Very large oil on canvas, life-size portrait of Simon Cameron (1799 – 1889) sitting in an armchair in his library, turned partway to the right. Dressed in black coat, trousers and sash around neck. Left arm rests on writing table and paper with writing is hanging over the edge, secured by Cameron's left hand. No. 42, No. 56 stamped on stretcher strip.
NOTE; DOUBLE NUMBERED - 2016.999.7.
The words are difficult to read, but reportedly express Cameron's wish for the creation of a "slave army," as written in his first report to Congress in 1861. Lincoln was angry, since it was his decision to make and not Cameron's. Lincoln expunged the statement from the report and demanded that already printed copies be retrieved. See NOTES
Provenance
For several weeks before the presentation to Cameron, the portrait was in an exhibition in the Academy of Fine Arts.
Although the donors expressed their wish that the portrait be passed to the Cameron children and grandchildren, it somehow ended up with George W. Hicks, apparently a friend and/or neighbor of Cameron. He was a noted educator and long-time justice of the peace of E. Donegal Twp. Hicks died at his Maytown home in May of 1904. At some point, Mrs. Geo. Hicks donated the painting to LCHS. It is obvious that the Hicks admired Cameron since they named their son Charles Cameron Hicks (1883-1961).
H: 72 inches x W: 58 inches. Gilding w/ corners lavishly decorated w/ composition flowers, scrolls and leafage.
Object Name
Painting
Material
Paint, Canvas, Wood
Medium
Painting, Oil
Height (in)
56
Width (in)
42
Dimension Details
Frame is: 72" x 58"
Condition
Good
Condition Date
2016-11-07
Condition Notes
Minor blemishes across surface; canvas is not stretched adequately. Frame has significant losses, particularly at corners.
Object ID
1930.015
Notes
On Wed., July 19th, 1865, Cameron was presented with his portrait at his home on Front St. in Harrisburg by representatives of the Union State Central Committee from Philadelphia. During the ceremony, James N. Kerns "addressed General Cameron in behalf of the committee charged with presentation of the portrait. "He said that the Union men of Philadelphia, having a high appreciation of his worth as a citizen of Pennsylvania , and desiring to bear testimony to his services in assisting to carry the old Keystone State on the side of the Union, in the great political contest at the ballot-box in 1964, had caused this portrait to be painted by one of the best artists in the country, and charged the committee now present to present it to Simon Cameron..."
-- From an article in the Harrisburg Telegraph, July 22, 1865. (copy in file)
Miniature watercolor portrait of Simon Cameron, turned in profile to his right, withing a painted oval, all on rectangular buff-colored paper. Cameron is painted at about age 60, in profile with a resolute expression on his face. He is wearing formal attire: a dark black-collared coat with a white, high collar protruding at his neck and a suggestion of a cravat of jabot at his neck. The background is shaded in tones of brown and the artist's signature in printed in black at the bottom of Cameron's coat, "E. Hergesheimer." Portrait must certainly have been done posthumously as Hergesheimer would have been only 16 years of age when Cameron died. (Photos and more information in file.) Written by Wendell Zercher.
Provenance
Possession of the portrait by the Slaymaker family is probably due to the intermarriage of the Slaymaker and Cameron families. Cameron's niece (Jane Elizabeth Cameron Redsecker) married Colonel S.C. Slaymaker (1828-1894) on May 28, 1862. Then descent to widow of S.R. Slaymaker II.
Generally in good condition and stable. Acid burned around perimeter where in contact with frame and window mat; heavily soiled front and back; dark stains at upper corners where previously hinged; 3 or 4 areas around perimeter where paper has been scraped, abraded, dented and even punctured. Edges of paper have been unevenly cut. Treated at Lancaster Galleries with de-acidifying spray and reframed.
