PAINTING. 



123 



Benjamin WEST (1738-1820) was a successful por 

 trait-painter in Philadelphia, at the age of 18. Hi 

 went to Italy in 1760, and three years later to London, 

 where he became the leading historical painter, wai 

 elected president of the Royal Academy, and enjoyee 

 the king's patronage and protection for many years. 

 He produced a very large number of historic anc 

 scriptural compositions, notably. The Departure of 

 Regulus; Death on the Pale Horse ; The Death of 

 Wolfe ; and Christ Rejected. There is in his works 

 much that is conventional, and a certain brick -red col- 

 oring in them has been objected to. Yet West cer- 

 tainly possessed talent of a high order, and a thorough 

 knowledge of the principles of his art. He showec 

 moral courage, too, when, in painting the Death of 

 Wolfe, he insisted, contrary to the advice of Reynolds, 

 in clothing his characters in the dress of their time, 

 repudiating the traditional custom of employing classi- 

 cal costume in all historic painting. He was withal a 

 kind-hearted and benevolent gentleuian ; and had 

 always a hearty welcome and good advice for the 

 struggling young artists who came to him from his 

 native land for instruction and assistance. 



The next period, that of the Revolutjon, produced 

 two painters whose names stand high in the list of 

 American artists, Gilbert Stuart and John Trumbull. 

 STUART (17.j.">-l Si'S) had his first art-instruction from 

 the before-mentioned Cosmo Alexander, with whom 

 he went to Scotland in 1772. He made several visits 

 to Europe, and studied under West, in London, for 

 several years. He returned finally to America, in 1 793, 

 and found ample employment for his brush. Of his 

 large number of national portraits, the one of Wash- 

 ington, known as the "Athenaeum head," is best 

 known to the American public, although most critics 

 consider it inferior to his first picture of Washington. 

 His portraits are remarkable for color to quote his 

 daughter : " Color was one of Stuart's strong points." 

 He was a master in the rendering of flesh tints, and 

 gave his attention principally to the heads, in which he 

 was most successful, slighting the figures and drapery, 

 which, in some of his portraits, at least, are quite care- 

 less in execution. Excellent specimens of his works 

 are owned by the Museum of Fine Arts. Boston, the 

 New York Historical Society, and other institutions. 



TRUMBULL (1756-1843), the son of Governor Jona- 

 than Trumbull, of Connecticut (1710-;1785), was edu- 

 cated at Harvard, and served with distinction in the 

 war of the Revolution. He studied under West, in 

 London, and later made several visits to Europe. He 

 produced a number of portraits, including several of 

 Washington, which, though perhaps unlike in detaijs 

 of feature, arc usually spirited and lifelike in their 

 general resemMance. It was in historical composition 

 that his talents were conspicuous, and he yet stands 

 alone in American historical painting. His most nota- 

 ble works are : The Siege of Gibraltar ; Declaration 

 of Independence ; Death of Montgomery ; and Battle 

 of Bunker Hill. He was peculiarly fitted to depict 

 the scenes in the history of the American struggle for 

 Independence. Himself prominent in public affairs, 

 intimately acquainted with many of the prominent 

 actors in his pictures, and thoroughly in sympathy 

 with his subject, he produced a series of paintings 

 which, in their line, are as yet unsurpassed in Ameri- 

 can art. In 1H17 he received a commission from Con- 

 gress for four historical subjects : Declaration of Inde- 

 pendence ; Surrender of Burgoyne: Surrender of 

 ('irnwallis; and Resignation of Washington. His 

 later works are quite inferior to his earlier ones. His 

 pictures were bequeathed to Yale College, where some 

 of the best specimens of his skill may be seen. 



Another well-known artist of this period was Charles 

 Wilson PKAI.K (I741-1S27). He was notable rather 

 for his versatility than for extraordinary talents in any 

 direction. Besides turning his mechanical talent to 

 account in various ways, he acted as soldier, legislator, 

 naturalist, and what not. His fame rests mainly on 



his portraits, among which are several of Washington, 

 who gave him, it is said, no less than fourteen sittings. 

 Many of his pictures are in the Pennsylvania Academy 

 and in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. Of the nu- 

 merous members of his family who also chose art as a 

 profession, his son Rembrandt (1778-1860) was the 

 only one who achieved any works of real note. Among 

 these is a good portrait of Washington. 



Joseph WRIGHT (1756-93) and Edward SAVAGE 

 (1761-1817) were also known as portrait-painters. 

 William DUNLAP (1766-1839), like most artists of his 

 time, tried his hand at a portrait of Washington. He 

 is, however, better known as an author, and published 

 in 1834 a History of the Arts of Design in the United 

 States, now quite scarce. Col. Henry SARGENT (1770- 

 1 845) was an artist of repute in his time ; and John 

 Wesley JARVIS (1780-1840), an English portrait- 

 painter, also enjoyed considerable popularity, as did 

 later also Chester HARDING (1792-1866) and Edward 

 G. MALBONE (1777-1807), whose miniatures are un- 

 surpassed. Thomas SULLY (1783-1872) painted many 

 prominent Americans, but was most successful in his 

 female heads. His contemporary, John NEAGLE 

 (1796-1865), is best remembered by his excellent full- 

 length of Patrick Lyon, the blacksmith, painted in 

 1825. John VANDERLYN (1775-1852) also painted a 

 number of portraits, but is best known by his Marius 

 Among the Ruins of Carthage, and Ariadne, which 

 latter, classic in style, is a very creditable work. 



During all this initiatory period art in this country 

 achieved its greatest successes in the department of 

 portraiture and figure-painting. It was, furthermore, 

 greatly under the influence of England. Now there 

 gradually came a change, and the eyes of our art- 

 students going abroad were turned towards Italy. 

 Imitation of foreign art-methods was natural and, 

 indeed, unavoidable. On the other hand there were 

 various attempts made to found art-academies in New 

 York and Philadelphia, culminating in the establish- 

 ment of the Pennsylvania Academy and the New York 

 Academy of Design. One of the leading representa- 

 tives of the tendencies towards idealism, often false, 

 that dominated much of our art, was Washington 

 ALLSTON (1779-1843), a native of South Carolina. 

 He studied under West, and lived for a number of 

 years in Italy. His works aroused much enthusiasm, 

 md his coloring won for him the name of " the Amer- 

 ican Titian." But, as is always the case with those 

 overestimated in their time, there is now a tendency 

 to underrate the work of Allston. Though not pos- 

 sessing genius of a high order, he was an artist of un- 

 doubtedly great talent, hampered, perhaps, by the 

 want of encouraging influences in his native land. 

 The Dead Man Revived by Touching Elisha's Bones ; 

 3aul and the Witch of Endor ; Spalatro's Vision of 

 the Bloody Hand ; and Jeremiah and the Scribe, are 

 imong his works, in some of which he shows an un- 

 lealthy love for the terrible and supernatural. He 

 also left an unfinished work, Belshazzar's Feast, now 

 n the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. John VANDER- 

 jYN, already mentioned, was a good classic painter, 

 ho won success while abroad, and gained a medal in 

 :Vis at the Salon of 1808. Samuel F. B. MORSE 

 1791-1872), better known in a totally different walk 

 of life, was in the early part of hjs career an artist, 

 practising both sculpture and painting. He composed 

 a painting of the Dyjng Hercules from his statue of 

 he same name. This work shows considerable _ ana- 

 tomical knowledge. Morse was the first president 

 1826-42) of the National Academy of Design. 



Among the portrait-painters of this period were : 



Samuel L. Waldo (1783-1861) and William Jewett 



/>. 179")), who painted in partnership'; William E. 



West (1788-1857); Charles C. Inghain (1797-1863); 



Henry Inrnan (1801-46); Charles Lonng Elliott 



1812-68); George P. A. Healy (b. 1813); William 



^6(1811-85); W. H. Furness (1828-67); Thomas 



Le Clear (1818-82); George A. Baker (1821-80); 



