Pat Lyon at the Forge', 1826 is John Neagle's most famous painting. The portrait is unusual for its era because of its depicts a subject engaged in manual labour. In the early 19th century, people who could afford such heroic portraits of themselves preferred to be shown in formal dress, surrounded by expensive objects, implying their aristocratic status. Although Lyon was a successful man when he commissioned Neagle to paint him, he asked the artist to depict him as a blacksmith, the vocation in which he had begun his career. He specifically told Neagle that he did “not wish to be represented as what I am not—a gentleman." Lyon’s prejudice towards gentlemen stemmed from the fact that early in his career he was wrongly accused of theft by a group of Philadelphia bankers and imprisoned. Lyon is wearing a white shirt with rolled up sleeves and an apron. He has an assistant and is surrounded by the tools of his trade. Lyon also insisted that the jail in which he had been held appear in his portrait. Neagle included a view of it's distinctive cupola in the upper left-hand corner of the painting.

This is an image of the famous artwork. We will hand paint a beautiful reproduction of this masterpiece in the size below.

Size: 90 (h) x 65 cm (w)
35 in (h) x 25 in (w)

(Custom Sizes Available. Contact Us)

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Material: Oil Paint on Canvas

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