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The studio walls are handsomely paneled in a dark wood carved with geometric designs, indicative of the tastefulness of the famous Tenth Street Studio Building in New York City. Erected in 1857 as the first structure dedicated to artists, the building was designed by Richard Morris Hunt and housed twenty-three studios. Among the prominent painters to rent there were Winslow Homer, Frederic Edwin Church, and William Merritt Chase. In addition to studio spaces, the building was equipped for exhibitions, which included the elaborate display of Church’s Heart of the Andes in 1859.
Both Whittredge and Leutze rented studios in the Tenth Street Studio Building. They had met abroad at the Düsseldorf Academy, a popular institution for American artists. Leutze was an instructor at the school, and he and Whittredge developed a lasting friendship. Whittredge posed for the figure of George Washington in Leutze’s 1851 masterpiece, Washington Crossing the Delaware. Leutze painted several portraits of his friend, including the 1856 portrait of Whittredge in the guise of a Spanish Baroque nobleman, which hung in Whittredge’s Tenth Street studio throughout his career, an indication of their mutual admiration. [1]
Notes:
[1] See Anthony F. Janson, Worthington Whittredge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
ProvenanceFrom late 19th Century
Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910); his family, by descent; William E. Katzenbach (1905-1975), Sneden Landing, NY, by descent. [1]
1973
Hirschl & Alder Galleries, Inc., New York, NY. [2]
From 1973 to 1984
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from Hirschl & Alder Galleries, Inc. on October 15, 1973. [3]
From 1984
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 28, 1984. [4]
Notes:
[1] Bill of Sale, 1973, object file; RH coversheet. William E. Katzenbach was the grandson of Worthington Whittredge.
[2] Bill of Sale, 1973, object file.
[3] See note 2.
[4] Deed of Gift, object file.
Exhibition History1976
American Portraits and History Painting by Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868)
National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (1/16/1976-3/14/1976)
University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, CA (4/20/1976-5/30/1976)
Cat. No. 231
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections From Reynolda House Museum Of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
1997
Paintings and Patronage: The Tenth Street Studios
Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY (6/1/1997-10/7/1997)
2006
Self/Image: Portraiture of Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/30/2006)
2017
Samuel F.B. Morse's Gallery of the Louvre and the Art of Invention
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (02/17/2017 - 06/04/2017)
Published ReferencesAvery, Kevin J. and Franklin Kelly. Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.
Blaugrund, Annette. Paintings And Patronage: The Tenth Street Studios. Southampton, NY: Parrish Art Museum, 1996.
Mazow, Leo and Kevin Murphy. Taxing Visions: Financial Episodes in late Nineteenth-Century American Art. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010.
Millhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990: 66-7.
"New York's Tenth Street Studio Building,"in Current and Coming by Allison Eckerdt Ledes. The Magazine Antiques. v.CLI, #6 (June 1997): 792.
Wilner, Eli, ed. The Gilded Edge. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000: illus. 20.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 214, 215
DepartmentAmerican Art
Worthington Whittredge in his Tenth Street Studio
Artist
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze
(1816 - 1868)
Date1865
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsImage (visible): 14 3/4 x 11 5/8 in. (37.5 x 29.5 cm)
Canvas: 15 x 12 in. (38.1 x 30.5 cm)
Frame: 19 3/4 x 16 3/4 in. (50.2 x 42.5 cm)
SignedE Leutze. 1865
Credit LineGift of Barbara B. Millhouse
CopyrightPublic domain
Object number1984.2.12
DescriptionIn his portrayal of his friend, the landscape painter Worthington Whittredge, Emanuel Leutze offers clues about the working environment of a mid-nineteenth century painter. Shown in profile at his elaborately draped easel, Whittredge sits erect as he labors on his canvas. He holds his palette in his left hand, while supporting his right with a mahl stick. Scattered on the floor and propped on shelves are small paintings, presumably the result of sketching trips to the country. Hudson River School painters in the 1860s still composed their landscapes indoors in their studios as Whittredge does in this portrait. A soft golden light pours down from a high window, drawing attention to the painter’s baldhead, his hand, and the edge of the gilded frame. The studio walls are handsomely paneled in a dark wood carved with geometric designs, indicative of the tastefulness of the famous Tenth Street Studio Building in New York City. Erected in 1857 as the first structure dedicated to artists, the building was designed by Richard Morris Hunt and housed twenty-three studios. Among the prominent painters to rent there were Winslow Homer, Frederic Edwin Church, and William Merritt Chase. In addition to studio spaces, the building was equipped for exhibitions, which included the elaborate display of Church’s Heart of the Andes in 1859.
Both Whittredge and Leutze rented studios in the Tenth Street Studio Building. They had met abroad at the Düsseldorf Academy, a popular institution for American artists. Leutze was an instructor at the school, and he and Whittredge developed a lasting friendship. Whittredge posed for the figure of George Washington in Leutze’s 1851 masterpiece, Washington Crossing the Delaware. Leutze painted several portraits of his friend, including the 1856 portrait of Whittredge in the guise of a Spanish Baroque nobleman, which hung in Whittredge’s Tenth Street studio throughout his career, an indication of their mutual admiration. [1]
Notes:
[1] See Anthony F. Janson, Worthington Whittredge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
ProvenanceFrom late 19th Century
Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910); his family, by descent; William E. Katzenbach (1905-1975), Sneden Landing, NY, by descent. [1]
1973
Hirschl & Alder Galleries, Inc., New York, NY. [2]
From 1973 to 1984
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from Hirschl & Alder Galleries, Inc. on October 15, 1973. [3]
From 1984
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 28, 1984. [4]
Notes:
[1] Bill of Sale, 1973, object file; RH coversheet. William E. Katzenbach was the grandson of Worthington Whittredge.
[2] Bill of Sale, 1973, object file.
[3] See note 2.
[4] Deed of Gift, object file.
Exhibition History1976
American Portraits and History Painting by Emanuel Leutze (1816-1868)
National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (1/16/1976-3/14/1976)
University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, CA (4/20/1976-5/30/1976)
Cat. No. 231
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections From Reynolda House Museum Of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami, FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
1997
Paintings and Patronage: The Tenth Street Studios
Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, NY (6/1/1997-10/7/1997)
2006
Self/Image: Portraiture of Copley to Close
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (8/30/2006-12/30/2006)
2017
Samuel F.B. Morse's Gallery of the Louvre and the Art of Invention
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (02/17/2017 - 06/04/2017)
Published ReferencesAvery, Kevin J. and Franklin Kelly. Hudson River School Visions: The Landscapes of Sanford R. Gifford. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.
Blaugrund, Annette. Paintings And Patronage: The Tenth Street Studios. Southampton, NY: Parrish Art Museum, 1996.
Mazow, Leo and Kevin Murphy. Taxing Visions: Financial Episodes in late Nineteenth-Century American Art. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2010.
Millhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990: 66-7.
"New York's Tenth Street Studio Building,"in Current and Coming by Allison Eckerdt Ledes. The Magazine Antiques. v.CLI, #6 (June 1997): 792.
Wilner, Eli, ed. The Gilded Edge. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000: illus. 20.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 214, 215
Status
On viewCollections