Images(3)

Musings

Object number2014.119.4

Artist James Bonar (1864 - 1942)

Date1909

MediumOil on canvas; Paper; Metal;

Credit LineGift of Ellen Bonar Wilt

DescriptionOil painting on canvas. Bust portrait of a a young man in three-quarter view. Figure is seated in a chair, gazes in the distance, and holds a book in his hands. Dressed in a black suit, white collared shirt, and green necktie. Background is brown and there is a framed landscape on the wall.Dimensions30.25 x 25 x 0.813 in. (76.8 x 63.5 x 2.1 cm)
SignedBottom right corner: "JAMES BONAR / 1909"
InscriptionsBlack handwritten text on back at top: "ENTERED INTO AA of Pgh EXHIBIT / TITLED "MUSING" / GIFT TO HIS / SON - JAMES GREIG BONAR / on his 22nd, / BIRTHDAY".
Historical NotesThis painting depicts Bonar's son James Greig Bonar, and was a gift to his son on his 22nd birthday. Bonar was a Scottish native who came to Pittsburgh to work for Carnegie in 1884. In 1893, he helped organize the Pittsburgh Gage and Supply Company. Later he organized his own firm, James Bonar and Company, that sold steam appliances. During WWI, he was the superintendent of expedition at U.S. Steel before being selected in 1919 as the Superintendent of Buildings by the Pittsburgh Board of Education. As an artist he served for many years as the President of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. The donor Ellen Bonar Wilt is the granddaughter of Pittsburgh artist James Bonar.

Related person James Greig Bonar

Related institution James Bonar and Company

Related institution Pittsburgh Gage and Supply Company

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