I am pleased to share my latest academic portrait commission, which was unveiled on April 3, 2019 at the Harvard Club of Boston. The portrait is a very large commission in size (about 5 feet square) and it’s prominent position in the foyer at the Harvard Club of Boston on Commonwealth Avenue, was the focus of my attention throughout the holidays and early this year. We planned the portrait carefully with a new custom size to fit perfectly over the fireplace.
Karen Van Winkle is the first female to be elected the President of the Harvard Club. We worked closely as a group behind the scenes and I was pleased that upon my showing the finished painting there were only the smallest of requested changes. This was all great, as though we planned for extra time in case there were more, we were on a tight schedule. The painting was taken by van to Stanhope Framers on Marlborough Street in Boston and a few weeks later we were ready for the big night of unveiling.
Previously over the fireplace, there hung a reproduction of famous portrait artist John Singer Sargent’s 1903 oil portrait painting of Henry Lee Higginson, the first President of the Harvard Club of Boston. He was also the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Higginson, a former major in the Union Army during the Civil War sustained a scar on his cheek during a sword fight, which is depicted in the painting. He was a beloved benefactor of Harvard and in 1903 a group of students organized and pooled resources in order to commission John Singer Sargent to paint Higginson. Needless to say I’m very honored to have my portrait of the first female president of the Harvard Club of Boston now hanging in such a prominent position, where the JSS copy once was.
I’m attaching a few of the photos from the unveiling of Karen Van Winkle’s oil portrait and the 111th Annual Dinner.
