Portrait of John D. Rockefeller (1857–58): Art, History and Details

Portrait of John D. Rockefeller (1857–58) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is William C. North (American, 1814–1890).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This elegant, spare portrait unites two significant figures in the history of Cleveland. Its subject is oil magnate and entrepreneur John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937), the founder of Standard Oil and perhaps the world’s first billionaire. His photograph was taken by William C. North, arguably the most eminent early Cleveland photographer.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of John D. Rockefeller
• Date: 1857–58
• Creator attribution: William C. North (American, 1814–1890)
• Culture: America
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: ambrotype, sixth plate
• Dimensions: Overall: 9.5 x 8.3 cm (3 3/4 x 3 1/4 in.)
• Collection: PH - American 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2023.130

A detail from the museum

John D. Rockefeller was around 18 and working as an assistant bookkeeper when he went to have his portrait taken.

Collection credit

Gift of Stephan Loewentheil

Further reading listed by the museum

• John D. Rockefeller, Random Reminiscences of Men and Events, New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1909.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.