Major-General Henry Dearborn

Gilbert Stuart · 1812

Medium

Oil on mahogany panel

Original size

71.5 × 57.1 cm (28 3/16 × 22 1/2 in.)

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Neoclassicism

Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Major-General Henry Dearborn carries the quiet authority of a man who helped shape a nation — the subject's steady gaze and composed bearing rendered with the assured touch of America's foremost portrait painter. Stuart had trained in London under Benjamin West and returned to the United States in 1793 with a reputation that preceded him. His genius lay in his handling of the face: he would bring a sitter's features to life with remarkable freshness while leaving surrounding areas — clothing, background — in a looser, more gestural state. Working on mahogany panel rather than canvas gave this portrait an unusually smooth surface that intensifies the luminosity of Dearborn's complexion and the crisp definition of his uniform. Dearborn himself was a figure of considerable historical weight: a veteran of Bunker Hill, Saratoga, and the march through the Maine wilderness with Benedict Arnold, he later served as Secretary of War under Jefferson and commanded American forces in the early stages of the War of 1812. Fort Dearborn — the settlement that grew into Chicago — was named in his honour. This hand-painted oil reproduction faithfully replicates Stuart's subtle tonal gradations and the dignified stillness that makes the original, held at the Art Institute of Chicago, so enduring.