personal, reflective exercise rather than a commissioned piece, allowing La Farge to experiment freely with light, expression, and the direct gaze that engages viewers across time. Created on the eve of the American Civil War, this painting belongs to a pe...
About the Artist
John La Farge · 1835–1910
John La Farge (1835–1910) was born into a wealthy French émigré family in New York City, the son of John Frederick La Farge and Louisa Binsse de Saint-Victor. Educated at Jesuit institutions including Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland and St. John's College (now Fordham University), he initially pursued law but turned to art after receiving early drawing lessons from his maternal grandfather, a...