Charles Apthorp1748 · Study 1919.1006

Context from the museum

Called “the greatest merchant on this Continent” in his obituary, Apthorp helped transform Boston into one of the key commercial centers in the American colonies. When the fashionable painter Robert Feke came to town, Apthorp commissioned this elegantly tailored and confidently posed likeness of himself. The sailing ship in the distant background symbolizes Apthorp’s deep financial interests in the Atlantic trade, which included not only textiles, wine, and guns, but also enslaved people. In fact, the slave trade and its attendant commerce comprised a significant portion of colonial Boston’s economy until the decades after the Revolutionary War, when anti-slavery attitudes in New England gained momentum.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Much remains unknown regarding artist Robert Feke’s life, including his birth and death dates.

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for Charles Apthorp is 101.5 cm wide and 127 cm high, equivalent to approximately 40.0 × 50.0 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 0.80:1. The rectangular bounding area is 1.29 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 33.8% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 99.3 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Charles Apthorp in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on canvas, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this vertical composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 101.5 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?