Detail View: The AMICA Library: Samuel Williams
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AMICA ID:
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CMA_.1965.474
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AMICA Library Year:
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2002
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Object Type:
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Paintings
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Creator Name:
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Allston, Washington
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Creator Nationality:
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North American; American
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Creator Role:
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artist
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Creator Dates/Places:
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1779 - 1843
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Gender:
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M
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Creator Name-CRT:
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Washington Allston
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Title:
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Samuel Williams
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Title Type:
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Primary
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View:
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Full View
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Creation Date:
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c. 1817
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Creation Start Date:
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1812
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Creation End Date:
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1827
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Materials and Techniques:
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oil on canvas
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Classification Term:
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Painting
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Dimensions:
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Unframed: 142.2cm x 111.8cm
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AMICA Contributor:
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The Cleveland Museum of Art
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Owner Location:
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Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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ID Number:
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1965.474
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Credit Line:
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Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
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Rights:
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Provenance:
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Family of the sitter, Boston; Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Fleischman, Detroit (Kennedy Galleries, New York)
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Context:
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Whether Allston was at home in Boston or on one of his two extended trips to Europe, the art world of his day regarded him as America's foremost proponent of Romantic painting. Along with his visionary landscapes and scenes from literature, his portraits also make statements about the workings of the imagination. Although Samuel Williams (died 1841) was a merchant and a banker, this canvas suggests nothing about his professional life. Instead, the painter made this portrait commission an opportunity to explore the experience of revery. Williams looks off absently into his chamber, apparently inspired by the pictures in his illustrated book. With its view of an Italianate landscape beyond the columns of this invented setting, the paintng invites its viewers to join the sitter in dreaming about far-away places. |
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Related Image Identifier Link:
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CMA_.AM20020614.tif
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