“Portrait of Mark Twain”
“It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” – Mark Twain
“Portrait of Mark Twain” is an oil on canvas painting by the American artist, James Carroll Beckwith, from 1890. This well-known image of Mark Twain, with a corncob pipe in his mouth, was used as the cover for Harper’s Weekly magazine on September 26, 1891.
Interestingly, both Beckwith and Twain were born in the same place, Hannibal, Missouri. They wouldn’t meet until decades later when both parties were staying at a retreat for artists and writers in Oneonta, New York. Candace Wheeler, the owner of the establishment known as Onteora Park, commissioned this portrait from Beckwith that summer. This portrait was painted during their initial meeting at the resort. Beckwith was 38 and Mark Twain was 55 years old.
Beckwith actually painted two portraits of Mark Twain during the summer of 1890. The one depicted here was the first one he painted. Twain is seen in an amusing and warm light. He stares at the viewer with a pipe in his mouth and a sly grin. Beckwith decided to keep this painting for his own collection. He painted a second portrait of Twain and delivered that to Wheeler. The second one was more traditional and showed Twain in a more subdued manner.
“Portrait of Mark Twain” is in the collections of the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut.
For more on James Carroll Beckwith, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
