Silas Jerome Uhl

I had posted a lousy digital snap of a George Thomas painting taken in the Army & Navy Club, artist unknown. The Club has recently moved blocking objects away from the frame and I can now see the artist's mini-plaque. He was Silas Jerome Uhl (1842-1916).

Uhl is collected at a decent valuation. An indifferent still life (vase and flowers) recently sold for $2,000. His obit in the NYT says he was popular in the salons of Paris in the 1880s.

The A&N Club has a number of portraits of ACW personalities done in his style, probably by him. As with Thomas, they all appear late in their lives, which suggests to me a sitting. The portraits of interest I have seen on the walls at the Club include Thomas, Sherman, Meade, DD Porter, and perhaps another swabbie. (Assume they were ANC members.) They are very well done in terms of character and detail and I have never seen any in print.

The imagery available from Uhl on the Web is far inferior to the quality of these portraits. Thomas, Sherman and Porter are superb: Meade looks a little vacant and is for that reason a notch below. Will try snapping better cameraphone images and posting them here as opportunity permits.