January 19, 1928
An exhibition of early American portraits and miniatures has been lent to the Brooklyn Museum by Mr. John Hill Morgan from his well-known collection of early American art. Mr. Morgan is an authority on the subject of the early painters of this country.
The loan has been hung in a special gallery and the pictures arranged chronologically from 1700 to 1850. They give an excellent cross-section of the period which they cover in the types of the subjects depicted. The collection affords a good opportunity to compare the works of many of the artists with the examples of their work in the Museum's permanent collection of early American portraits.
The oil paintings are by H. Benbridge, Charles Bridges, John Singleton Copley, Charles Loring Elliott, John Wesley Jarvis, Bass Otis, Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, Gilbert Stuart and
Thomas Sully. There are two portraits in chalk by C.B.J.F. de st. Memin and seven miniatures, four by James Sharples and one each by John Vanderlyn, J. Ruben Smith and Charles Loring Elliott.
Three of the most interesting pictures are "George Washington, 1787" by Charles Willson Peale, "John C. Calhoun" by John Wesley Jarvis and a small painting of the famous "Death of Wolfe", said to have been painted by Benjamin West for use in making the engraving of his large picture.
Mr. Morgan is a well-known lawyer in New York, a lecturer on early American art, a Trustee of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Museums Governing Committee and the author of "Early American Painters" and Sketch of the Life of Gilbert Stuart".
The exhibition will be on view for six months.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1916 - 1930. 01-03/1928, 016. View Original
