The Providence Athenæum

Cyrus Butler (1767-1849) was one of the wealthiest men in Providence in the mid-nineteenth century. Butler’s connection to the history of Providence and the Providence Athenæum runs deep. His passion for reading, combined with his successes in business, allowed him to pursue such architectural, intellectual, and philanthropic projects as the establishment of the Providence Arcade, the Providence Athenæum, and Butler Hospital.

This portrait of Butler depicts him sitting in front of a draped red curtain that pays homage to the classical past in the form of the Arcade itself. In addition, faintly behind the Arcade, the artist has rendered the bustling port that attests to Providence’s emerging commerciality in which Butler was involved.

This portrait was donated to the Athenæum in 1849 by Alexander Duncan, Butler’s partner and executor.

Lancaster, Jane. Inquire Within: A Social History of the Providence Athenæum Since 1753. Providence, RI: Providence Athenæum, 2003, pp. 39, 42, 65, 84-88. 

Spina, Audrey. “Cyrus Butler.” 2016. ARTH 401: Cataloguing Curiosity, Wheaton College, student paper.