Thomas Robbins

SubjectPortrait of Reverend Thomas Robbins American, 1777 - 1856

Date1801

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 30 × 29 1/2in. (76.2 × 74.9cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LineBequest of Thomas Robbins

DescriptionHalf-length portrait of a young man facing left, seated in a black Windsor chair. He wears a black sut with a high collar and a white shirt, collar, and tie. His right hand holds a leather-bound book with a red label.

Object number1856.1.1

InscribedBack: "R. Moulthrop Pinxit 1 Sept. 1801"NotesSubject Note: Robbins had his portrait painted in 1801 because he was about to embark on a missionary tour in the frontier region of the Western Reserve in the Ohio Territory and he wanted his parents to have his likeness in case he died during the tour. On September 5, 1801, he rode to East Haven and "Agreed with Mr. Moulthrop to take my portrait." He sat for Moulthrop on the following September 8 and 10. Robbins' father picked up the painting from Moulthrop on June 15, 1802. The portrait retains a frame Robbins purchased in Hartford in 1817.

Subject Terms

On View

Not on view