Image Gallery
Early Landscapes & Seascapes
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in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many of the same artists who earned a living painting portraits were also called upon to do decorative painting in houses. These generally took the form of overmantels and fireboards, as well as painted doors and walls. Usually the paintings were landscapes that represented either a local scene or the actual house in which the painting was done. Sometimes, the view was of Mount Vernon or a classical ruin, places the artist had never personally seen. Prints served as the primary design source for the self-taught landscape painter. Many books were also available for the artist trying to teach himself the principles of drawing. Among the earliest available in America was The Graphice, or The Most Ancient and Excellent Art of Limning, written by Henry Peachem and published in London in 1612. The Artist’s Assistant in Drawing, Perspective, Etching, Engraving, Mezzotinto Scraping, Painting on Glass, in Crayons, in Water Colours, and on Silks and Satins, the Art of Japanning, etc., originally produced by Carrington Bowles, an English publisher and print seller, around 1750, also provided a visual encyclopedia for the beginning artists who lacked access to formal training.
Landscapes and seascapes that were not architectural decoration became more popular in the nineteenth century when prosperous home- and ship owners would commission artists to paint their houses or ships, much as they would hire a portrait painter to paint their likenesses. Businessmen, too, might hire an artist to record the workplace for posterity. Landscapes with a patriotic sentiment, often taken from widely distributed prints, were especially popular in the nineteenth century as witnessed by the many scenes depicting George Washington, his home, and his tomb.
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many of the same artists who earned a living painting portraits were also called upon to do decorative painting in houses. These generally took the form of overmantels and fireboards, as well as painted doors and walls. Usually the paintings were landscapes that represented either a local scene or the actual house in which the painting was done. Sometimes, the view was of Mount Vernon or a classical ruin, places the artist had never personally seen. Prints served as the primary design source for the self-taught landscape painter. Many books were also available for the artist trying to teach himself the principles of drawing. Among the earliest available in America was The Graphice, or The Most Ancient and Excellent Art of Limning, written by Henry Peachem and published in London in 1612. The Artist’s Assistant in Drawing, Perspective, Etching, Engraving, Mezzotinto Scraping, Painting on Glass, in Crayons, in Water Colours, and on Silks and Satins, the Art of Japanning, etc., originally produced by Carrington Bowles, an English publisher and print seller, around 1750, also provided a visual encyclopedia for the beginning artists who lacked access to formal training.
Landscapes and seascapes that were not architectural decoration became more popular in the nineteenth century when prosperous home- and ship owners would commission artists to paint their houses or ships, much as they would hire a portrait painter to paint their likenesses. Businessmen, too, might hire an artist to record the workplace for posterity. Landscapes with a patriotic sentiment, often taken from widely distributed prints, were especially popular in the nineteenth century as witnessed by the many scenes depicting George Washington, his home, and his tomb.