Portrait of Luman Reed (After A.B. Durand)

James David Smillie

Working proof from Smillie's private collection, for a portrait of the noted art patron Luman Reed done after the oil painting by Asher B. Durand. Intended for publication in Life & Times of A.B. Durand, it was rejected by Durand himself as "the plate did not please him" (see full annotation below). Despite his opinion, the image is a stunning example of Smillie's expertise with the etching tools in capturing the mood of a person and scene. Smillie traced the image on gelatine on February 13, 1894, and the plate was bitten with nitric acid - his first use of the method - on April 2.

Lower left sheet corner by Smillie's hand: "1 in Ex. / Portrait of Luman Reed / Etching for John Durand / for Life & Times of A.B. Durand. / The plate did not please him / and it was not used. This is the only pf. I have and I do not know of any others." Luman Reed was a successful New York merchant and great patron of the arts, who was inducted into the New York Sketch Club as an honorary member.