| TITLE
| Joseph C. Ely |
| CREATOR | Breul, Hugo, 1854-1910 |
| DATE | 1899 |
| DIMENSIONS | 27 x 22 in. |
| ORIGINAL FORMAT | Painting |
| MEDIUM | Oil on canvas |
| DONOR | Gift of Anonymous Donor |
| DATE OF ACCESSION | 1901 |
| LOCATION | Providence Athenæum: Art Room |
This portrait of Joseph C. Ely was painted by Hugo Breul, a German artist who moved to Providence in the mid-nineteenth century. Breul was a member of the Providence Art Club and the Providence Watercolor Society and created a name for himself as a working artist in the city. He was commissioned to paint this portrait of the Athenæum’s late president in 1899.
Ely was a prominent figure in Providence. He practiced law (playing an important role in revising the Rhode Island legal system) and he served as the Athenæum’s president from 1895 to 1897. He was an avid art collector active in the initiative to establish a public art institution in Providence. His daughter, Ruth Ely, took over the affairs of the family upon his death and became a generous benefactor to the Providence Athenaeum in the 1970s. Chief among her donations from her father’s art collection were sketches and watercolor paintings by artist Edward Bannister [1928-1901].
Breul’s portrait was given to the library in 1901 by an anonymous donor.