December 10-13, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/10/2024
Attributed to Matthew Pratt (American, 1734-1805). "Portrait of Captain John Barry, Continental Navy, c. 1776." Oil on canvas, 26 x 20 inches, laid-down on mahogany panel, within contemporary carved and gilded frame. John Barry (1745-1803) was an Irish-born American naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France. He was the first officer, military or naval, to receive a commission from the Continental Congress, signed by John Hancock and dated 7 December 1775. Barry's first command was the 14-gun "Lexington", also the first ship to be commissioned in the Continental Navy, transferring to the brig "Delaware" in 1777. While commanding those two vessels, he enjoyed success in the capture of several Royal Navy and Loyalist vessels. In 1778, Barry assumed his third command, the Continental frigate "Raleigh" capturing three prizes before being run aground while fighting an action on September 27th. Before escaping, he and his crew attempted to scuttle the ship but were unsuccessful and she was later raised and taken into the Royal Navy. His final command in the Continental Navy was the frigate "Alliance" and he was seriously wounded in her while capturing two Royal Navy sloops on 29 May 1781. Barry and the "Alliance" won the final American naval victory in an action against the British frigate "Sybil" on 10 March 1783. That ship's commander stated that "he had never seen a ship so ably fought as the Alliance" and that "every quality of a great commander was brought out with extraordinary brilliancy" by Barry in fighting his ship. In 1797, he became the first commissioned officer in the United States Navy with the rank of commodore, but his tenure as senior officer would be short-lived, cut short by an untimely death in 1803. This fine portrait of "The Father of the American Navy" was probably painted shortly after Barry received his commission. He is wearing a practical undress uniform for shipboard duty, being an all-blue coat trimmed with gilt-brass, "fouled anchor" buttons of a form adopted by American naval officers during the war, frequently found on sites associated with both the Continental Navy and Army. The portrait, long attributed to Philadelphia artist Charles Willson Peale, was exhibited in the Peale exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1923. Recent research suggests that the work was more likely painted by Matthew Pratt, another Philadelphia artist who, like Peale, had earlier studied under Benjamin West in London; the influence of West can be seen in the work of both artists. PROVENANCE: Barry died without issue and this portrait, his sword, and his naval papers descended collaterally in the family until the 20th century. The sword was sold at auction by a family member during the Great Depression and is now in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. The portrait and papers descended to Barry Hayes Hepburn (1886-1966). Barry's naval papers were given to the Independence Seaport Museum by the family after Mr. Hepburn's death and the portrait privately sold by the family some years later; acquired from a Pennsylvania estate in 2022. CONDITION: The work was restored in 1937 by Mrs. Hannah Horner and probably was cleaned earlier in its history as well; leaving it perhaps with less vibrancy than when first painted nearly 250 years ago; lined; examination under UV light shows scattered inpainting.