Since visiting the Portland Museum of Art, in Portland, Maine, a few weeks ago I have been thinking about this painting. Dennis Miller Bunker (1861-1890) painted this portrait of a fellow art student, Portland born Walter Griffin (1861-1935). They both were twenty year old students attending New York's National Academy of Design when this portrait was painted. Perhaps it was a class exercise. Both men had successful painting careers; however, as the accompanying text panel points out, Bunker's life was cut short by his death from influenza in 1890.
What I like about this picture is the attention given both to the face and hands, which seem to glow in stark contrast to the overall dark composition. In so many portraits, historically speaking, hands are not portrayed accurately or left unfinished, yet this picture seems to feature the hands. I really like the warmth of the skin tone.
This oil on panel is exhibited in the permanent collection towards the back of the Portland Museum of Art. Most of the information on this picture originated from the display panel alongside the painting in the art museum.
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