Elijah Paine (1757-1842)

Name/Title

Elijah Paine (1757-1842)

Entry/Object ID

2013.50.3

Description

Pastel of Elijah Paine (1757-1842) behind beveled glass [with black spacer]. Profile of man facing left, short gray hair with back braid. Clean shaven wearing a taupe coat and white cravat. His vest has a dark line running through the fabric.

Type of Painting

Paper

Artwork Details

Medium

Pastel

Subject Person

Paine, Elijah (1757-1842)

Context

A Revolutionary War veteran and Harvard graduate, Elijah Paine first settled in Windsor, Vermont and then later in Williamstown. In addition to farming and owning a series of businesses, he also maintained a law practice. He served a number of state elected positions, including representative from Williamstown. He was the secretary to the 1777 Vermont Constitutional Convention and served in Vermont's judiciary as both probate judge and supreme court justice. We was a Federalist United States Senator from 1795 to 1801 when he was appointed and resigned to become the United States District judge for the district of Vermont by President John Adams. James Sharples, the artist who created this work, was an English immigrant to the new United States and made much of his career in painting profile portraits of prominent U.S. politicians. He used a device called the physiognotrace to produce an accurate silhouette of the sitter and then filled out the remainder of the portrait. He retained the original tracing so that he could produce and sell copies of popular likenesses.

Acquisition

Accession

2013.50

Source or Donor

Paine, Francis

Acquisition Method

Gift

Made/Created

Artist

Sharples, James, Sr. (1751-1811)

Date made

circa 1796

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Painting

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

15 in

Width

13-1/4 in

Depth

3 in

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Paine, Elijah (1757-1842)