Portrait Medal of John Smart

Delineator John Kirk (English, 1724 - 1778)

Modeler Joachim Smith (English, ca. 1737-1814)

Dateca. 1777

MediumBronze

DimensionsOverall: 1 7/16 × 1 7/16 inches (3.65 × 3.65 cm)

Credit LineGift of James Philip Starr

Object number2018.10

InscribedInscribed on recto, around the margin: "IOH:SMART. / PICT:EFFIG:MINUT: / SMITH·M·KIRK·F·"

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

European Art

Terms

DescriptionPortrait medal of a man in profile.Gallery Label

Gallery Label

The medals (nos. 1 & 2) commissioned to honor John Smart’s years as vice president of the Society of Artists in Great Britain further demonstrate his artistic reputation, which he was keen to promote. Smart probably made the wax impression of his own profile from the medals (no. 3), demonstrating a lifelong fascination with his legacy, echoed in his numerous self-portraits. A century after Smart’s death, renewed demand for his work led to an increase in copies of his miniatures (no. 4).

Provenance

Purchased by Mr. John Wilbur Starr (1905-2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane Starr (née Phillips, 1906-2011), Kansas City, MO;

By descent to their son, Mr. John Philip Starr and Mrs. Barry Mann Starr;

By descent to their son, James Philip Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 2017;

His gift to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2018.

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