Henry Jacob Burch, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1800

Chicago:

Maggie Keenan, “Henry Jacob Burch, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1800,” catalogue entry in Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan, The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, vol. 2, ed. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan (Kansas City: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024), https://doi.org/10.37764/8322.5.1308.

MLA:

Keenan, Maggie. “Henry Jacob Burch, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1800,” catalogue entry. Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, Blythe Sobol, and Maggie Keenan. The Starr Collection of Portrait Miniatures, 1500–1850: The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, edited by Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, vol. 2, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2024. doi: 10.37764/8322.5.1308.

See the artist’s biography in volume 4.

The case for this vibrant portrait of an unknown gentleman provides insight on the artist, the possible sitter, and the provenance and exhibition history of the miniature itself.¹ The partially illegible inscription on a card in the back of the case not only hints at the sitter’s identity but lists the object’s former owner: Ernest Seymour Salaman (1860–1951), a solicitor who exhibited the portrait at least twice while it was in his possession.²

The work includes a richness of coloring not often seen in portrait miniatures from the early nineteenth century, except perhaps in John Smart’s (English, 1741–1811) later works. Although the shade of blue sky and peachy flesh tones resemble portraits by Edward Miles (English, 1752–1828), the present miniature contains more saturated colors and heightened contrast. Henry Jacob Burch produced characteristic sky backgrounds that typically incorporate a shade of cerulean blue outlining either side of the face or neck, as seen here, with clouds that sometimes take on a bright orange tint. Burch rarely signed his portraits, so his work is often attributed to a range of artists, including Miles and Richard Cosway (1742–1821), whose distinctive sky background clearly inspired Burch.

Burch began exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1787. While he did not display portrait miniatures of nobility until 1807, including a portrait of “The Hon. Mrs. Walpole,”³ most of Burch’s sitters had the title “esquire,” a high but unofficial social rank.⁴ Unfortunately, most of his work remains unattributed today. While the Nelson-Atkins portrait is inscribed “Burch” in the lower right margin, it is scratched into the surface rather crudely, worked over and reinforced multiple times.⁵ This may raise eyebrows, since he is not known for signing his name;⁶ however, a recent sale reveals another miniature signed in a similar manner.⁷

Despite the many questions that remain, this portrait skillfully presents a respectably dressed middle-aged man with a flushed face that pops from the portrait, especially when enveloped by the bright blue pigment of the sky. His coat, although initially appearing a dark brown or black, reveals the artist’s red underpainting: large areas of a plum-red appear under the armpit and along the inner fold of the lapels. His freshly shaven appearance and gray eyes render the soft and gentle expression of a man who remains unknown for now.

Notes

1. “May be a 19th-century case instead of the original case. . . . The half-round bezel doesn’t look period,” according to conservator Carol Aiken, March 19–23, 2018, Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.

2. “1939 England and Wales Register: Hertfordshire: Bishop’s Stortford,” ref. Rg 101/1602c, National Archives, Kew.

3. This portrait has not been located, but for comparisons see Charles Muss, Portrait of a Woman, 1818, enamel on copper, 5 x 4 in. (12.7 x 10.2 cm), Cincinnati Art Museum, 2004.266; and John Smart Junior, Portrait of The Hon. Mrs Walpole, 1803, watercolor over pencil on paper, 5 5/16 x 4 5/8 (13.5 x 11.7 cm), sold at Sotheby’s, London, “Property from the Collection of the Late Timothy Clowes,” lot 116.

4. Royal Academy, The Exhibition of the Royal Academy (London: B. McMillan, 1807): 36, no. 906; and The Exhibition of the Royal Academy (London: B. McMillan, 1812): 23, no. 406.

5. According to a conversation with conservator Carol Aiken, March 19–23, 2018, Nelson-Atkins curatorial files.

6. There are at least three known examples of him signing “H. Burch” on the lower right of his works: Henry Jacob Burch, Portrait of an Unknown Boy, watercolor on ivory, 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm), Victoria and Albert Museum, EVANS.252; Henry Jacob Burch, Portrait Miniature of a Young Girl, watercolor on ivory, 2 1/2 x 1 15/16 in. (6.4 x 4.9 cm), Victoria and Albert Museum, P.157-1929; and Henry Jacob Burch Junior, A Young Lady, 5 1/2 in. (14 cm) high, sold at Bonhams “Portrait Miniatures & Silhouettes” sale, March 4, 2003, lot 256.

7. The portrait is signed “Burch” in the lower right margin, and it sold at auction in 2011. The image available is low resolution, but the inscription appears to be scratched in a similar manner: Henry Jacob Burch Jr., A Gentleman, watercolor on ivory, 3 1/4 x 2 5/8 in. (8.1 x 6.7 cm), Waddington’s “Furniture, Clocks” auction, June 16, 2011, lot 250, https://www.waddingtons.ca/auction/furniture-clocks-auction-jun-16-2011/gallery/lot/250.

Ernest Seymour Salaman (1860–1951), Somerset, England [1];

Mr. John W. (1905–2000) and Mrs. Martha Jane (1906–2011) Starr, Kansas City, MO, by 1958;

Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Notes

[1] “Ernest Salaman” is listed as the portrait’s owner on its case verso. The inscription also includes “Exh”, but the two years listed below it are illegible. They closely resemble the dates 1760 and 1764; however, Salaman died in 1951 and the Starrs acquired the portrait before 1958. Salaman exhibited eight works at the “Miniatures at the British Empire Exhibition” in Wembley, London, in 1924, but the present portrait was not shown.