Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, “Portrait of Ralph Clarkson,” Oil on Canvas, 1911

The right half of the background in this seated portrait is almost black. Diego Velazquez’s painting “Las Meninas,” hangs on the wall in the background on the left, which indicates that it was painted in Clarkson’s studio. Clarkson has brown wavy hair and a slightly curled mustache. His jacket or smock is dark and he is wearing a white shirt and vest, with a gray necktie. He wears small round glasses and is posing with a large painter’s palette. Only the edge and underside of the palette show. White and brown paint are visible over the edge. The palette is in the immediate foreground and cuts off at the bottom right corner of canvas. The painting bears this dedication: “A mi querido amigo Clarkson.” This portrait was painted in 1911. Seven years later, in July of 1918, Clarkson donated the piece to the Eagle’s Nest Art Gallery for the permanent collection. In 2014 this painting was loaned out as part of a the “Sorolla in America” exhibit, which debuted at the Meadows Museum in Dallas, Texas. From there, the portrait travelled to the San Diego Museum of Art and on to the Fundacion MAPFRE gallery in Madrid, Spain.