Washington Duke

Washington Duke

Washington Duke, 1925, Oil on canvas, 40" x 50," by John da Costa

Washington Duke (1820-1905), father of Benjamin and James Duke, founded the tobacco firm of W. Duke Sons & Company in Durham, North Carolina, in 1878. He was the benefactor of Trinity College, which later moved to Durham and became Duke University. His granddaughter, Doris Duke, donated this portrait to the University.

Artist John da Costa (1867-1931) was born in Teignmouth, England. He painted in oil, in the genre of portraits and classical subjects. Educated at Southampton and Paris, Da Costa received an Honorable Mention at the Paris Salon in 1906 and a medal in 1907. He lived in London, Newlyn, and Clanfield in Oxfordshire and became a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. His works were exhibited at the Royal Academician, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Engravers, and at European art galleries and museums. This portrait hangs on the wall to the right and opposite the main desk in the first floor lobby.

da Costa, John