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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Shubael Allen”

Recto and Verso: Shubael Allen

Recto – George Caleb Bingham Shubael Allen (1793- 1841) was New York native and a civil engineer. Before moving to Missouri by 1818, he helped build bridges in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. In 1822, in Boonville, Missouri, he married Dinah Ayers Trigg. They moved to Missouri’s western frontier where for several years they shared a dog trot cabin with Dinah’s sister …

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Fine Art Investigations

Researching 19th century American portraits while breaking for walks near the Pacific Ocean.

Fine Art Investigations

2 weeks ago

Senator Boies Penrose snuck into today’s research on the book. The portraitist of the attached posthumous painting used artistic license liberally; the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee weighed 300 lbs. A biographer wrote, "The late Boies Penrose (1860-1921), born to wealth and position in Philadelphia, Harvard-educated, wanted to be a leader but disliked respectable people. So he went into politics. A big fellow (6 ft. 4 in.) with big appetites, a cold heart, a shrewd head, he took to low life like a hippopotamus to water." Ironically he is best known for the phrase, "Public office is…
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Fine Art Investigations

3 months ago

Apologies for long absence…health issues are now resolved but am catching up on a backlog of many months. One project is a commissioned life story of a portrait subject. She or her family touched the lives of many prominent Americans. One, was New Jersey Governor Joseph Bloomfield (1753–1823) whom Charles Willson Peale portrayed in 1777. The portrait diverges from the usual C. W. Peale depiction. At first glance, I thought one of the patriarch’s relatives was the artist, but an anecdote about the man reveals the painting to be one of Charles Willson Peale’s best in expressing character. The anecdote by Charles Biddle: “The Governor is a worthy man, but he is too much influenced by his wish to keep well with all parties. This is hardly possible to do; almost every man who attempts it is called a trimmer, and often loses his consequence with all parties.”Never having seen the word “trimmer” used in this context, I looked it up: “a person who adapts their views to the prevailing political trends for personal advancement.” From facial expression to pose, Peale visualized the definition in his portrait of Bloomfield. Charles Willson Peale, Joseph Bloomfield, 1777 Oil on Canvas, 30 x 25 inchesPrivate Collection
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Fine Art Investigations

3 months ago

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Fine Art Investigations

5 months ago

Before electric lighting, when rooms were illuminated by sunlight and candles, the gilded framed served a very important purpose: it was a perpetual source of light in dark interiors. The best way to make a painting glow was to surround it with a golden edge, one that could reflect and enhance whatever light was available."Deborah Davis, "The Secret Lives of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry" (Filipacchi publishing, 2007), 24.Reverse ogee frame, ca. 1660 (Naples)Poplar, marbleized base, carved and gilded frame, 30 11/16 × 25 13/16 inchesMetropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975, 1975.1.2133Public Domain
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Fine Art Investigations

5 months ago

HAPPY CHOCOLATE DAYPerhaps art history’s most famous "Chocolate Girl"
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The Chocolate Girl – Jean-Etienne Liotard – Google Arts & Culture

artsandculture.google.com

In 1751, in a letter to his friend Jean Mariette in Paris, Count Francesco Algarotti wrote: "I bought a pastel painting that is approximately three feet hi…

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