Colonel Mendes Cohen
- Depicted
- Mendes Cohen, American, 1796–1879
- Date
- c.1838
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- American Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 320 West
- Dimensions
- 30 1/4 x 25 1/4 in. (76.8 x 64.1 cm)
- Credit Line
- Eliza McMillan Trust
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 53:1930
NOTES
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.
Provenance
- 1929
Cohen family, Baltimore, MD [1]
- 1930
Robert Frank Skutch (1878-1966), Baltimore, MD, acquired from Cohen family
1930 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Robert Frank Skutch [2]
Notes:
[1] Painting descended in Mendes Cohen’s (1796-1879) family, hanging in the Cohen house, 415 North Charles Street, Baltimore, until 1929, when the house and its contents were sold at auction. The house was built in 1830 by Mendes Cohen’s brothers, Jacob Cohen (1789-1869) and Joshua Cohen (1801-1870). Mendes Cohen’s niece, Bertha Cohen, the daughter of another brother, David Cohen (1800-1847), was the last inhabitant; upon her death in 1929 the contents and house were auctioned, with the sale under the supervision of Robert Frank Skutch. [“The Antique Furnishings of the Cohen House, 415 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland.” Baltimore, Maryland: Galton-Orsburn Company, Inc. 1929; “Cohen Collection to be Broken Up.” Baltimore Sun, November 7, 1929, p. 32]
[2] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, November 20, 1930.
Cohen family, Baltimore, MD [1]
- 1930
Robert Frank Skutch (1878-1966), Baltimore, MD, acquired from Cohen family
1930 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Robert Frank Skutch [2]
Notes:
[1] Painting descended in Mendes Cohen’s (1796-1879) family, hanging in the Cohen house, 415 North Charles Street, Baltimore, until 1929, when the house and its contents were sold at auction. The house was built in 1830 by Mendes Cohen’s brothers, Jacob Cohen (1789-1869) and Joshua Cohen (1801-1870). Mendes Cohen’s niece, Bertha Cohen, the daughter of another brother, David Cohen (1800-1847), was the last inhabitant; upon her death in 1929 the contents and house were auctioned, with the sale under the supervision of Robert Frank Skutch. [“The Antique Furnishings of the Cohen House, 415 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland.” Baltimore, Maryland: Galton-Orsburn Company, Inc. 1929; “Cohen Collection to be Broken Up.” Baltimore Sun, November 7, 1929, p. 32]
[2] Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, November 20, 1930.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.