William Morris Hunt (Brattleboro, Vermont, 1824 - 1879, Appledore Island, Maine)
William Amory Gardner, 1873
Charcoal on buff laid paper, 52 x 42 cm (20 1/2 x 16 9/16 in.)
This portrait, done in charcoal on buff paper, depicts a young light-skinned boy’s head and shoulders against a dark background. His body is turned slightly to our left and he looks directly at the viewer. His light colored hair is neatly trimmed, and he has dark eyes and full lips. He looks directly at the viewer with a solemn expression on his face. He is dressed in a robe with a white collar and a striped tie at his neck. The artist signed his initials, W.M.H., above the right shoulder of the sitter.
Short Gallery
Commentary
This charcoal of William Amory Gardner by William Morris Hunt depicts the sitter at age 10. William Amory Gardner was Isabella Stewart Gardner’s nephew. When William Amory’s father, Joseph Peabody Gardner, died in 1875, Isabella and her husband, Jack, raised twelve-year-old William Amory and his two brothers as their own. Isabella placed several pieces by Hunt throughout the museum.