Dyer, Elisha (1811-1890)
Role: Governor of Rhode IslandDates: 1857-1859
Portrait Location: Library-Annex
Artist: Lincoln, James Sullivan (1811-1888)
Portrait Date: 1855-1885
Medium: Oil on board
Dimensions:
Framed Dimensions:
Brown Portrait Number: 52
Brown Historical Property Number: 1309
Born in Providence to a prominent family, Dyer entered Brown at the age of fourteen and graduated four years later. He immediately entered the family mercantile business as a clerk. In 1835, his father built a textile mill in North Providence and Dyer became a cotton merchant, becoming owner of the firm in 1854 on his father's death. Dyer was a commercial leader in Providence, holding important bank and insurance company positions. He was also director of the Providence Athenaeum, the Young Men's Bible Class, and the Providence Dispensary as well as founder of the Providence Aid Society. In 1857, Dyer was elected governor of the state, and although he was elected for a second term, he took the unusual step of voluntarily declining office, a move considered "honorable" by many of his opponents.
Artist James Sullivan Lincoln, originally of Taunton, Massachusetts, apprenticed as an engraver, but turned to full-time painting in 1837. From that moment until his death he reigned as Providence's premier portraitist. In his later years he often painted from photographs, producing portraits that are considered less strong than earlier works. This portrait of Governor Dyer was presented by Dyer himself to Brown in 1887, a year before Lincoln's death, but its date of execution is not known.