Leonard Lewisohn

Leonard Lewisohn was a German-born American businessman and philanthropist who became one of New York's most prominent figures in the copper mining industry and in philanthropic support of music and the arts. By 1899, when Carolus-Duran painted this portrait, Lewisohn was deeply embedded in New York's cultural and social elite, having helped found the copper trust that became Amalgamated Copper and having established himself as a significant presence in the city's German-Jewish community. Carolus-Duran's American clientele represented a significant portion of his late-career portrait practice: wealthy Americans who had encountered his work in Paris or who were directed to him by his most famous student, John Singer Sargent, sought out the French master for portraits that carried the prestige of the Parisian art world. The New-York Historical Society's possession of this portrait alongside that of his wife Rosalie Jacobs (painted two years later) reflects the institution's commitment to documenting New York's social history through portraiture.

By 1899 Carolus-Duran had developed a portrait style that balanced his Velázquez-derived directness with the psychological subtlety required by sophisticated American clients who wanted more than fashionable facility. The male portrait format — dark suit, direct gaze, architectural or neutral background — gave the painter maximum opportunity to concentrate on characterization. The brushwork maintains its characteristic confidence while adapting to the sitter's specific physiognomy.