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Barry still a-beggin’

February 17, 2011

By Staff Reporter

But the portrait of Commodore John Barry is indeed unique, one of a kind, a treasure no matter what shape the Dow is in.
“I still have it. It’s still available,” art dealer Bruce Gimelson told the Echo.
And, he was keen to add, still at the same asking price of $300,000.
Still, Gimelson does acknowledge that the Dow and other economic indicators are conspiring to ensure that Barry still hangs on his wall.
“In a better economy it would have been gone in a week,” he said.
Gimelson said that a couple of possible buyers had expressed interest but, thus far, had not moved to the point of making him an offer.
Still, no offers isn’t all bad news.
“I’m quite happy to just look at it,” Gimelson said.
In recent days Gimelson has even set eyes Barry’s image in two places. He came across a reproduction of his original portrait hanging over a fireplace.
Gimelson is of the opinion that the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Barry is arguably the most important Irish American painting in existence, even more significant than the White House painting of President Kennedy.
The portrait in oil of the County Wexford-born Barry is 29 by 24 inches, dates to about 1801 and is the only depiction of the man now known officially as the “first flag officer” of the United States Navy. Stuart, by turn, is the most famous portrait painter of his era.
“If this was of George Washington it would be sold in a minute, but you have to remember that Stuart painted a hundred portraits of Washington, but only one of Barry. This is iconic,” Gimelson, who is based in Putnam County, New York, said when he first placed the Barry portrait on the market.
The portrait was in the possession of members of the Barry family up until the 1970s or early ’80s. According to Gimelson, it was “consigned” to him last year by its present owner.
The portrait, he said, would have sold “fifty times over,” if the market situation was any better than its current state.
Gimelson believes the Barry portrait would fit perfectly into the collection of a gallery or appropriate institution, either in the U.S. or in Ireland.
Commodore Barry was for years known unofficially as the “father” of the United States navy. This epithet first surfaced in a biographical sketch of Barry published in 1813, 10 years after his death.
But for many Barry aficionados there was long a lingering sense that this accolade fell short of what Barry truly deserved and that for too long Barry’s reputation had played second fiddle to that of John Paul Jones of Continental Navy fame.
This changed in the waning days of 2004 when President Bush signed a congressional initiative recognizing the 6-feet-4 commodore as the “first flag officer” of the United States navy.
Barry, who was born in 1745, received his commission from the very first Congress. He took command of his first ship, the 14-gun brig Lexington, on December 7th, 1775. It was a command that would give the British cause to cry “infamy.”
In April 1776, as captain of the Lexington, Barry captured the sloop HMS Edward, thus securing his position in history as the first American naval officer to lay hands on one of King George’s ships.
The end of the war resulted in a brief pause in Barry’s naval career, though he remained at sea in the merchant service. But President George Washington had other plans for a man who, though he was still under 40, more than qualified for old sea dog status.
In June 1794, Barry was put in charge of training the first cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy. By virtue of this posting, Barry was now senior captain in the new federal navy.
He was formally awarded Commission Number One in the United States Navy by Washington in February 1797. The commission was backdated to 1794.
In addition to overseeing the academy, Barry was also assigned the job of building the 44-gun frigate United States, in its day the most powerful ship in the fleet.
Barry would command the United States in the Caribbean during what became known as the Quasi-War with France between 1798 and 1801. It was during this time that he attained the honorific rank of commodore because he commanded the U.S. Navy’s entire force assigned to the West Indies station. There was no rank of admiral in the navy at the time.
After returning to Philadelphia, Barry continued to serve shore duty until his death on Sept. 13, 1803, a day long since recognized by the Ancient Order of Hibernians as Commodore John Barry Day. Barry rests at Old St. Mary’s Churchyard in Philadelphia.
Additional details on the Barry portrait are posted on Gimelson’s website, www.brucegimelson.com.

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