Painting

Title:

Abraham Burnham

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

1882.004.02

Creator:

Unknown

Date:

circa 1830

Description:

Portrait of Rev. Abraham Burnham (1775-1852), unknown artist, c. 1830. Oil on canvas. Half-length portrait of a man, facing left; eyes toward viewer. Sitter has short black hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a black coat and waistcoat, white shirt with high collar, and metal frame rectangular-shaped eyeglasses. Sitter's left arm is resting on arm of chair. He is holding a book in left hand; his finger is marking a place. Window on left background with sunset sky and landscape; red curtain on right. Pencil inscription on frame reverse on all sides: "Sprague". Gilded gesso over molded wood frame.

Material:

Textile
Canvas

Dimensions:

H-33.5 W-26.5 inches

Provenance:

Elizabeth W. (Burnham) Upham, the donor, was the daughter of the sitter, Abraham Burnham.

Abraham Burnham (1775-1852 was a congregational minister in Pembroke, NH. Born Nov 18, 1775 in Dunbarton, NH. Graduated from Dartmouth College, 1804. Taught school in Concord and Bradford, MA. Academies; studied for the ministry with Rev. Elijah Parish D.D. of Byfield, MA. He was ordained pastor at Pembroke, March 2, 1808, just after a Society had been organized in the south part of town. In 1815, a Congregational Society in Pembroke was incorporated, meetings to be held all the time in the south, half the time in the north meeting house. He was dismissed in 1850 after 42 years of service and given a D.D. Degree by Dartmouth. He died in Pembroke, Sept. 21, 1852.

Credit Line:

Bequest of Elizabeth W. Upham

People:

Upham, Elizabeth W. (1813-1882), Burnham, Abraham (1775-1852)

Subjects:

Clergy, Congregational churches, Ministers, Pastors, Portrait paintings, Portraits, Religion, Teachers