Unidentified Gentleman

Unidentified Gentleman

Thomas Ball

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This oval portrait of an unknown sitter is one for only a few relief compositions that Ball executed during his long career. The middle-aged and bearded sitter, who appears in contemporary dress, was most likely one of many visitors to the Villa Ball in Florence. So far it has not been possible to match the face to a name recorded in Ball’s guest book (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.).

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.