19th century American Southern Portrait by Benoni Irwin

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Oil on canvas portrait entitled:Mr. Bowles of Kentucky, painted by Benoni Irwin (1840-1896) an American portraitist born in new market, … Read more Oil on canvas portrait entitled:Mr. Bowles of Kentucky, painted by Benoni Irwin (1840-1896) an American portraitist born in new market, Ontario, Canada. He moved to New York as a young man and was a pupil of the National Academy of Design in New York City from 1861-1863. He trained in Paris with the famous French portraitist Emile Auguste Carolus-Duran (1838-1917) from 1867-1869. He returned to the United States by 1870, where he spent time in Louisville, Kentucky and San Francisco. Unsigned. We are not sure if the frame is original but it is of the period. The painting has been relined with new stretchers.
There is a small note on the back of the frame that states the portrait is of Joshua Bethel Bowles who was a prominent Louisville Kentucky bank president (1795 -1873); married to Grace Shreve (1806-1873). See measurements below. See less