Colonel Isaac Barré

Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Ten years into his stay in London, having trained under the American-born master Benjamin West and established himself as a rising portraitist, Gilbert Stuart painted this striking likeness of the war hero and fiery Member of Parliament Colonel Isaac Barré. A leader of the opposition and a vehement advocate for the American colonies, Barré was known for his 1765 “Sons of Liberty” speech opposing the Stamp Act (which imposed taxes on the colonies without their consent). In this forceful portrait inspired by the works of the seventeenth-century Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, Stuart employed heavy shadow to mask the deformed right side of Barré’s face, where the sitter had taken a bullet at the Battle of Quebec (1759) while serving under Major-General James Wolfe during the French and Indian War.
Caption
Gilbert Stuart American, 1755–1828. Colonel Isaac Barré, 1785. Oil on canvas, 35 13/16 x 27 3/4 in. (91 x 70.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Carll H. de Silver Fund, 16.25. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 16.25_SL3.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Colonel Isaac Barré
Date
1785
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
35 13/16 x 27 3/4 in. (91 x 70.5 cm)
Signatures
Unsigned
Credit Line
Carll H. de Silver Fund
Accession Number
16.25
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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