AFA Autumn 2019

Antiques & Fine Art 89 2019 Eliza Greatorex (1820–1897) may be lesser known today, but in her lifetime, she achieved a remarkable degree of success for her graphic work, which she frequently exhibited at the Academy’s annual exhibitions. She even travelled the American West in 1873 in search of inspiration—an extraordinary feat for a woman artist of the time. As a pupil of Henry Inman (1801–1846) and a sought-after portraitist, Boyle was a natural choice to render Greatorex’s likeness. Will Barnet is now widely regarded as a leading modernist, known for the economical facture of his painted forms. Though separated by 112 years, both artists are depicted in their Academy portraits with stylus and sketchbook ready at hand. The pairing reveals timeless truisms: painting is a mode of inhabiting the world, mark making a way of recording all that and more. left: Ferdinand Thomas Lee Boyle (1820–1906), Eliza Greatorex, 1869. Oil on canvas, 30 x 25¼ inches. National Academy of Design, New York; ANA diploma portrait, presentation date unknown (145-P). Courtesy American Federation of Arts. below: Will Barnet (1911–2012), Self-Portrait, 1981. Oil on canvas, 31⅛ x 45½ inches. National Academy of Design, New York; ANA diploma presentation, April 6, 1981 (1981.630).