Portrait of John Meredith Read, Oil on Canvas, framed
Fine Portrait of Pennsylvania Chief Justice Read [American School, 19th Century]. [Portrait of John Meredith Read]. Philadelphia, c.1815. Image size 25" x 20" (63.5 x 50.8 cm). Oil on canvas. Housed in a magnificent, ornate nineteenth-century gilded wood frame. The canvas remains in fine, stable condition. The period frame exhibits minor, superficial nicks and chips consistent with age, and the original gilding is gently dulled, lending it an attractive, historic patina. $3,000 * John Meredith Read was one of the most formidable and influential legal minds of nineteenth-century Pennsylvania. His distinguished career in public service began with his election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (1822-1823), followed by his tenure as City Solicitor of Philadelphia (1830-1833). In 1837, he was appointed United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a pivotal role he held until 1845. Read's legal brilliance ultimately elevated him to the state's highest court. He was elected a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1858 and ascended to Chief Justice in 1872. Renowned both nationally and internationally for his profound legal scholarship, stirring eloquence, and masterly courtroom arguments, Read was also a vital political force, serving as an early organizer and champion of the nascent Republican Party. This commanding portrait boasts an exceptional, unbroken institutional provenance. It was long held by the Philadelphia Bar Association-founded in 1802 as the oldest association of lawyers in the United States-and was last prominently displayed in its historic library, which was renamed the Theodore F. Jenkins Memorial Law Library in 1967. A striking piece of legal history and American portraiture. Oil on canvas in ornate nineteenth-century gilded wood frame. Some minor nicks and chips to frame, gilding slightly dulled, otherwise fine. $3,000. * Read [1797-1874] was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1822 and 1823 and served as City Solicitor of Philadelphia from 1830 to 1833. He was appointed District Attorney of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in 1837 and held the office until 1845. He became Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1858 and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1872. Read gained an international reputation for the dep.
Price: $3,000.00
Book number 69061