Portrait of John Severinus Conway, 1883
Oil on canvas
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company 2002.1.149

Later a member of the Lyme Art Colony, Robert Vonnoh won acclaim at the Paris Salon for this depiction of the debonair, cigarette-wielding John Severinus Conway (1852–1925), an American sculptor who studied alongside him at the Académie Julian. Painted the year that Vonnoh returned to America to teach and Conway moved to Rome, the portrait marks the culmination of the men’s experiences in French art academies; Vonnoh demonstrates the fluid brushwork and forceful portrayal of character he mastered by completing the full-length figure study required of pupils each week.

Yet his depiction of Conway hints at the challenges of life in the intensely competitive Académie Julian. Conway perches on a rush-seated stool like those awarded to students based on their weekly class ranking. Arrayed concentrically, higher stools, like Conway’s, stood further from desirable spots near the nude model. Vonnoh’s use of harsh lighting, like that from the atelier’s skylights, chisels the sculptor’s features, making him appear gaunt. Conway never achieved Vonnoh’s success and letters to American friends from this time attest to the melancholy lurking in this portrait.