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Hugh Gibson Glenn with Flintlock Rifle
Hugh Gibson Glenn with Flintlock Rifle

Hugh Gibson Glenn with Flintlock Rifle

Artist Unknown
Dateca. 1830
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 30 1/4 x 25 1/8 inches (76.84 x 63.82 cm)
Framed: 36 3/4 x 31 7/8 x 1 7/8 inches (93.35 x 80.96 x 4.76 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Meredith E. Singleton in memory of Charles M. Singleton
Object number2000.8
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionThe painting features a bright-eyed young boy, perhaps five or six years of age, seated in a wooden chair against a flat gray-brown background. Dressed in a dapper blue jacket with gold buttons, black bow tie, and white shirt and breeches, he holds a rifle prominently in his lap. The head of a dog appears at profile in the lower right-hand corner of the composition, while a powder horn hangs from the chair at the extreme left.Gallery Label

This portrait of Hugh Gibson Glenn is characterized by the frozen facial expression common in folk portraiture.  The convincing representation of depth in the space around Glenn, however, reveals the growing professionalization of rural artists in the 1830s.

The objects around Glenn betray the young man's stoic face.  The flintlock rifle and powder horn suggest a fondness for hunting.  The bright eye and upward tilt of his dog's head further indicate Glenn's enthusiasm for playing outdoors.

Published References
None.
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