Portrait of George Aloysius Lucas

Description George A. Lucas (1824-1909) of Baltimore sailed to Europe in 1857, never to return to America. During his long residence in Paris, he supplemented his private income by representing the interests of a number of American collectors, including William T. Walters of Baltimore and Samuel P. Avery of New York. In a preface to a publication of 1885, Walters wrote of Lucas, "The debt I owe him for his good judgment, mature experience and cheerful co-operation in nearly all I have accomplished as amateur and collector, I find only less than the value I place upon his sterling truth, and upon his worth as a man and a friend."

Exhibitions

• A Baltimorean in Paris: George A. Lucas, 1860-1909. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979.
• The Taste of Maryland: Art Collecting in Maryland 1800-1934. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984.
• A View Toward Paris: The Lucas Collection of Nineteenth Century French Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 2006.

Provenance Commissioned by William T. Walters (through George A. Lucas as agent), Baltimore, January 10, 1885 [1] [2]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931. [1] Diary of George A. Lucas 18 November 1885. [2] The Diary of George A. Lucas, p. 601.

Inscriptions [Signature] Signed and dated lower left: Ln Bonnat / 1885

Credit Commissioned by William T. Walters, 1885