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Portrait of William Miller 2018-222
Portrait of General William H. Miller (1782-1853)
Portrait of William Miller 2018-222

Portrait of General William H. Miller (1782-1853)

Date1818 or 1819
Attributed to
OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Danville
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsFramed: 32 1/2" H x 27 1/4" W; unframed (approx): 27" H x 21 1/2" W
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number2018-222,A&B
DescriptionPortrait of a man wearing a black suit against a brown background. Under his black jacket he wears a white vest, shirt and stock.Label TextVirginia farmer William Miller served as a commander with the Virginia militia before moving to Danville, Kentucky. For thirty years, he was "engaged in dealing in hogs across the mountains into the Virginia Valley." After his 1837 move to Saline County, Missouri, he worked locally as a farmer and stock-raiser.

The portraits of William and wife Elizabeth Gaines Miller were rendered by Massachusett's-born Asa Park, who left his native New England for Lexington, Kentucky in 1816. During his eleven-year tenure in the city, before his premature death at the age of thirty-seven, the artist emerged as a talented, yet unprolific painter in central Kentucky. He advertised himself as being "under the patronage of the celebrated [Gilbert] Stuart and [John Ritto] Penniman." He worked in several locations in the region with a studio in Danville, Kentucky, during the years 1818 and 1819. It is most likely here where he painted the companion works of the Millers.

ProvenanceSee object file for correspondence that outlines history of descent. From the subjects to their daughter, Jane Cunningham Miller (Mrs. Robert Todd Stuart) (1816-1852); to their daughter Margaret Eliza Stuart (Mrs. James S. Price); to their daughter Mary Mallory Price (Mrs. Walter Bigelow Trask); to their daughter Harriet Louise Bigelow Trask Harris (Mrs. John Charles Harris); to their daughter Mary Diane Harris (Mrs. Richard Lehman); to their children, presumed consignors to Skinner; purchased at July 19, 2018 Country Americana auction, Skinner.