Jonas Platt
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Samuel F.B. Morse was at the peak of his career when he portrayed Jonas Platt, who is presented as a soberly dressed man of affairs, with book and documents nearby, facing us in a confident yet thoughtful manner. The drapery and glimpse of sky are scaled-down elements drawn from grandmanner portraiture and signal Platt's prominence.
The sitter and artist were both active in politics and concerned with the application of scientific and technological advances to national purpose. Platt had been an early promoter of the Erie Canal, and Morse was not only the finest portrait painter in New York, but an inventor as well. A decade after completing this work, Morse retired from his artistic career to devote himself to the development of the telegraph.
Caption
Samuel Finley Breese Morse (American, 1791–1872). Jonas Platt, 1828. Oil on canvas, 35 15/16 x 29 7/16 in. (91.3 x 74.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Dick S. Ramsay Fund, 85.23. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Jonas Platt
Date
1828
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
35 15/16 x 29 7/16 in. (91.3 x 74.8 cm)
Signatures
Unsigned
Credit Line
Dick S. Ramsay Fund
Accession Number
85.23
Frequent Art Questions
Who is this man?
Hi there! You're looking at Samuel Finley Breese Morse's portrait of Jonas Platt. As an artist, Samuel Morse was known for his portraits. However he is better known as an inventor. Morse was involved in the creation of the telegraph and Morse code!Jonas Platt, the subject of this portrait, was a prominent politician in New York. He served as a State Senator and in the United States House of Representatives. He helped promote the planning of the Erie Canal, which was constructed between 1817 and 1825.
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