| Description: |
Portrait of Robert Brookings, by August Benzinger, n.d. (probably 1914). Oil on canvas, framed, total dimensions 74.5 x 54.5 inches. A brass plaque on the base of the frame reads: “ROBERT SOMMERS BROOKINGS / 1850-1932.” Brookings was a St. Louis businessman and President of the Corporation of Washington University, 1895-1928. His generous donations in support of the School of Medicine were a leading factor in the reorganization of the School in 1910 and the opening of the present Medical Campus in 1915. Benzinger was a native of Switzerland who achieved renown as a portrait artist both in Europe and the United States. Circumstances relating to his commission to portray Brookings are related in his biography, August Benzinger, International Portrait Painter, by Marieli Benzinger (1993), which reveals that he painted Brookings at least twice. The Brookings portrait in the North Building was restored by William McCaughen of McCaughen & Associates in 1965. |
