Everard Benjamin
William Jennys·1795
Historical Context
William Jennys' portrait of Everard Benjamin from 1795 depicts another member of the Benjamin family, likely a son, continuing the family portrait series that was common in early American domestic life. Jennys' portraits of the Benjamin family provide a coherent visual record of a New England family at the end of the 18th century, exemplifying the democratic portrait tradition that flourished in the young American Republic.
Technical Analysis
Jennys' oil-on-canvas technique maintains the consistent style of the family portrait series, with strong, direct lighting and precise delineation of features. The bold, unmodulated approach to form reflects the limner tradition that characterized American portrait painting outside the major cities.
Provenance
The sitter's father, Asa Benjamin [1763-1833], Stratford, Connecticut; by descent in his family to Hannah Maria Benjamin Russell [1809-1894, Mrs. Lewis H. Russell], Stratford;[1] by descent to her granddaughter, Frances B. Russell, Stratford, by 1941.[2] (Mr. Aarons, Ansonia, Connecticut); sold 1952 to Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch (perhaps with Frederick Fuessenich as agent); gift 1953 to NGA. [1] Robyn Asleson, curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, kindly brought to the NGA's attention the inclusion of this painting, as well as NGA 1953.5.19 and 1953.5.20, in an 1889 exhibition in Stratford (see her e-mail of 17 August 2020 to NGA curator Sarah Cash, in NGA curatorial files). The paintings were lent by Hannah M.B. Russell, indicating they had remained in the sitters' family, information that was not known when the NGA catalogue of its naïve American paintings was published in 1992. [2] Frederic F. Sherman, in _Richard Jennys, New England Portrait Painter_, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1941: 64, reproduces this painting with the credit line, "Property of Miss Frances B. Russell." On p. 65, Sherman notes that he found the painting in Stratford, Connecticut, presumably where Miss Russell lived.
