Robert Frederick Blum
Medium
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko
Accession Number
S/NPG.98.141
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1895, American artist William Sergeant Kendall created this striking print portrait of fellow artist Robert Frederick Blum, the essence of a burgeoning American art scene during the Gilded Age., renowned for his precise academic style and genre paintings, depicts Blum amid art implements—likely brushes, palettes, or sketchbooks—highlighting his subject's multifaceted career as an illustrator, genre, muralist, and printmaker. This work, classified as both a portrait and poster, reflects the era's fascination with celebrity artists and the rising popularity of prints as affordable ways to cel...