TitleJames E. Freeman
Artist
Charles Loring Elliott
(American, 1812 - 1868)
Date1846
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 30 × 25 in.
Framed: 37 1/2 × 32 3/4 × 2 7/8 in.
SignedSigned on verso: "Ja.s E. Freeman N.A. / Painted by C.L. Elliott, N.A. / 1846"
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, March 8, 1847
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number410-P
Label TextFreeman went to Italy in 1839, where he served as the United States consul at Ancona from 1840 to 1849, although he fulfilled his duties from the distance of residence in Rome. Freeman would make Rome his lifetime residence, and frequently send paintings of Italian peasants back to American exhibitions. Elliott's portrait of Freeman was probably painted on the occasion of the latter's visit to the United States after his marriage to the sculptress, Horatia Augusta Latilla. This early portrait, painted with considerable freedom and facility in brush work offers an interesting comparison to the highly finished, likeness of Mary Anne Goulding.
