From the collection of:
The Filson Historical Society || VAM Home

In this self-portrait, Kentucky artist Oliver Frazer shows himself wearing a large black coat and a long white collar, which add to his already regal air. He looks out at the viewer with a direct, confident gaze; his countenance is proud and somewhat fierce.

About the Artist

Oliver Frazer was born in Fayette County, Kentucky, on February 4, 1808. In 1825, at the age of 17, he left school to study under famous portrait painter Matthew Harris Jouett. After Jouett’s death in 1827, Frazer moved to Philadelphia to continue his studies with Thomas Sully.

Frazer returned to Lexington around 1830 and began work as a portraitist, but then set off for France in May 1834 to study the Old Masters. He returned in 1838 and settled in permanently, setting up shop on Main Street. Over the next two decades, he painted such prominent local subjects as Mrs. Henry Clay Jr., Richard H. Menefee, and Joel T. Hart. He is also known to have painted four portraits of Henry Clay and other notable Kentuckians.

In his later years, failing eyesight forced Frazer to cease painting. He died on April 9, 1864, and is buried in the Lexington Cemetery.

In addition to this self-portrait, the Filson holds portraits of James Pope, Richard Mentor Johnson II, Nannette Price Smith, and Henrietta Clay Gist by Frazer in its collection.

Classroom Ideas

Discussion: What do you suppose a portrait suggested about the status of the sitter in the 19th century? Does Frazer look wealthy? Why or why not? What type of personality do you think he had? Why? Why would portrait painting have been one of the most promising paths for artists in the 1800s? Compare this work to that of other portraitists in the Kentucky Virtual Art Museum, including Matthew Harris Jouett and Carrie Douglas Dudley Ewen in the Filson collection.

Activity: Create a self-portrait. Decide in advance what you will wear and what you want to convey in your expression and pose.

Links

A portrait of George Washington by Oliver Frazer and William Shackelford hangs in Kentucky’s Old State Capital.
[www.lrc.ky.gov/kidspages/images/photo13.gif]

Read an article on 19th-century Kentucky portrait painters, including Frazer and Jouett, at the Lincoln Miniatures site.
[www.lincolnminiature.com/miniatureartists.htm]