Gilbert Stuart
United States; 1755-1828
Portrait of Archbishop John Carroll, c. 1804
oil on canvas; 29 x 24 inches
Gift of Judge Pacificus Ord, 1895
Hailed by his colleagues as the "father of American portraiture," Gilbert Stuart returned to the United States in 1792 after eighteen years abroad where he developed a style like that of Romney and Gainsborough. His famous likenesses of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, reproduced on today's paper currency, cemented his reputation and he became the most highly sought after Federal era portraitist. This image of John Carroll seated in his library was commissioned by Robert Barry, an Irish gentleman at whose home in Baltimore the Archbishop was a frequent guest.
Portrait of Archbishop John Carroll was shown in the inaugural exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in 1968.