Rufus King
PainterAttributed to
Joseph Steward
(American, 1753 - 1822)
SubjectPortrait of
Rufus King
(American, 1755 - 1827)
After a work byAfter a work by
John Trumbull
(American, 1756 - 1843)
Datelate 18th-early 19th century
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 21 1/2 x 21 1/2in. (54.6 x 54.6cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number1840.39.0
DescriptionBust-length portrait of a balding man, longer hair in the back, wearing a green jacket, with a high collar with a cravat tied in a bow. He appears to have a ribbon tied at the back of his hair as well.
NotesSubject Note: Rufus King was born in 1755 in Scarborough, Maine, the eldest son of Captain Richard King and his first wife Isabella (Bragdon) King. He graduated Harvard in 1777, was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1780, and a delegate to the Massachusetts General Court from Newburyport in 1783-5. From 1784 to 1786 he was elected by the Massachusetts legislature as a delegate to Confederation Congress. He married Mary Alsop on 30 March 1786, with whom he had several children. After his marriage he moved to New York City, abandoned his law practice, and was elected to the New York Assembly in 1789, and was a United States Senator from New York. He was elected in 1791 as a Director of the Bank of the United States, chosen in 1795 for a second senatorial term, and then chosen as minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain in 1796. He returned to the United States in 1803, and in 1804 and 1808 was the Federalist candidate for vice president with Charles C. Pickney as the presidential nominee. Again elected in 1813 as a Senator from New York, and in 1820 elected by the New York Legislature; 1821 was a member of the Consitutional Convention. Again chosen for the ministry of the Court of St. James’ in Liverpool, 1825, where he was soon taken ill and force to return to America. He died on 29 April 1827 in Jamaica, New York.
Date Note: According to museum records, Joseph Steward operated a museum at the Old State House in Hartford, Connecticut as early as 1796, where it is known he would also display his paintings. (Lee 10/23/2014)
Status
Not on view
Joseph Steward
Joseph Steward
