The Skater
The Skater | |
---|---|
Artist | Gilbert Stuart |
Year | 1782 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 245.5 cm × 147.4 cm (96.7 in × 58.0 in) |
Location | National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. |
The Skater is a 1782 oil on canvas portrait of Sir William Grant[1] by the American artist Gilbert Stuart. Painted while Stuart was living in London, it was the work that first brought the artist broad recognition.[2][3]
Background
In 1775 Stuart left his home in the United States for London, and by 1777 he was apprenticed there to
Later in 1781 Stuart was approached by Sir William Grant, a well-placed young Scotsman from Congalton in East Lothian, not far from Edinburgh, who wished to commission a full-length portrait.[5] Stuart had not yet successfully completed a figure in full-length format—he had, in fact, been loath to accept at least two such previous commissions, and was said to have been incapable of painting a figure "beneath the fifth button".[2] Encouraged by the recent reception of his work at the Royal Academy, he agreed to accept the commission from Grant.[5]
When he arrived to begin sitting for the portrait, Grant remarked that "on account of the excessive coldness of the weather ... the day was better suited for skating than sitting for one's portrait".
Upon their return to the studio Stuart started to paint Grant's head directly—he never drew with a pencil[6]—then stopped and suggested a composition inspired by their venture on the ice. Grant consented, and Stuart subsequently rendered the figure from memory.[7]
Description
With his arms crossed and his head slightly lowered as he skates from right to left, Grant dominates the canvas. The dramatic impression is enhanced by a low point of view, much in the fashion of
Reception
At the Royal Academy exhibition of 1782 the painting was immediately recognized for its originality. Connoisseur John Collum wrote "One would have thought that almost every attitude of a single figure had long been exhausted in this land of portrait painting, but one is now exhibited which I recollect not before—it is that of skating".[7] The Duke of Rutland supposedly went directly from the exhibition to meet with Joshua Reynolds, beseeching him to see the painting.[9] On the strength of The Skater Stuart's reputation gained parity with those of Gainsborough and Reynolds, and prominent commissions followed.[9] Stuart's apprenticeship with West ended, and he moved his studio from a room in the senior artist's house to an independent space on Newman Street. Stuart later said that he had been "suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture."[9][10]
It had appeared again in an exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1878. The painting passed by descent in the sitter's family until 1950, when it was sold to the
The Skater may have influenced Henry Raeburn's later painting, The Skating Minister, considered a masterpiece of Scottish art.[8]
Notes
- ^ William Grant, National Gallery of Art
- ^ a b c d e Pressly
- ^ a b c The Skater, National Gallery of Art
- ^ McLanathan, 42
- ^ a b c d McLanathan, 45
- ^ McLanathan, 41
- ^ a b c d e f McLanathan, 46
- ^ a b Lyons
- ^ a b c McLanathan, 47
- ^ National Gallery of Art Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ National Gallery of Art Provenance Archived 2010-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
References
- McLanathan, Richard. Gilbert Stuart. New York, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1986. ISBN 0-8109-1501-4
- The Skater, National Gallery of Art
- William L. Pressly. Gilbert Stuart's "The Skater": An Essay in Romantic Melancholy, American Art Journal, Vol. 18, No. 1 (Winter, 1986)
- Painting by American artist claimed as inspiration for Raeburn's skating minister, William Lyons, Scotland on Sunday, June 5, 2005
External links
- National Gallery of Art
- Gilbert Stuart, a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which contains material on The Skater