Colonel Mendes Cohen

Colonel Mendes Cohen (1796–1879) sits confidently, his arm thrown back over his chair to more fully direct his attention at us. His hair is fashionably swept, and the rich white, yellow, and black of his attire handsomely complements his complexion. Cohen was a member of a prominent Jewish family in Baltimore, Maryland, that lobbied for some of the earliest rights for Jews, including the right to hold state office. Artist Rembrandt Peale, one of the most sought-after portraitists of the day, painted this portrait. It hung in the Cohen family dining room from the time it was painted in 1838 until 1929, when it was purchased by the Saint Louis Art Museum.