Benjamin Harrison1899
William Thomas Mathews painted this in 1899, aged 78. It is now at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. More about this work
About this work
Artist: William Thomas Mathews, Sitter: Benjamin Harrison, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Description from the National Portrait Gallery.
William Thomas Mathews painted this in 1899, aged 78. It is now at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
William Thomas Mathews
7 May 1821 - 11 Jan 1905
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The National Portrait Gallery has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- NPG.2019.35
- Credit
- Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
- Type
- Painting
- Department
- National Portrait Gallery
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
