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Colonel Nathaniel Rochester
before 183130 x 25 in. (76.2 x 63.5 cm)
Unknown, American
American
John James Audubon
American (Les Cayes, Santo Domingo [now Haiti], 1785 - 1851, New York, NY) Previous attribution
Object Type:
Painting
Medium and Support:
Oil on canvas
Credit Line:
Gift of Thomas J. Watson
Accession Number:
1934.1
Location: Not currently on view
This formal gentleman was the founder of the city of Rochester, New York. His portrait was originally thought to have been painted by John James Audubon, but current scholarship has weighed in against that opinion.
Nathaniel Rochester was an enterprising individual, which was a characteristic of many early settlers. He founded businesses and churches, and held governmental positions. He was the first president of the Rochester Athenaeum, the precursor to the Rochester Institute of Technology, and he was instrumental in the organization of Monroe County and the building of the Erie Canal. His practical and inventive bent may have led him to wear four-lens spectacles, which allowed him to read small print and see at a distance using the same pair of glasses.
[Gallery label text, 2007]
Nathaniel Rochester was an enterprising individual, which was a characteristic of many early settlers. He founded businesses and churches, and held governmental positions. He was the first president of the Rochester Athenaeum, the precursor to the Rochester Institute of Technology, and he was instrumental in the organization of Monroe County and the building of the Erie Canal. His practical and inventive bent may have led him to wear four-lens spectacles, which allowed him to read small print and see at a distance using the same pair of glasses.
[Gallery label text, 2007]
Marks
Inscription, verso: Nathaniel Rochester/painted by J. J. Audubon
Provenance
John Rochester, brother of the sitter, Westmoreland County, VA; to his daughter, Artemisia Rochester Logan, Boyle County, KY; to her daughter, Emilie Jane Logan, Boyle County, KY; purchased by Ehrich Galleries, New York, NY before 1924; purchased by Hiram Burlingham, New York, NY, before 1928; (Sale of the Burlingham Estate Collection, American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, New York, NY, January 11, 1934); purchased by Chester Dale, New York, NY, 1934; purchased by Thomas J. Watson, New York, NY, 1934; given to the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY for the Gallery in 1934
Keywords
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- A Century of Rochester Interiors Memorial Art Gallery 5/15/1934 - 9/9/1934
- Life in America: A Special Loan Exhibition of Paintings 4/24/1939 - 10/29/1939
- Second Audubon Centennial Exhibition: Audubon as a Portrait Painter National Audubon Society 5/28/1951 - 7/15/1951
- Around the World in Rochester 2/8/1952 - 3/2/1952
- Summer Exhibit of Permanent Collection 6/1/1959 - 8/31/1959
- American Paintings from Collection of the Memorial Art Gallery Memorial Art Gallery 1/13/1967 - 5/14/1967
- Nathaniel Rochester Festival Central Trust Company 10/1/1982 - 10/2/1982
- Ken Aptekar: Eye Contact Memorial Art Gallery 2/16/2002 - 4/21/2002
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Handbook. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1961.
- Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, NY: Rochester Print Co.
- Article Title: Transfer of Portrait by Dale to Watson is Here Made Clear. Article Scope: Article. ARTnews. New York, New York: ARTnews Associates Volume Number: 32, Issue Number: 7. Issue Date: January 27, 1934. Page Number: 10
- The New York Times. New York, NY: H.J. Raymond & Co
- Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Elizabeth Brayer. Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery, 1913-1988. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.
- Historic Brighton News. Brighton, NY: Historic Brighton
- Article Author: Forman, Edward R.. Article Title: Discovery of an Audubon Portrait of Col. Nathaniel Rochester. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. . Publication Fund Series. Rochester, NY: The Rochester Historical Society Volume Number: VII Issue Date: 1928. Page Number: 1-5, Figure Number: frontispiece, verso shown on p.6
- Life in America: A Special Loan Exhibition of Paintings held during the period of the New York World's Fair. New York, NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1939.
- Second Audubon Centennial Exhibition: Audubon as a Portrait Painter. New York, NY: National Audubon Society, 1951.
- Paul S. Boyer. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath and Company, 1990.
- Genesee Country Companion. Mumford, NY: Genesee Country Village & Museum
- Article Author: Comstock, Helen. Article Title: American Historical Portraits: The Burlingham Collection. Article Scope: Article. The Connoisseur. London, England: The Connoisseur Volume Number: 94, Issue Number: 305. Issue Date: July 1934. Page Number: 31-32, Figure Number: 37
- Article Title: Paintings Sold at Auction. Article Scope: Entry. American Art Annual. Washington, D.C.: The American Federation of the Arts Volume Number: 31 Issue Date: 1934. Page Number: 462
- Article Scope: Entry. Catalogue for the Burlingham Sale. New York, NY: American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Inc., 1934.
- Twenty-first Annual Report. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1934.
- MAGazine. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester
- Times-Union. Rochester, NY: Gannett
- Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Genesee Country Scrapbook. Rochester, NY: Rochester Historical Society Volume Number: XV Issue Date: June 1976.
- Article Author: Brown, Peter Ogden. Article Title: Unknown American Artist: Portrait of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester. Article Scope: Chapter and reproduction. Marjorie B. Searl, ed. Seeing America: painting and sculpture from the collection of the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2006. Page Number: 28-31
- Julian Hanley. From Longhouse to Log House: The Story of the Iroquois Indians and The Land They Lived In. Self published
- Warren Kling. America's First Boontown - Rochester, NY: The Early Years and the Notables Who Shaped It.. Rochester, NY: Rochester History Alive Publications
- Smith, Virginia Jeffrey. St. Luke's Church, Genesee Falls: Past and Future. Rochester, NY: Great Lakes Press Corp., 1967.
- Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Marjorie Searl and Lu Harper. The Memorial Art Gallery: 100 Years. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2013.
Portfolio List
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This object is a member of the following portfolios:
Web Links
See links to web pages and lesson plans
Seeing America Inservice
Materials from a teacher in-service presentation Spring 2008
Seeing America
Chapter on this portrait of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, written by Peter Ogden Brown.
Nathaniel Rochester 1780-1810
Photo of Nathaniel Rochester from the Rochester Images Project, direct url http://photo.libraryweb.org/carlweb/jsp/DoSearch?databaseID=716&count=10&terms=383&index=z. An additional image of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester from the Rochester Images Project may be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/3mybodb.