Did You Know...

Beyond a First Impression

American Impressionist painter Henry Salem Hubbell (1870–1949) completed at least four portraits of Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone toward the end of his career. The portraits are illustrative of Hubbell’s approach to portraiture at that time. From 1911 to 1921, he developed what he called his “one-day” portraits. This style was a departure from the impressionistic paintings for which he had become known, and relied on long, quickly applied brushstrokes of thick paint. By the time he completed his portraits of Chief Justice Stone in 1942, however, he had developed an approach that combined his one-day method with his former impressionistic style. This is in part because he felt that his clients were entitled to more careful study and attention than just a portrait based on first impressions.