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Directory: Fine Art: Paintings: Oil: N. America: American: Pre 1900: Item # 178367

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Late 19th Century Oil on Canvas, 34" x 26". Portrait of a Gentleman (Not Signed). To date, I attribute this painting to have been painted by John Singer Sargent in 1880. This is a (not approved) portrait of a Philadelphia merchant named John White Fields. I named this portrait Merchant X by JSS. On 5/11/04 the Portrait was presented to the JSS Catalogue Raisonne Committee. On 5/13, the committee reported it could not attribute this portrait to JSS. My painting was reviewed with 29 other paintings: and my research will continue to confirm this painting. For your own comparison of this painting, please refer to the Pennysvania Academy of the Fine Arts (www.pafa.org) to see the Mr. and Mrs. John White Field Portrait by JSS. We trust you will see that the images match. The History of this painting started around 1881 in Paris. We believe this is the first Portrait done of Mr. Field by JSS. Mr. Field did not approve of his Portrait and at a later date it was cut out of the frame. In 1887 at Mr. White's death, Mrs. Field donated 165 pieces of art to the Williams College in Mass. An inventory of this gift included a listing of this painting. Approximately 1/3 of the collection was sold to raise money for a new Art Museum and the last known time for this painting at Williams was 1949. The Painting reappears in Charleston, SC and is owned by a Art Collector. From Charleston it was sold to a Art Dealer in Atlanta for restoration. From Atlanta to a Art Dealer to another Dealer and then sold to me in Charlotte, NC. More details upon request. After four years of research, we have identified Mr. Field, we have matched the brush work of John Singer Sargent to this painting. We have the provenance with the exception of a 20 year gap. We have matched the bright green on the cuff of this painting and many other matches which we feel it confirms that this is a JSS painting. In this portrait, please notice the spearlike brushstrokes in the hand of Mr. Field. Sargent used this brushstroke after visiting the Netherlands in 1880 when he studied Frans Hals painting. Chemical Analysis of the paint shows an average of 4 separate tests were Zinc Z 57.5%, Iron Fe 9.3%, Sulfur S 2.6%, Phosphorous P 2.6%, Calcium Ca 2.4%, Lead Pb 1.9%, Chlorine Cl 1.5%, Tungsten W 1%, Titanium Ti .9%, and Chromium Cr .7%! Refer to the new page with the paint test results!!