Portrait of John D. Rockefeller

About the Artwork

This elegant, spare portrait unites two significant figures in the history of Cleveland. Its subject is oil magnate and entrepreneur John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937), the founder of Standard Oil and perhaps the world’s first billionaire. His photograph was taken by William C. North, arguably the most eminent early Cleveland photographer.

Provenance

John D. Rockefeller, Cleveland and New York By inheritance to Alta Rockefeller Prentice and Ezra Parmelee Prentice, New York, NY, c. 1937 By inheritance to Mary Adeline Prentice Gilbert and Benjamin Davis Gilbert, c. 1962 Bloomsbury Book Auctions, New York, lot 225, October 31, 2007, sold to Stephan Loewentheil Stephan Loewentheil, New York, NY, 2007, given to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, September 11, 2023 The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, September 11, 2023–

Quick Overview

Artist: William C. North (American, 1814–1890)
Date: 1857–58
Medium: ambrotype, sixth plate
Dimensions: Overall: 9.5 x 8.3 cm (3 3/4 x 3 1/4 in.)
Type: Photograph
Classification: Photograph
Department: Photography
Credit line: Gift of Stephan Loewentheil
Accession no.: 2023.130

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.