Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
58.P.9 |
Object Name |
Painting |
Title |
Portrait of Elisha Kent Kane |
Artist |
Lambdin, James Reid |
Date |
1857 |
Description |
Extended bust-length portrait with body turned slightly to his right, head turned to his left, in front of a brown background. The subject has short black hair that loosely falls around his ears, a full black beard and moustache, brown eyes, and a rosy complexion. He wears a dark blue Navy uniform with six brass buttons, epaulettes, and a black cravat. Unsigned and undated. |
Label |
Philadelphia-born naval physician Elisha Kent Kane made two expeditions to the Arctic in the early 1850s to seek missing British explorer Sir John Franklin and his crew. Kane's adventures, chronicled in two best-selling books, made him a celebrated American hero. When he died in Havana, Cuba, in 1857 at the young age of 36, thousands gathered to watch his funeral procession from New Orleans to Philadelphia before he was laid in state in Independence Hall. This portrait by local artist James Reid Lambdin, painted after Kane's death, may have been based on a photograph by Mathew Brady. |
Medium |
Oil on canvas |
Dimensions |
H-40.75 W-35.625 inches |
Dimension Details |
Framed |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society |
Search Terms |
19th century nineteenth century painting physician exploration navigation Navy |