Man in a Brown Cap: Portrait of a Black Man

Oil-on-canvas, signed lower right.

Painting Size: 23.75” x 18.75”
Frame Size: 28.5” x 23.5”

Harrington Mann was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1864 and died in 1837 in New York City. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art and at the Slade under Legros, as well as at the Académie Julien in Paris. He was on the periphery of the Glasgow School movement, but distanced himself from their aims and subjects. Early in his career he was well regarded as a designer of Ecclesiastical stained glass, primarily for the Guthrie Company of Glasgow in the 1890's. After about 1892 he began to specialize in portrait painting and gained his reputation and success in that field. He also painted groups of children and a variety of family and domestic scenes. With an increasing number of American portrait commissions he maintained a home and studio in New York City where he spent the latter part of his life. He was also noted for his portraits of Robert Scott (of Antarctic fame), Sir Robert Beerbohm (held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC) and several members of the Royal Family. His book "The Technique of Portrait Painting" is still referred to by artists and art schools today.

Sources:
Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art
Paul Harris and Julian Halsby, The Dictionary of Scottish Painters 1600-1960