Daniel Holmes

Periodca. 1850

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions40 × 34 in. (101.6 × 86.4 cm)

ClassificationsPortraits

Credit LineGift of John S. Holmes, 1938

Object number1983.556

DescriptionThree-quarter length portrait of a male facing left, seated in a carved chair with red-upholstered arms. He is wearing a black suit, a black silk waistcoat, white shirt, and black silk tie. His hands are folded in his lap, and his left leg crosses over his right. The subject, with brown eyes and balding hair, faces directly at the artist. A copy of the 1850 Patent Office report sits on a table to the right of the sitter that is covered with a red tablecloth embellished with a black floral pattern. A red silk damask drapery fills the upper right corner of the canvas. Through a window to the left of the subject can be seen a pastoral landscape with a stream flanked by fields and trees.
Curatorial RemarksOne of the most highly finished portraits known by Harvey Jenkins.NotesDaniel Holmes (1792 - 1851) was a son of John S. Holmes and Sarah Hendrickson. He married in 1813 to Rhoda Van Mater (1792 - 1838). They became the parents of five daughters and two sons. Holmes was a very active and powerful member of the Democratic Party. He was elected a Chosen Freeholder of Monmouth County from 1827 to 1842, and County Sheriff in 1828. Holmes also served as a member of the Legislative Council of New Jersey in 1832, and as a delegate to the New Jersey Constitutional Convention of 1844. Holmes owned the "Academy Farm" in Holmdel village, which he acquired from his father. He was also a merchant, and from 1820 to 1837 was a partner with Aaron Longstreet. The estate inventory of Daniel Holmes indicated that the artist, Harvey Jenkins, had executed a note for $26.00 on 22 August 1851 which was still outstanding.

Collections

Portraits

ProvenanceDaniel Holmes (1792 - 1851); to his son Joseph H. Holmes (1824 - 1892); to his son John S. Holmes (1851 - 1911) to his son John S. Holmes (1891 - 1957).