TRUMBULL, John
(b. 1756, Lebanon, CT, d. 1843, New York)

Portrait of Captain Samuel Blodget in Rifle Dress

c. 1786
Oil on canvas, 53 x 43 cm
Private collection

The portrait is of Captain Samuel Blodget, Jr. (1757-1814), an officer of the New Hampshire Militia, who fought at the battle of Princeton. Trumbull has painted Blodget full length, but on the same scale as the figures in the history paintings he was producing at this time, rather than on the more conventional life-size portrait format. Blodget was a man of singular talents and, although not a professional architect, he designed the first Bank of the United States, in Philadelphia, one of the most notable buildings in the city.




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