Oliver Ellsworth (1745–1807), LL.D. 1790

Artist: John Trumbull (American, 1756–1843)

1792

American Paintings and Sculpture

On view, 2nd floor, American Art before 1900


This portrait is part of a set of miniatures painted by John Trumbull in Philadelphia in 1792. Three of the portraits were studies for his unexecuted painting The Inauguration of the President. Tristram Dalton (1832.41) was a Massachusetts senator; Theodore Sedgwick (1832.43)  was a congressman from Massachusetts; and Oliver Ellsworth, one of the most distinguished Connecticut politicians of his time, was also serving as a U.S. senator at the time of George Washington’s inauguration. Ellsworth was later appointed chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Medium

Oil on wood

Dimensions

3 3/4 × 3 1/8 in. (9.5 × 7.9 cm)

Credit Line

Trumbull Collection

Accession Number

1832.44

Culture

American

Period

18th century

Classification

Miniatures

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Bibliography
  • Helen A. Cooper et al., Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2008), 100, no. 42, ill.
  • Helen A. Cooper et al., John Trumbull: The Hand and Spirit of a Painter (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1982), 130, pl. 56-60
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

Subject

Signed

Signed verso: "Oliver Ellsworth Esqr./Senator in the Congress/of the United States of/America. From the/State of Connecticut/present at the inaugu/ration of the first/President./Painted at Philada./by J. Trumbull.1792."

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