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Portrait of a Man

Former TitlePortrait of Antonio Canova
Circle of Wincenty de Lesseur (Polish/French, 1745 - 1813)
Formerly attributed to Heinrich Friedrich Füger (German, 1751 - 1818)
Dateca. 1793
MediumWatercolor and gouache on ivory; Ormolu case
DimensionsSight: 2 11/16 × 2 1/8 inches (6.83 × 5.4 cm)
Framed: 2 7/8 × 2 5/16 inches (7.3 × 5.87 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Starr and the Starr Foundation, Inc.
Object numberF58-60/59
InscribedErroneously inscribed on case verso: “Antonio Canova, / 'Sculptor' / by / F H Füger.”
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionPortrait miniature of a man with powdered hair wearing a blue coat before a stormy sky background.Exhibition History

Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1889, no. 16, 109.

Exhibition of the Royal House of Guelph, The New Gallery, London, 1891, no. 1080, 177, as Antonio Canova.

The Starr Foundation Collection of Miniatures, The Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, December 8, 1972–January 14, 1973, no cat., no. 253, as Antonio Canova.

Provenance

John Lumsden Propert (1834–1902), London, by 1887–at least 1897 [1];

Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Notes

[1] John Lumsden Propert was an English physician, art critic, and collector with a particular interest in portrait miniatures. The miniature was illustrated by Propert in two of his publications on portrait miniatures, beginning in 1887; the only difference is a jump ring that has been removed. See J. Lumsden Propert, A History of Miniature Art (London: Macmillan, 1887), 131. For latest known date of ownership, see Catalogue of Miniatures, Enamels, Pastels, and Waxes at 112, Gloucester Place, Portman Square (London: William Clowes, 1897), 64.

Published References

J. Lumsden Propert, A History of Miniature Art (London: Macmillan, 1887), 131, (repro.), as Canova.

Exhibition of Portrait Miniatures (London: Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1889), 109, as Antonio Canova.

Exhibition of the Royal House of Guelph (London: The New Gallery, 1891), 109, as Antonio Canova.

Catalogue of Miniatures, Enamels, Pastels, and Waxes at 112, Gloucester Place, Portman Square (London: William Clowes, 1897), 64, (repro.), as Antonio Canova.

Algernon Graves, Century of Loan Exhibitions, 1813–1912 (New York: Burt Franklin, 1913), 1:364, as Antonio Canova.

Ross E. Taggart, ed., Handbook of the Collections in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 4th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1959), 137, 264, (repro.), as by Friedrich Heinrich Füger, Antonio Canova.

Martha Jane and John W. Starr, “Collecting Portrait Miniatures,” Antiques 80, no. 5 (November 1961): 439.

Ross E. Taggart, The Starr Collection of Miniatures in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (Kansas City, MO: Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, 1971), no. 253, p. 82, (repro.), as Antonio Canova.

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 1, Art of the Occident, 5th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 149, (repro.), as by Friedrich Heinrich Füger, Antonio Canova.

Blythe Sobol, “Circle of Wincenty de Lesseur, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1793,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 1, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.2228.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


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