A half-length portrait from donors Mr. and Mrs. John B. Wolff III was recently gifted to the Baltimore Museum of Art in Maryland. The oil painting is attributed to 19th-century painter John Wesley Jarvis, known for his work in portraiture, as well as historical pieces, miniatures and engravings. Measuring at 31½ by 22½ inches, the piece depicts George Pitt Stevenson Jr. (1791-1819), a Baltimore merchant who served during the War of 1812 as a major in the militia and was an aide to Brigadier General John Stricker during the Battle of North Point on September 12, 1814.
Attributed to John Wesley Jarvis (1781-1839), George Pitt Stevenson, Jr., ca. 1812. Oil on canvas mounted on panel, 31½ x 22½ in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Wolff III. BMA 2019.58.
“This charismatic portrait, attributed to John Wesley Jarvis, depicts the young Baltimore merchant George Pitt Stevenson Jr., who served in the Baltimore militia during the War of 1812. It is an important addition to the BMA’s outstanding collection of early 19th-century paintings and will help us tell the history of Federalist-era Baltimore in our galleries,” says Virginia Anderson, curator of American art and department head for American Paintings & Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Stevenson was appointed a U.S. commercial agent in Havana, Cuba, in 1817. He died there of yellow fever in 1819 and is buried in Baltimore’s Westminster cemetery. This is the first time this painting has been exhibited to the public. —
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