William James Hubard
Robert Gilmor, Jr.
1829-1831
Physical Qualities
Oil on wood panel, Framed: 26 3/4 x 20 3/4 x 3 1/2 in. (67.9 x 52.7 x 8.9 cm) Sight: 20 3/8 x 14 1/2 in. (51.8 x 36.8 cm)
Credit Line
Charlotte Abbott Gilman Paul Bequest Fund
Object Number
1956.287
William James Hubard’s portrait captures a self-confident Robert Gilmor, Jr. (1774 – 1848) posing on a colorful Oriental carpet. This son of a wealthy and prominent Baltimore merchant retired from the family shipping business to devote himself exclusively to intellectual pursuits. One of Baltimore’s first important art patrons, the noteworthy collector is shown standing among Greek vases, scrolls, and a portfolio bursting with engravings. Above him, at the upper right, a marble bust on a bracket is just visible. Gilmor once owned the important landscape by Thomas Cole on view in this gallery, and Thomas Sully’s depiction of a more youthful Gilmor is also displayed here. The landscape above the Hubard portrait was painted at Beech Hill, Gilmor’s country estate on the outskirts of the city.
Robert Gilmor, Baltimore, 1869; William L. Gilmore, Baltimore, by 1945; Sam W. Pattison & Co., Inc., Sale, Baltimore, Oct. 25, 1956
Washington, D.C., "Third Annual Exhibition of the Washington Art Associations Art Association," 1859, no. 35 (lent by R. Gilmore [sic]).
BMA, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting," 1840-1940, June 6-Sept. 1, 1941, p.27 (lent by William L. Gilmor).
BMA, "Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland," May 11-June 17, 1945, p.52, no.120, ill. p.53 (lent by William L. Gilmor).
WAG, Baltimore, "An Exhibition Commemorating Robert Gilmor II of Baltimore (1774-1848)," Mar. 19-Apr.24, 1949, checklist.
PM, Baltimore, "Rendezvous for Taste," Feb. 24-Apr. 22, 1956, p. 33, no. 145, ill. p.16 (as Richard Caton Woodville, lent by William L. Gilmor).
The Corcoran Gallery Art, Washington D.C., "American Painters of the South," Apr. 23-June 5, 1960, p. 34, no. 99, ill. p.28.
The Walters Art Museum, "New Eyes on America: The Genius of Richard Caton Woodville," March 2, 2013 - June 2, 2013.
BMA, "A Century of Baltimore Collecting," 1840-1940, June 6-Sept. 1, 1941, p.27 (lent by William L. Gilmor).
BMA, "Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Painting in Maryland," May 11-June 17, 1945, p.52, no.120, ill. p.53 (lent by William L. Gilmor).
WAG, Baltimore, "An Exhibition Commemorating Robert Gilmor II of Baltimore (1774-1848)," Mar. 19-Apr.24, 1949, checklist.
PM, Baltimore, "Rendezvous for Taste," Feb. 24-Apr. 22, 1956, p. 33, no. 145, ill. p.16 (as Richard Caton Woodville, lent by William L. Gilmor).
The Corcoran Gallery Art, Washington D.C., "American Painters of the South," Apr. 23-June 5, 1960, p. 34, no. 99, ill. p.28.
The Walters Art Museum, "New Eyes on America: The Genius of Richard Caton Woodville," March 2, 2013 - June 2, 2013.
"New Acquisition," BMA Today, Winter 2005/2006, p. 11, ill.
Sona K. Johnston, "American Painting 1750-1900 from the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art," 1983, pp. 84-85, ill. p. 84.
The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland, 1830-1934. [Baltimore, MD]: [Walters Art Gallery], 1984, plate 12, page 8.
Joy Peterson Heyrman, (eds), "New Eyes on America: The Genius of Richard Caton Woodville", Baltimore: The Walters Art Museum, p. 18.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
Wendy A. Cooper. "Classical Taste in America 1800-1840". Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art; New York: Abbeville Press, 1993, page 98.
Inscribed: Although the painting is unasigned, there is the suggestion of a cypher incorporating the artist's initials on the right end of the scroll closest to the viewer.
