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Baron FitzGibbon
About the Artwork
A fearless politician who engineered the act of uniting Ireland with England, FitzGibbon was the newly appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland (whose duties included that of chief judge) when Stuart painted his portrait. The crownlike upper portion of FitzGibbon's mace, or ceremonial staff, is seen on the table at the right. Propped against the table is a satin and velvet purse embroidered with the royal coat of arms. Worn around the neck like an apron, the purse held the official texts of FitzGibbon's speeches. At the time he painted this work, Stuart was living in Dublin, having spent a dozen years in London. In fact, his Irish patrons regarded him as a British painter. Stuart returned to his native America in 1793, where he remained the rest of his life.
Provenance
1789-probably 1802: Baron John FitzGibbon, 1st Earl of Clare [1748-1802], County Limerick, by descent to his sons Probably 1802-1864: John Fitzgibbon, 2nd Earl of Clare [1792-1851] and Richard Hobart Fitzgibbon, 3rd Earl of Clare [1793-1864], sons of Baron FitzGibbon1 1864-1887: Alexander James Beresford-Hope [1820-1887], Bedgebury, Kent, by descent to his son, Alexander James Beresford-Hope1 Alexander James Beresford-Hope, Bedgebury, Kent1 -1919: Isaac Lewis, Esq. [1849-1927], Bedgebury, Kent 1919: (Bedgebury Mansion sale, Knight Frank & Rutley, London, May 12-19, 1919, no. 23, sold to Knoedler & Co.) 1919: (Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1919-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Exhibition history
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). 35th Anniversary Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 20-September 30, 1951). Style, Truth and the Portrait. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (October 1-November 19, 1963). Gilbert Stuart. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (October 18, 2004-January 16, 2005); National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (March 27-July 31, 2005).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Gilbert Stuart (American, born The Thirteen Colonies, 1755–1828)
- Date
- 1789
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 272 x 181 x 11 cm (107 1/16 x 71 1/4 x 4 5/16 in.); Unframed: 245 x 154 cm (96 7/16 x 60 5/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- American Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- General Income Fund
- Accession no.
- 1919.910
More by Gilbert Stuart in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009297
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