Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.P.53 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Title |
Portrait of Isaac Lea |
Artist |
Anshutz, Thomas Pollock |
Artist 2 |
Albrecht Bernhard Uhle |
Date |
ca. 1911 |
Description |
This three-quarter length portrait of Isaac Lea (1792-1886) was painted in 1911 by Thomas Anshutz (after an original 1879 portrait by Albrecht Bernhard Uhle). The sitter lounges in an oversized upholstered armchair, his body and gaze directed toward the viewer’s right in three-quarter profile. Lea wears a dark coat atop a white, collared shirt. His face is rendered in fleshy detail, with long, silver hair and a matching beard, a large nose, and strong brows. He holds a magnifying glass in his right hand and a small bivalve in his left hand. To the right of the sitter is a table covered by an embroidered cloth; on this table are papers and books. The background is filled with bookcases holding bound volumes. The portrait is largely executed in various shades of brown paint, and the brushy, painterly style leaves portions of the portrait (especially the legs and the upper right corner of the canvas) with an unfinished aspect. Through APS documents we know that this portrait is a copy after an original 1879 painting by Uhle. The Uhle portrait has not been located and may be in a private collection. |
Label |
Isaac Lea (1792-1886), a geologist, paleontologist, and conchologist, published widely during his lifetime. The first American to pursue the field of microscopic mineralogy, he donated the base of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s collection of 1312 gems and minerals (then known as the United States National Museum), along with his extensive collection of mollusks and snails. His life’s work was devoted to the study of freshwater mollusks.This portrait was presented to the Society in 1911 as a memorial. |
Medium |
Oil on canvas |
Dimensions |
H-68 W-54 inches |
Dimension Details |
Framed |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of the family of Henry Charles Lea, 1911. |
Search Terms |
20th century twentieth century 19th century nineteenth century painting scientist geology natural history |