Lew Wallace, Portrait of Major Isaac Elston I as an Old Man, c. 1866, oil on canvas
General Lew Wallace, famous author of Ben Hur, created this portrait of his father-in-law Major Isaac Elston about one year before Elston’s death in 1867. The Major’s facial features are accentuated, especially details of his liver spots and wrinkles. This hints at the difficult relationship the two had throughout their lives.
This work is considered an important portrait and one of Wallace’s first documented paintings. He produced yet another a portrait of a Crawfordsville native who later became a U.S senator and Lew’s eventual brother-in-law, Henry Smith Lane. This painting was later exhibited at the First Quarterly Exhibition in Indianapolis by the Indiana Art Association.
Cows in the River painted by Lew Wallace, circa 1860. Public Domain (PD-US-unpublished)
The Lew Wallace study in Crawfordsville, Indiana has four other Lew Wallace paintings on display. These are The Kankakee, Cows in the River (pictured here), The Conspirators (a painting of the men who conspired to assassinate President Lincoln; Wallace was a judge in the trial), and Love Triumphant. All were painted around the period between 1860-1875.
Click the links below for more information about this painting and artist:
- Lew Wallace and the Battle of Shiloh
- Lew Wallace’s Relationship with Major Isaac Elston
- Ben Hur and Lew Wallace’s writing career
- Video about the relationship between Lew Wallace and Major Elston
Brett Thumm