Mustaches of Note - John White Alexander

John White Alexander, 1882 or 1883. Napoleon Sarony, photographer. John White Alexander papers, 1870-1942, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

This portrait of John White Alexander haunts my dreams. I think it must be his eyes. Or perhaps it is his mustache.

Alexander was best known for his portraiture work; these paintings can be found in museums all over the United States. I particularly like Portrait of Mrs. John White Alexander, 1902.

From 1905 until his death in 1915, he painted an amazing 69-piece mural, The Apotheosis of Pittsburgh, around the grand staircase at the Carnegie Museums. Read more about the mural here.

Jennifer Snyder works with oral history interviews at the Archives American Art. When not sending interviews out for digitization, she is writing about extraordinary examples of facial hair for this blog.

Comments

[Cari Uang]

amazing people

[Megan]

There's a folder of snapshots of that Carnegie mural while it was being painted, ca. 1905-1908, in Alexander's papers at the Archives. You can look at them here: http://aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/alexjohn/container313657.htm

Hi,
thanks for your interesting article. An English proverb says: "A man without a mustache is like a cup of tea without sugar". I like J. W. Alexanders work, my favorite is "Sunlight".

Man what a mustache! I don't see too many people today who can wear a mustache like this one. You're right it will probably hunt my dreams as well.