Jacob Hart Lazarus

Jacob Hart Lazarus (1822–1891) was an American painter best known for his portraits and miniatures, though he also produced figures, genre scenes, and occasional history subjects. Born in New York, he spent his entire career in the city, rising from a childhood marked by poverty to achieve financial success through his art.

Lazarus trained under the prominent portraitist Henry Inman and attended the schools of the National Academy of Design. He became a regular exhibitor at the Academy’s annual shows from 1841 to 1865 and was elected an Associate member in 1850. He also showed work at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Art Association, and the Boston Athenaeum.

His oeuvre reflects the conventions of mid-nineteenth-century American portraiture, emphasizing careful likenesses and refined detail. Among his notable works is a self-portrait painted between 1870 and 1880, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 1865 *Portrait of Mrs. George Parish (Mary Sargent)*.

Lazarus maintained a relatively low public profile in his later years yet was remembered fondly by fellow artists for his amiable character. At his death in 1891, the National Academy of Design honored his contributions and steady professional success. His paintings continue to appear in museum collections and at auction, preserving his place among the solid practitioners of nineteenth-century American portraiture.