Major-General Henry Dearborn - Gilbert Stuart

Friends of American Art Collection

"Major-General Henry Dearborn" by Gilbert Stuart (1812) Oil on mahogany panel.

Commentary

"Major-General Henry Dearborn" by Gilbert Stuart (1812) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than t hrough narrative alone. Themes to notice include painting. This piece is held in the source collection's Arts of the Americas collection. Gilbert Stuart is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755–1828). The work is cataloged within a Roxbury cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as painting, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Oil on mahogany panel) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (71.5 × 57.1 cm (28 3/16 × 22 1/2 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include painting. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/69619

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data