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- Pete
- New Jersey
- Since my first trip to Gettysburg as a young boy, I've been captivated by History. I get it from my mom. Although she passed away when I was just 13, she still had an influence on me. All our family vacations were stitched around some historical site. So, history geeks are in my blood. I'm a graphic designer by profession and a semi-amateur painter. I love to explore history through my paintbrush. I've also done living history to get a first hand feel for "what it was like". Looking at history through the eyes of the common man (or woman) and understanding the personal, human drama is really the spice that flavors the historical stew!
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Portrait Painting in American History
This is a small 6x6" oil painting I did of, well, I don't know who. I will find out who she is eventually because she'll be painting me. To get the scoop, check out the blog Different Strokes from Different Folks. It's a very cool concept and I hope to be able to swap portraits.
So, this exercise got me to thinking about the portrait artists in American history. I am, after all, a history geek. Let's take a look at a couple of my favorites.
The place to start would be one of, if not the, first famous portrait painter in the yet unborn United States, John Singleton Copley. He was born in 1738 and was only one of a few painters in the Colonies at the time. Consequently, his work was in great demand and he painted some of the most influential people of the time: John Hancock, Samuel Adams and John Adams to name a few. If you ever have the chance to see his work in person, you can't help but feel that you are in the very presence of those famous founding fathers. It's a lesson in the power of the painted portrait. Copley was not just a great painter either. He was a master at marketing himself and eventually left America in 1774 for London. His popularity flourished there and he never came back. To see a great collection of his work, click here.
You just can't talk about American portrait painters without mentioning John Singer Sargent can you? Though he was only barely an American. Like Copley, he spent a great deal of his life in Europe. In fact, he was born in Florence, Italy to American parents. Sargent didn't even visit the States until he was 21 years old, and that was largely to retain his citizenship. Being American must have had some importance to his I suppose. His great influence was of the French impressionists and he learned to make every brush stroke count. In his portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson, Stevenson sits in a chair with his legs crossed. Sargent suggests Stevenson's shoe with a single brush stroke representing the shine of the smooth leather. It looks breezy and effortless but that is one well thought out brush stroke. If you have some time to kill there's a ton of his work here.
So, check out the links and enjoy some really great artwork of the past. Oh, and Happy New Year too!
19 comments:
Pete, Very nice. The different strokes site is pretty cool. I thought of jumping on board for this one, but there's no way I want my ugly mug on the net. ~Gary
PS, Copely ROCKS!
Great job on the portrait, very warm and painterly. And thanks a bunch for the heads up on those links. There are some remarkable paintings, and they blow up nicely so you can see what is going on.
Pete,
Nice portrait! Its been an interesting challenge - a tough one for me - but I'm glad I did it.
Kathleen
Such warmth and depth on a small canvas. Amazing!
Thanks everyone! This was a brilliant project and I can't help but hope Karin does this or something like it, again.
Pete...wonderful! Love your style...and thanks so much for the history lesson...Kinda validates why we all 'work' so hard at our craft.
Niece piece, Pete. I like the look in the eyes
I really like this painting. Such a warm open face.
Hey Pete, I just saw your portrait by your partner artist and think its a very good likeness. I went to her website, saw her photo and thought OMG you did an awesome job filtering and choosing which details to feature in her portrait. You captured the warm atmosphere perfectly and colors are captured on spot! Wow....
This has such a nice feel to it. I love the color harmony and the expression you captured. This is very nice!
Peter...I love the way you have done this portrait! Excellent work!! Yeah..Sargent...he is without a doubt my all time favorite followed closely by Anders Zorn and Richard Schmid!
Wow, I'm overwhelmed by such positive feedback from such talented folks...thanks!
Sheila, you're right, Ann did a great job with my portrait! I hope she's willing to trade!
Hey Pete. Thanks for your comment. Awesome painting! The challenge was so fun! I'm actually in Brick, not Red Bank.
If you're free please come by The Point Pleasant Library Saturday January 10th from 1-3 PM for my reception there. Bring a friend!
:-)
The Monmouth Museum thing is the following week. So busy!
All the best!
Hello Peter
Just came upon your blog through differnt strokes.
Can I say what a wonderful portrait and I do like your work very much. I shall be following your work from now on.
Regards
Trevor
von borneo tipped me to your sites..awesome. happy new year
Trevor, thanks so much!
Tony,
Thanks, it's been awhile, huh? Happy New Year and I hope all's well.
HI Peter, You have a well done collection of work. If I ever get off this damned book I may actually get back to illustration.HaHaHa
Joe