TitleAlbert Pinkham Ryder
Artist
Julian Alden Weir
(American, 1852 - 1919)
Daten.d.
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 24 × 20 in.
Framed: 30 1/4 × 26 1/16 × 1 1/2 in.
SubmissionANA diploma presentation, March 2, 1903
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number1395-P
Label TextWeir and Ryder met when both enrolled in the National Academy Antique School for the 1870-1 term. They became lifelong friends, socializing in the early Art Club, working as neighbors in the Benedict Building, and exhibiting at the Cottier & Co. gallery. In later years, Weir attempted to safeguard Ryder from the results of his increasingly erratic behavior. When Ryder was without money, Weir sold an early painting which Ryder had previously given him and turned over the $1000 to the artist. He made frequent attempts to convince his friend to take better care of himself and complete the already overworked canvases which caused him so much anxiety. Weir often invited him to his Branchville Farm, hoping that the country would have a calming effect. It was in October 1902 on one such visit that he began Ryder's portrait.The diploma portrait of Ryder is not his only likeness by Weir. There are at least two drypoint portraits of Ryder, and he may have posed for an early Weir painting, The Good Samaritan (1880, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Windham Connecticut). In the Academy's sympathetic and poignant portrait, Ryder's hulking body creates a striking physical presence. It might be imagined that Weir was using a style which paid homage to Ryder's own manner, for the face and hands are composed of furrows of thickly layered paint on top of more paint of varying colors. He appears disheveled, with his dark brown pupil-less eyes indicating distraction and a lack of focus. The rough greyish-olive background adds to the overwrought, fitful character of the work, seeming more plastered than brushed onto the canvas.
The singular quality of Weir's portrayal of his unusual friend was realized soon after it was exhibited at the 1903 NAD Annual. Harrison N. Howard wrote, "Weir's portrait of Albert P. Ryder is one of the most notable performances in the entire exhibition . . . . It is without doubt the best canvas that has emanated from Mr. Weir's studio for a number of years." Fellow Academician William A. Coffin later called it "one of the best canvases in the large portrait collection of the National Academy of Design."
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