1936.5.1 Front
Portrait of Mark Twain by James Carroll Beckwith
Painting, Oil
1890 (Date manufactured/created)
Painting
Canvas, Paint, Wood
34 inches H
X
28 inches W
Oil on canvas portrait of Mark Twain by James Carroll Beckwith, 1890.
In the summer of 1890, Clemens, his wife Livy, and their three daughters rented a cottage in Onteora Park, a retreat in upstate New York for writers and artists in New York State’s Catskills. Onteora had been founded by Candace Wheeler, a major 19th century decorator, who had worked with Louis Comfort Tiffany on the Hartford house interior. She commissioned Beckwith to paint a portrait of Clemens, but he ended up painting two. The first, seen here, brilliantly captures the humorous and mischievous side of Clemens, with his auburn mustache, wild hair, and twinkling eyes. Beckwith decided to keep this likeness for himself, presenting the Onteora Club with a more genteel portrait of Clemens instead.
In the summer of 1890, Clemens, his wife Livy, and their three daughters rented a cottage in Onteora Park, a retreat in upstate New York for writers and artists in New York State’s Catskills. Onteora had been founded by Candace Wheeler, a major 19th century decorator, who had worked with Louis Comfort Tiffany on the Hartford house interior. She commissioned Beckwith to paint a portrait of Clemens, but he ended up painting two. The first, seen here, brilliantly captures the humorous and mischievous side of Clemens, with his auburn mustache, wild hair, and twinkling eyes. Beckwith decided to keep this likeness for himself, presenting the Onteora Club with a more genteel portrait of Clemens instead.
The Mark Twain House & Museum, Gift of Clara Clemens Gabrilowitsch, 1936
1936.5.1