Mr Henry S Morgan 1932

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Half portrait of a standing man, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Head slightly lowered, looking directly at the viewer from below. Dressed in a suit with gilet, white handkerchief and tie, a gold watch chain attached to his gilet. Background structured only by rough brushstrokes, at the left suggesting a curtain.

JQAW# P_1932_010
Oil on canvas ?? x ?? cm
Signature: John Quincy Ɑdams 1932
Unknown private collection (probably USA).

Henry Sturgis Morgan Sr. (Oct. 24, 1900 London to Feb. 8, 1982 New York), banker. See also his entry on Wikipedia.
Grandson of banker and railroad tycoon John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), he graduated from Harvard and initially worked at the J.P. Morgan Bank. In 1935, he founded the Morgan Stanley Investment Bank with Harold Stanley. He was also president of the Morgan Library & Museum. In 1923 he married Catherine Frances Lovering Adams (1902-1988, see cross-references), daughter of Charles Francis Adams III (1866-1954), Secretary of the Navy in the Hoover administration 1929-1933 (see cross-references). All three individuals were portrayed by Adams. Like his father-in-law (and artist John Quincy Adams), Henry Sturgis Morgan was an avid yachtsman and actively involved in organizing the America's Cup. He was posthumously introduced into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 2002.

One of the last documented works of the artist, made in the USA in 1932. The casual posture and the background textured only by rough brushstrokes are characteristic of the late phase of Adams' portraits. The picture (as well as that of Mrs. Morgan) is documented by a publication from 1933 and by a photograph in the Künstlerhaus archive. It has not yet been located among the numerous descendants (the Morgan couple had five sons) of the sitter.

Cross-references

Portrait Mrs Catherine Frances Morgan (wife) 1932

Portrait Charles Francis Adams III (father-in-law) 1932

Exhibited

Literature

Wilhelm Dessauer, Der Maler John Quincy Adams, Österreichische Kunst 1933 Bnd. 7, pp. 10-12.

APH, catalog raisonné JQA 1995, p. 236, cat.#203, fig.#138.

Provenance

Unknown location and ownership.