Portrait of Arthur Watson
Image ID: ART026
A portrait painting of Arthur Watson, Trustee of Forbes Library 1893-1922. Oil on canvas signed in red l.r., undated . Hung on the Mezzanine, Forbes Library. Northampton, MA.
Southern by birth, and educated at Yale, Arthur Watson (1851-1922) came to Northampton to study law under Samuel Spaulding, Judge Forbes' former law partner. He became active in Democratic politics, and was elected both alderman and mayor. His primary long-term interest was the Library, where he became a founding trustee in 1893. He went on to serve as Forbes Library president of the board from 1896 until his death in 1922. His sisters' estates, which totaled $160,000, came to the Library in 1966 in the form of a remainder trust, and form the basis for the Watson Fund.
Ercole Cartotto
The artist, Ercole Cartotto (1888 to 1946), was born in Piemonte, Italy, and came to Northampton at age 17 to join his brother. He studied both at Hawley Grammar and the People's Institute before entering the School of Fine Arts in Boston. Opening a studio in New York, he painted such eminent Americans as Dwight W. Morrow, Thomas Alva Edison, and Justice Harlan F. Stone, as well as President Calvin Coolidge, in 1927, in the White House (portrait now at Amherst College). Cartotto's work also can be found, among many other paces, in the Vatican, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Smith College.
In 1940, the Trustees commissioned Cartotto for two portraits, for $750 each, plus $54 each for the frames. Finished in 1941, the painting were done posthumously from photographs.
Southern by birth, and educated at Yale, Arthur Watson (1851-1922) came to Northampton to study law under Samuel Spaulding, Judge Forbes' former law partner. He became active in Democratic politics, and was elected both alderman and mayor. His primary long-term interest was the Library, where he became a founding trustee in 1893. He went on to serve as Forbes Library president of the board from 1896 until his death in 1922. His sisters' estates, which totaled $160,000, came to the Library in 1966 in the form of a remainder trust, and form the basis for the Watson Fund.
Ercole Cartotto
The artist, Ercole Cartotto (1888 to 1946), was born in Piemonte, Italy, and came to Northampton at age 17 to join his brother. He studied both at Hawley Grammar and the People's Institute before entering the School of Fine Arts in Boston. Opening a studio in New York, he painted such eminent Americans as Dwight W. Morrow, Thomas Alva Edison, and Justice Harlan F. Stone, as well as President Calvin Coolidge, in 1927, in the White House (portrait now at Amherst College). Cartotto's work also can be found, among many other paces, in the Vatican, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Smith College.
In 1940, the Trustees commissioned Cartotto for two portraits, for $750 each, plus $54 each for the frames. Finished in 1941, the painting were done posthumously from photographs.
Image Details
| Dublin Core | |
|---|---|
| Title |
Portrait of Arthur Watson
|
| Subject |
Ercole Cartotto
Arthur Watson
Oil paintings
Portrait paintings
|
| Description |
A portrait painting of Arthur Watson, Trustee of Forbes Library 1893-1922. Oil on canvas signed in red l.r., undated . Hung on the Mezzanine, Forbes Library. Northampton, MA.
Southern by birth, and educated at Yale, Arthur Watson (1851-1922) came to Northampton to study law under Samuel Spaulding, Judge Forbes' former law partner. He became active in Democratic politics, and was elected both alderman and mayor. His primary long-term interest was the Library, where he became a founding trustee in 1893. He went on to serve as Forbes Library president of the board from 1896 until his death in 1922. His sisters' estates, which totaled $160,000, came to the Library in 1966 in the form of a remainder trust, and form the basis for the Watson Fund. Ercole Cartotto The artist, Ercole Cartotto (1888 to 1946), was born in Piemonte, Italy, and came to Northampton at age 17 to join his brother. He studied both at Hawley Grammar and the People's Institute before entering the School of Fine Arts in Boston. Opening a studio in New York, he painted such eminent Americans as Dwight W. Morrow, Thomas Alva Edison, and Justice Harlan F. Stone, as well as President Calvin Coolidge, in 1927, in the White House (portrait now at Amherst College). Cartotto's work also can be found, among many other paces, in the Vatican, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Smith College. In 1940, the Trustees commissioned Cartotto for two portraits, for $750 each, plus $54 each for the frames. Finished in 1941, the painting were done posthumously from photographs. |
| Creator |
Ercole Cartotto
|
| Date |
l.r. signed in red, undated
|
| Format |
Oil on canvas
|
| Identifier |
ART026
|
| Coverage |
Mezzanine
|
| Still Image Item Type Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Physical Dimensions |
Frame size:37.25" x 32.25" x .1.5"
30.125" x 25.25"
|
Citation
Ercole Cartotto, “Portrait of Arthur Watson,” Forbes Library Images from the Archives (Legacy site: Pre-2022), accessed May 19, 2024, https://images.forbeslibrary.org/items/show/772.