"Portrait of a Man with Hibiscus Flower (Félix)," Glyn Philpot, 1932.
Philpot (1884-1937) was an English painter known mostly for his portraits. Early in his career he was very Realist, and very similar to John Singer Sargent. Like Sargent, he had a good income from his portraits, which gave him room to travel and experiment artistically.
Late in his life, as we see here, he began to experiment with Modernism. Philpot, although a typical British white guy, began to be noted for his portraits of Black people, and how he portrayed them with dignity and sensitivity.
At this point in his career, his work was also expressing the conflict between his devout Catholicism and his own homosexuality. Philpot had a longtime partnership with another artist, Vivian Forbes, which ended a few years before Philpot's passing, from a stroke.
The identity of the sitter here is unknown; all that is known is his first name, Félix.
Happy Portrait Monday!
From a private collection











