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Robert Street, born in Germantown, PA, was active in the Philadelphia
art community throughout his career, showing his work at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts as early as 1817, when
he would have been twenty-one years old. By 1824, he had shown
his work in Washington, DC, and had painted a portrait of Andrew
Jackson that was later hung in the White House. In 1834, Street
painted a portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte's brother, who was then
living in Bordentown, NJ.
Street collected old master paintings and copies of the great
masters of western European art. In 1840, these were included
in an exhibition at The Artists Fund Hall in Philadelphia, along
with 172 of his own paintings. His work was shown in major exhibitions
throughout his career in Philadelphia and in New York. Street
also painted landscapes, genre, and history subjects, as well
as portraits.
Today, Robert Street's work is included in the collections
of major museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston,
the National Gallery of Art, The Philadelphia Museum of Art,
The Butler Institute of American Art, and the Pennsylvania Academy
of the Fine Arts.
Seated in a carved mahogany Empire style sofa, Street's young
man holds a copy of the "Civil Architect" in his hands,
connoting his professional identity. He is also wearing the uniform
of a midshipman, the youngest ranking officers in the US navy.
One can only presume that this fellow will bring his knowledge
of architecture and engineering to the service of his country.
The column in the background echoes the confident, military posture
of the sitter.
This painting was published in the Kennedy Quarterly v. 4,
No. 3, in 1964, and illustrated on pg. 146. It remained in the
collection of the Kennedy Galleries until 2005.
The canvas has received re-tensioning treatment and has scattered
in-painting throughout. It is in what appears to be its original
gilt frame. |
