Description

Description: This striking portrait is of an unidentified young man with high collar and a seed pearl pin. To his right is a heavily shaded column offsetting the man’s sculpted looks. Signed lower left: “R. Rowley Limner Feb. 1828”.

Little is known about the life of Reuben Rowley (1794? -1854?), an itinerant miniature and portrait painter. Based upon the identification of the sitters in several portraits dating from the 1820s, he appears to have worked mainly in central New York State (Chenango and Susquehanna Valley towns) between circa 1825 and 1836 and lived in Ithaca. It has long been assumed that Rowley and an artist named Reuben Roulery, who is recorded as the teacher of the young painter Philip Hewins (1806-1850) in Albany in 1832, are one and the same. Rowley’s name appears next from 1834 to 1838 in city directories of Boston, where he lived first at 11 and later at 9 Pearl Place. His work was exhibited at the Boston Athenaeum the first three years he was there; exhibition records show that in addition to portraits he painted at least two sill lifes of fruit. He is also known to have painted miniature portraits.

Stretcher 26″ x 22″, framed in period style frame which is labelled: “J. Tannenbaum Hand Carved Picture Frames New York City” to: 31″ x 27″. Item #FA00466

Condition: Relined, scattered in-painted small spots, especially in background and column, two small flecks of loss on lapel. Generally good condition.