In the Laboratory by Henry Alexander MetMuseum Feb 2020

In the Laboratory
ca. 1885–87

Henry Alexander


Object Details

Title: In the Laboratory

Artist: Henry Alexander (1860–1894)

Date: ca. 1885–87

Culture: American

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 36 x 30 in. (91.4 x 76.2 cm)

Credit Line: The Alfred N. Punnett Endowment Fund, 1939

Accession Number: 39.46


This is one of several interior scenes in which Alexander showed people at work, surrounded by their equipment. The portrait d’apparat—an image in which a figure appears along with objects associated with his or her daily life—reflects Alexander’s training in the Munich academy of fine arts and showcases his skills both as a portraitist and as a still-life painter. His subject here is the chemist and assayer Thomas Price (1837–1912), and the setting is Price’s San Francisco laboratory. A consultant to international mining companies, Price was noted for his practical and theoretical knowledge of metals and mines.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/10062