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Independence (Squire Jack Porter), Frank Blackwell Mayer, 1858
Frank Blackwell MayerAmerican, 1827–1899

Independence (Squire Jack Porter)

1858 · Painting · 30.4 × 40.3 cm

Can I see it?

Unknown

Where is “Independence (Squire Jack Porter)” now? Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Unknown.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Washington, D.C., United States

The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.

In this state since
Source
The museum
On the mapMuseum page

About the painting

Jack Porter, a veteran of the War of 1812 who made a handsome living from Pennsylvania's coal mines, is surrounded by handmade objects, including a corncob pipe, a roughly-hewn wooden bench, and his wife's knitting. As a self-sufficient landholder and businessman, "Squire Jack" embodied an independent and enduring spirit that, by the 1850s, had become an American ideal, celebrated by painters and writers alike. The squire takes his ease on the porch of a substantial home, dressed in a flowered vest, black cravat, and polished boots that signal the rewards of his hard work.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Details

Accession number
1906.9.11

What it shows

PorchArchitecturePortraitAllegoryDeterminationAmusementRecreationQuality

In the catalog

PaintingsOilAmerican paintingRealism19th century

Sources

More by Frank Blackwell Mayer

All works
Leisure and Labor, Frank Blackwell Mayer, 1858

Leisure and Labor

1858 · National Gallery of Art

The Continentals, Frank Blackwell Mayer, 1875

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1875 · Smithsonian American Art Museum

On view at Smithsonian American Art Museum

Museum page
Muskrat, Unidentified, before 1997

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San Jose, Arce group, late 19th-early 20th century

Arce group

San Jose, late 19th-early 20th century

Nuestra Senora del Carmen, Rivera group, ca. late 19th-early 20th century

Rivera group

Nuestra Senora del Carmen, ca. late 19th-early 20th century

San Rafael, Genaro Rivera Aviles, late 19th-early 20th century

Genaro Rivera Aviles

San Rafael, late 19th-early 20th century

Worrying Mother Pig Toy, Unidentified, 20th century (pre-1960s)

Unidentified

Worrying Mother Pig Toy, 20th century (pre-1960s)

Bright Light at Russell's Corners, George Ault, 1946

George Ault

Bright Light at Russell's Corners, 1946

Fish Decoy, Unidentified, ca. 1940s

Unidentified

Fish Decoy, ca. 1940s

On the same theme · Porch

All works on the theme
Six Pack's Porch, Crawford, Mississippi, Birney Imes, III, 1971/86

Birney Imes III

Six Pack's Porch, Crawford, Mississippi, 1971/86

Not on view · Art Institute of Chicago

On the Porch, J. Alden Weir, 1889

Julian Alden Weir

On the Porch, 1889

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Untitled (postcard), Unidentified, n.d.

Unidentified

Untitled (postcard), n.d.

Smithsonian American Art Museum

On the Piazza, J. Alden Weir, ca. 1887-1893

Julian Alden Weir

On the Piazza, ca. 1887-1893

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Watercolour, Beatrix Potter, 1903

Beatrix Potter

Watercolour, 1903

Not on view · Victoria and Albert Museum

A Child under a Thatched Porch near a Spring., William Clarkson Stanfield, 1793-1867

William Clarkson Stanfield

A Child under a Thatched Porch near a Spring., 1793-1867

Not on view · Victoria and Albert Museum

[Square House, Man, Child, and Dog on Lawn], Unidentified, ca. 1855

Unidentified

[Square House, Man, Child, and Dog on Lawn], ca. 1855

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Soap Bubbles, Henry Wolf, 1902

Henry Wolf

Soap Bubbles, 1902

Smithsonian American Art Museum