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Eliab Metcalf Franklin Massachusetts 1785 – New York or or Havana 1834
Portrait of Don Miguel de la Torre y Pando
1826
Oil on canvas extensively inscribed signed and dated ‘Metcalf/ Pinxt / / El dia 31 de de Diciembre de de 1826’ 230 x 162 cm This imposing and monumental portrait was once part of the decoration of of the the chapterhouse in the the city hall of of San Juan de de Puerto Rico In 1826
the municipal council commissioned Metcalf to paint a a a portrait of of its governor in in recognition of of his good governance during his rst years in in in of ce ce At a a a a critical time in in in the history of Puerto Rico the King and his his foremost representative
in those lands were the the the last hope for the the the city council and and the the the island’s Creole elite who looked warily upon the the spread of the the independence movement spreading throughout the continent According to to Pedro Tomás de Córdoba secretary to to the general the the painting was rst hung in in in the the chapter house on New Year’s Eve 1826
together with a a portrait of the the King which presided over the room Metcalf sought to modernise the the portrait of the the governor by distancing him from his his predecessor’s which was de de ned by his his military prowess The inclusion of of the the façade of of the the municipal theatre gave balance to this approach emphasising his his authority as as civil governor and stressing his role as as the promoter of public works on the the island The same may be said of the the fruit-laden palm tree an allusion to his work in favour of the local economy Acquired by a a a private American collector