George Henry Yewell (1830-1923) - 1859 Oil Reading Male Figure

Description

A charming oil painting by the American artist George Henry Yewell. The scene depicts a seated male figure reading a book. Known for his portraits, this is a fine example of the artist's proficiency in the subject and medium. On canvas, laid to thick card. Signed and dated.

Condition

The condition is typical for a picture of this age including discolouration and craquelure. Minor areas of paint loss, mainly to the margins. Inspection under UV light shows small areas of restoration.

Size

19.5 x 14.9cm (7.7" x 5.9")
Sheet: 21.7 x 16.3cm (8.5" x 6.4")

Artist Biography

George Henry Yewell was an American painter and etcher. Yewell was born on the 20th of January 1830 in Havre de Grace, Maryland. The artist worked mainly as a portraitist, but also created paintings from sketches he had made during his international travels.

Yewell lived in Iowa City a few times throughout his career, where he painted portraits, specializing in depictions of children. In 1856, the artist studied at the Academy of Design in New York, taking a studio in the city at this time as well. In 1863 Yewell married Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Coast. In 1867, with his wife and her brother Oscar, the artist went to Europe, and took up residence in Rome.

Yewell returned to the United States in 1878 and settled in New York. He rented a studio in the Tenth Street Studio Building, which he kept at least until 1880. He returned there after taking space elsewhere in the city, coming back around 1895 and remaining there for the rest of his life. In 1881 he was reported to be designing a frieze for the Veterans Room in the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue, a task he undertook for Louis Comfort Tiffany. Elected an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1862, Yewell became a full member in 1880, contributing to exhibitions from 1852. Yewell died in New York on the 26th of September 1923.

Throughout his career Yewell depicted many prominent Iowans, including governors Samuel J. Kirkwood, Ralph P. Lowe, and John Chambers, General Grenville M. Dodge, and justices Charles Mason, George G. Wright, and John Forrest Dillon. His drawings of Iowa City are likely the earliest records of that town's appearance. A self-portrait is in the collection of the National Academy of Design, as is a view of the interior of Saint Mark's, Venice, while thirty-six paintings are owned by the University of Iowa, and nine are in the collection of the Iowa Historical Society. Other museums which own examples of his work include the High Museum of Art, the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.