Jonathan Knightc. 179734 x 24 "
Frame: 39 1/2 x 29 1/2 x 2 7/8 "Oil on paperboard, mounted on MasoniteGift of Ralph Esmerian2005.8.10Portrait of young boy seated in windsor chair with cat at feet and (P) R hand resting on Book of Proverbs lying open on desk. Portrait of woman in oval hanging on wall behind desk. Boy with long light hair, wearing embroidered vest with open large collar and dark jacket over striped pants. Decorated floor.1544953333P1.2001.03Artist unidentifiedPaintingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. Reading book of Proverbs - 270, 271United StatesConnecticutPaintingsThe artist who painted this gentle portrait of Jonathan Knight (1789–1864) is not yet identified, but the portrait itself is in the straightforward style of self-taught genius established after the Revolutionary War. The simple interior is painted Prussian blue, the ubiquitous “medium blew” found in early American homes. Knight sits in a painted Windsor chair with bold turned legs, a cat curled on the patterned floorcloth beneath his feet. He is reading a book of proverbs open to Psalm I Kings 3:7: “I am but a little child.” Knight was probably at least seven or eight years old when this portrait was painted; he has already been breeched—put into long pants—and wears adult-style clothing. An early portrait, perhaps of his mother or grandmother, hangs on the wall behind him.
Knight’s father had been an army surgeon during the war, and his mother was the daughter of a physician. Their son followed in these footsteps, training generations of doctors at Yale for more than fifty years. In 1838 Knight was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine and was instrumental in the formation of the American Medical Association, serving as its first president. After his death, one biographer wrote, “The ‘beloved physician’ was the well earned title given him by all who knew him.”
Stacy C. Hollander, “Jonathan Knight,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgoil on canvasportraitWhen portrait painting in America was revitalized after the Revolutionary War, its center of activity moved from Boston to Connecticut, and its emphasis changed from capturing sumptuous trappings to focusing on the sitter in an unadorned style more befitting a new nation trying to forge an identity apart from European traditions. Although the artist who painted this gentle likeness of Jonathan Knight (1789–1864) is not yet identified, the portrait itself fits comfortably within the convention established by Ralph Earl (1751–1801), who favored direct contact with the subject in a spare and unromanticized interior. Knight sits by a simple table in a blue-painted Windsor chair with bold turned legs, a Cat curled at his feet. He is reading a Bible open to 1 Kings 3:7: "I am but a little child," followed by Proverbs 2:3–9. An early portrait, perhaps of his mother, hangs on the wall behind him. His environment is filled with pattern and visual rhythms, from the painted floor to the ruffles and stripes of his clothing to the vigorous spring of his blond curls.
The sweetness of the visage in this portrait is a true indication of the nature of the subject. For more than fifty years, Knight trained doctors at Yale and was esteemed as an inspiring teacher and excellent surgeon. His father had been an army surgeon during the Revolutionary War, and his mother was the daughter of a physician. By the time he was fifteen, Knight was accepted into Yale College, and he graduated in 1808. After teaching in Norwich and in New London, he returned to Yale as a tutor. He had also pursued medical studies and, in 1811, was granted a license to practice by the Connecticut Medical Society. At the suggestion of Benjamin Silliman, professor of chemistry at Yale, Knight left the school and entered the University of Pennsylvania to study anatomy and physiology. When he completed his degree, he returned to New Haven and by 1813 was appointed a full professor of anatomy and physiology. He also was married that year to Elizabeth Lockwood. In 1826 Knight was invited to be one of the founders of the General Hospital Society of Connecticut, and in 1838 he was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at Yale Medical School. In time he became the president of the National Medical Convention and was instrumental in the formation of the American Medical Association, serving as its first president. When New Haven Hospital was taken over by the federal government during the Civil War, the institution was renamed Knight United States General Hospital by order of the surgeon general.
Jonathan Knight died in 1864 of peritonitis. As one biographer wrote, "He was a clear-headed, logical lecturer; he was a careful, competent surgeon; he was an able organizer and administrator. These are the outward trappings of success, but his worth may be expressed in other terms. One can not look at his picture [possibly an 1828 portrait by Nathaniel Jocelyn] or review the limited number of letters written to him without being impressed by the genial, kindly, warm-hearted personality. The 'beloved physician' was the well earned title given him by all who knew him."PAINTINGThe artist who painted this gentle portrait of Jonathan Knight (1789–1864) is not yet identified, but the portrait itself is in the straightforward style of self-taught genius established after the Revolutionary War. The simple interior is painted Prussian blue, the ubiquitous “medium blew” found in early American homes. Knight sits in a painted Windsor chair with bold turned legs, a cat curled on the patterned floorcloth beneath his feet. He is reading a book of proverbs open to Psalm I Kings 3:7: “I am but a little child.” Knight was probably at least seven or eight years old when this portrait was painted; he has already been breeched—put into long pants—and wears adult-style clothing. An early portrait, perhaps of his mother or grandmother, hangs on the wall behind him.
Knight’s father had been an army surgeon during the war, and his mother was the daughter of a physician. Their son followed in these footsteps, training generations of doctors at Yale for more than fifty years. In 1838 Knight was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine and was instrumental in the formation of the American Medical Association, serving as its first president. After his death, one biographer wrote, “The ‘beloved physician’ was the well earned title given him by all who knew him.”
Stacy C. Hollander, “Jonathan Knight,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014. P1.2001.0317921802 2005 8 1 The artist who painted this gentle portrait of Jonathan Knight (1789–1864) is not yet identified, but the portrait itself is in the straightforward style of self-taught genius established after the Revolutionary War. The simple interior is painted Prussian blue, the ubiquitous “medium blew” found in early American homes. Knight sits in a painted Windsor chair with bold turned legs, a cat curled on the patterned floorcloth beneath his feet. He is reading a book of proverbs open to Psalm I Kings 3:7: “I am but a little child.” Knight was probably at least seven or eight years old when this portrait was painted; he has already been breeched—put into long pants—and wears adult-style clothing. An early portrait, perhaps of his mother or grandmother, hangs on the wall behind him.
Knight’s father had been an army surgeon during the war, and his mother was the daughter of a physician. Their son followed in these footsteps, training generations of doctors at Yale for more than fifty years. In 1838 Knight was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine and was instrumental in the formation of the American Medical Association, serving as its first president. After his death, one biographer wrote, “The ‘beloved physician’ was the well earned title given him by all who knew him.”
Stacy C. Hollander, “Jonathan Knight,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgoil on canvasportraitWhen portrait painting in America was revitalized after the Revolutionary War, its center of activity moved from Boston to Connecticut, and its emphasis changed from capturing sumptuous trappings to focusing on the sitter in an unadorned style more befitting a new nation trying to forge an identity apart from European traditions. Although the artist who painted this gentle likeness of Jonathan Knight (1789–1864) is not yet identified, the portrait itself fits comfortably within the convention established by Ralph Earl (1751–1801), who favored direct contact with the subject in a spare and unromanticized interior. Knight sits by a simple table in a blue-painted Windsor chair with bold turned legs, a Cat curled at his feet. He is reading a Bible open to 1 Kings 3:7: "I am but a little child," followed by Proverbs 2:3–9. An early portrait, perhaps of his mother, hangs on the wall behind him. His environment is filled with pattern and visual rhythms, from the painted floor to the ruffles and stripes of his clothing to the vigorous spring of his blond curls.
The sweetness of the visage in this portrait is a true indication of the nature of the subject. For more than fifty years, Knight trained doctors at Yale and was esteemed as an inspiring teacher and excellent surgeon. His father had been an army surgeon during the Revolutionary War, and his mother was the daughter of a physician. By the time he was fifteen, Knight was accepted into Yale College, and he graduated in 1808. After teaching in Norwich and in New London, he returned to Yale as a tutor. He had also pursued medical studies and, in 1811, was granted a license to practice by the Connecticut Medical Society. At the suggestion of Benjamin Silliman, professor of chemistry at Yale, Knight left the school and entered the University of Pennsylvania to study anatomy and physiology. When he completed his degree, he returned to New Haven and by 1813 was appointed a full professor of anatomy and physiology. He also was married that year to Elizabeth Lockwood. In 1826 Knight was invited to be one of the founders of the General Hospital Society of Connecticut, and in 1838 he was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at Yale Medical School. In time he became the president of the National Medical Convention and was instrumental in the formation of the American Medical Association, serving as its first president. When New Haven Hospital was taken over by the federal government during the Civil War, the institution was renamed Knight United States General Hospital by order of the surgeon general.
Jonathan Knight died in 1864 of peritonitis. As one biographer wrote, "He was a clear-headed, logical lecturer; he was a careful, competent surgeon; he was an able organizer and administrator. These are the outward trappings of success, but his worth may be expressed in other terms. One can not look at his picture [possibly an 1828 portrait by Nathaniel Jocelyn] or review the limited number of letters written to him without being impressed by the genial, kindly, warm-hearted personality. The 'beloved physician' was the well earned title given him by all who knew him."PAINTINGThe artist who painted this gentle portrait of Jonathan Knight (1789–1864) is not yet identified, but the portrait itself is in the straightforward style of self-taught genius established after the Revolutionary War. The simple interior is painted Prussian blue, the ubiquitous “medium blew” found in early American homes. Knight sits in a painted Windsor chair with bold turned legs, a cat curled on the patterned floorcloth beneath his feet. He is reading a book of proverbs open to Psalm I Kings 3:7: “I am but a little child.” Knight was probably at least seven or eight years old when this portrait was painted; he has already been breeched—put into long pants—and wears adult-style clothing. An early portrait, perhaps of his mother or grandmother, hangs on the wall behind him.
Knight’s father had been an army surgeon during the war, and his mother was the daughter of a physician. Their son followed in these footsteps, training generations of doctors at Yale for more than fifty years. In 1838 Knight was appointed to the Chair of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine and was instrumental in the formation of the American Medical Association, serving as its first president. After his death, one biographer wrote, “The ‘beloved physician’ was the well earned title given him by all who knew him.”
Stacy C. Hollander, “Jonathan Knight,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.