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Artists for Hire in Antebellum
Columbus
March 18 - June 24, 2007
(above: Gallery view from Artists
for Hire in Antebellum Columbus. photo courtesy of The Columbus Museum)
Almost since its founding
in 1828, Columbus citizens have exhibited an interest in art. Many decades
before the city's first galleries and museums opened, 
traveling
artists visited the area to display their work to an intrigued citizenry
as well as offer their services. This exhibition at The Columbus Museum
on exhibit from March 18 through April 24, 2007 features portraits by a
few of the artists who visited the city in the 1830s and 1840s, including
C.R. Parker, Edward L. Mooney and Edward Troye, as well as a glimpse of
the techniques of the traveling artist. [1]
(right: Gallery view from Artists for Hire in Antebellum Columbus.
photo courtesy of The Columbus Museum)
Rack card for the exhibition
Many decades before Columbus' first galleries and museums
opened, traveling artists visited the growing city to display their work
to an intrigued citizenry as well as offer their services. This exhibition
will feature portraits of Columbus citizens by C.R. Parker, one of the most
prolific itinerant artists to travel the South during the 1830s and 1840s.
In addition, examples of the work of other artists to visit Columbus during
the time period will be included.
Wall text for the exhibition
- Artists for Hire in Antebellum Columbus
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- In the decades before photography, painted portraits
were very popular in America. Portraits served as symbols of self-expression,
assertions of family pride and memorials to individuals. In many large
American cities, resident artists supplied the demand for portraits. Smaller
communities, such as Columbus during the Antebellum, or pre-Civil War period,
relied on traveling, or itinerant, artists for this type of artwork.
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- The work of these itinerant artists is an important part
of Columbus' cultural heritage. They have provided us with unique images
of some of the community's leading citizens, and a window into an important
period in the town's past.
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- This exhibition features the work of one of the most
prolific itinerant artists to visit Columbus, C.R. Parker. Combined with
original pieces and reproductions of work by itinerants artists Edward
Mooney and Edward Troye, this exhibition is the largest single collection
of work produced by itinerant artists in Columbus since their visits here
in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s.
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- "A portrait is not just a likeness of an individual
to be preserved for posterity; it is also an image of pride, a projection
of social position. A man who wants his portrait painted cannot but attach
a certain importance to himself, in whatever sense, and he is not likely
to take chances; he is concerned about his appearance."
-- R.H. Fuchs in Dutch Painting
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- Itinerant Artists and the South
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- The tremendous demand for portraits in the antebellum
South occurred during a period of rapid economic growth in the region.
Many of the primary purchasers of portraits, upper- class citizens, amassed
great wealth during these years. They made quick fortunes in the cotton,
steamboat and railroad trade, as well as mill operation.
- Aware of these developments, many artists outside the
South attempted to take advantage of the situation. Dozens traveled to
the region to offer their services. These artists found a small, but wealthy,
group of customers in new Southern cities such as Columbus.
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- C.R. Parker
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- A prolific and well-traveled artist, C.R. Parker painted
portraits in several Southern cities. He was born in 1799 in Connecticut
and by 1825, was working as an artist in Louisiana. While there, he received
a commission to paint several large portraits for the Louisiana Capitol.
Parke studied in England from 1828 to 1832, during which time he exhibited
with the Free Society of Artists in London and became good friends with
noted naturalist John James Audubon. After his return, Parker opened a
studio in New Orleans. For the next fifteen years, Parker made many tours
throughout the Southeast seeking new clients.
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- Parker formed an extensive network of friendships during
his travels, and it is believed that it was through one of these connections
that he was brought to Columbus in 1838. While here, he painted several
portraits of some of the young city's most prominent citizens. C.R. Parker
died in 1849 in New Orleans, leaving behind an impressive legacy of portrait
painting in the states of the Deep South.
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- " Mr. Parker, a Portrait Painter of very considerable
celebrity, has arrived in our city, and taken the rooms hitherto occupied
by Mr. McClintock's select school ... Mr. P(arker) can make the pictures
as nearly represent the splendor of some of our originals, as perhaps any
other of his profession."
-- Columbus Enquirer, August 2, 1838
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- "Mr. Parker informs the public that he will remain
sometime in Columbus for the purpose of painting Portraits...(He) would
not be doing justice to his feelings, were he not to acknowledge the great
pleasure it has given him to meet in this new portion of the State so many
of his former friends and patrons..."
-- Columbus Enquirer, September 6, 1838
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- "The admirers of the fine arts ought not to permit
the remaining days of Mr. Parker's stay in our city to pass without calling
at his gallery. It will be many days before they will have the opportunity
of looking upon such a collection of accurate likenesses."
-- Columbus Enquirer, June 5, 1839
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- Reproduction of Henry Watson, Jr. ca. 1830
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Wadsworth Atheneum of Art, Hartford,
Connecticut
- Bequest of Miss Rosa Watson through Miss Cecile A. Watson
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- This portrait is believed to have been painted by Parker
in his home state of Connecticut before he moved to the South. It is one
of the earliest examples of the signature style that he developed as a
young man prior to his arrival in New Orleans, and polished during his
later travels in the South.
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- Eliza Beck ca. 1835
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Louisiana State Historic Museum, New
Orleans
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- Parker probably painted this portrait in his studio on
Canal Street in New Orleans. It is a good example of the type of work for
which he would have been known, both in that city and throughout the South.
Parker's work was popular largely because people admired the crisp details
and warm likenesses. This portrait depicts Eliza Beck, the wife of New
Orleans notary public Thomas Jefferson Beck.
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- Grigsby Eskeridge Thomas, Sr. 1838
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Gift of Dr. William L. Sibley III and his wife, Ruth
F. Sibley 2005.36.1
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- Mary A. Shivers Thomas 1838
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Gift of Dr. William L. Sibley III and his wife, Ruth
F. Sibley 2005. 36.2
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- Two of Columbus' earliest settlers, Grigsby Thomas and
his wife Mary Shivers Thomas, arrived here from Hancock County, Georgia
in 1830. Before moving, Mr. Thomas had been a member of the Georgia State
Assembly where he achieved recognition for helping write the 1823 act abolishing
imprisonment for debt in Georgia. In 1832, he was elected Judge of the
Chattahoochee Circuit Court. After his first wife died in 1845, he married
Elizabeth Frederick Shingleur Thomas. Their house, built around 1850 on
Rose Hill, was one of the first and largest homes built in that neighborhood.
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- Mrs. James Kivlin ca. 1838
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Gift of Mrs. Edgar C. Mayo in memory of Edgar C. Mayo
1973.81
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- Louisa Dillard married James Kivlin in Columbus in April
of 1830. A merchant by trade, Kivlin helped form the first company that
sold ice in Columbus, was treasurer of one of its first fire departments,
and served several terms as a city health officer.
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- John Boswell ca. 1838
- By C.R. Parker, 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Museum of Mississippi History, Jackson,
MS
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- Mrs. John Boswell ca. 1838
- By C.R. Parker, 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Museum of Mississippi History, Jackson,
MS
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- John Boswell was born in Virginia and moved to Athens,
Georgia in the 1830s. , There,he met and married Ms. Amanda Simms. The
Boswells later moved to Columbus, where Mr. Boswell practiced medicine
until the outbreak of the Civil War. These portraits were painted during
the couples's stay in Columbus. They moved to Mississippi afterwards, where
they lived the remainder of their lives.
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- Hines Holt 1838
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. John Holt, Jr.
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- Mrs. Hines Holt 1838
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of Finn Holt Fountain
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- Hines Holt was one of the most well-known political figures
in early Columbus. Holt served as a member of Congress, a state senator,
and member of the Confederate Congress, as well as a Colonel in the Confederate
Army during the Civil War. Holt is also remembered in Columbus history
for his delivery of the welcome address for noted political figure Henry
Clay when he visited the city in 1844. He married Sarah Ann Charlotte Perry
in Columbus in 1838. He died in 1865, while serving as a delegate to the
state constitutional convention in Milledgeville.
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- Louis Mouton ca. 1830s
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Anonymous loan
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- Mrs. Louis Mouton ca. 1830s
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Anonymous loan
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- These paintings of two citizens of New Orleans help to
illustrate Parker's style and the reasons his work is often linked with
the "headless body" theory. The subjects are shown in essentially
the same location on the canvas as many of Parker's other subjects, and
details of their clothing are startlingly similar to other examples of
his work.
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- Reproduction of Frederick ca. 1830s
- By C.R. Parker 1799-1849
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Natchez Pilgrimage Garden Club, Natchez,
MS
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- This portrait features s a slave of a Natchez, Mississippi
family. It was very rare for slaves to have their portraits painted during
Parker's era. The, fact that this one survives may indicate the family
held him in unusually high esteem. Parker spent several seasons in Natchez,
Mississippi, north of New Orleans on the Mississippi River, painting for
the many wealthy families in the area.
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- The "Headless Body" Theory
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- One of the most famous legends associated with itinerant
artists is the "headless body" theory. According to this theory,
artists would arrive in a city with several canvases on which were painted
bodies, with only the head of the sitter to be completed. This technique
would have saved valuable time, and allowed the artists to maximize the
number of portraits they could produce.
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- Skeptics list several reasons why this theory may be
false, however. They point out that scale and proportion are relatively
difficult to achieve this way, and the different drying times of the paints
should have left clues that the portraits were created in two stages. In
addition, no evidence exists to support the theory, either in the comments
of sitters or through the discovery of uncompleted "headless"
portraits. The theory is sustained, however, by the remarkable similarities
in the paintings and the knowledge that the technique would have allowed
artists to create paintings, and thus profits, more quickly.
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- Traveling Artists and Their Techniques
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- Most itinerants artists were well-known, established
painters. Their portraits are usually good representations of the appearance
of their subjects and excellent indicators of popular tastes at the time
they were created. In general, the most esteemed portrait painters during
the Antebellum period were those whose work was seen as most realistic.
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- The majority of itinerants artists who worked in the
South made their way to towns like Columbus from larger cities, such as
New Orleans and New York. Staying for short periods of time, they lived
with acquaintances while in town. Itinerants artists commonly rented studio
space and advertised their services in local papers once they arrived.
In addition to their painting supplies, many brought an assortment of other
items such as outfits, jewelry, and even furniture to be featured in their
paintings.
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- Reproduction of The Itinerant Artist
- Charles Bird King
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the New York State Historical Association,
Cooperstown
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- Columbus During the Era of Itinerants Artists
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- In the 1830s, Columbus was a new and rapidly growing
city. By the time of C.R. Parker's arrival a decade after its founding,
the city boasted a population of over 4,000. One of of the most industrialized
Southern towns of its size, Columbus featured several industries that relied
on Chattahoochee River water power. Because it was the head of navigation
on the river, it occupied a strategic position in a regional trading network
tied to world markets through the port of Apalachicola.
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- Among its population, Columbus included many businessmen,
planters and politicians who had both an appreciation of the arts and the
money to purchase portraits. The artists who visited the city in its first
decades of existence, including Henry B. Matterson, J.H. Mifflin, Edward
Troye, Edward Mooney, John W. Jarvis, George Cooke, John Maier and Thomas
Wightman, were greeted by an interested and receptive clientele.
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- Plan of the City of Columbus, Georgia, as surveyed by
Edward Lloyd Thomas, 1828
- Courtesy of the Historic Columbus Foundation
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- These houses were typical of the type of homes occupied
by Columbus' upper class during the height of itinerant activity in the
town.
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- This postcard shows St. Elmo, constructed in the 1830s
by one of Columbus' wealthy citizens, circa. 1910.
- Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H.
Wayne Patterson Fund 2006.12
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- 13 Seventh Street in Columbus, constructed in 1835
- Courtesy of the Historic Columbus Foundation
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- Second Columbus Courthouse, constructed 1838-1840
- Courtesy of the Columbus State University Archives
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- First Trinity Episcopal Church, completed in 1837
- Courtesy of Columbus State University Archives
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- Edward L. Mooney
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- Artist Edward Ludlow Mooney, visited Columbus in 1847.
A native of New York, Mooney studied at the New York Academy of Design
and worked as a sign painter before becoming a student of the famous artist
Henry Inman. He first gained national attention for his copies of Inman's
famous portrait of President Martin Van Buren. He later became the first
recipient of the National Academy of Design's gold medal. He was best known
for his portraits of some of the most famous men of his day, including
Oliver H. Perry and William H. Seward. Mooney worked primarily in New York
City, but spent many winters in the south painting leading members of society
in several Southern cities.
- "Mr. Mooney has taken rooms over Messrs. Malone
and Hudson's Store, and is prepared to execute all orders in the line of
his profession. Specimens may be seen at his rooms."
-- Columbus Enquirer, November 16, 1847
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- John A. Urquhart 1847
- By Edward L. Mooney 1813-1887
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Estate of Sara D. Spencer
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- Mary Jane Shorter Urquhart 1847
- By Edward L. Mooney 1813-1887
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the Estate of Sara D. Spencer
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- As a young man physician John A. Urquhart moved to Columbus
from Augusta, Georgia. He was the first president of the Columbus Temperance
Society. He is most well known in local history for serving as the first
captain of the Columbus Guards during the Creek War of 1836. He married
Mary Jane Shorter in 1837. The daughter of Alabama Governor John Gill Shorter,
Mrs. Urquhart was a leading figure in the Ladies' Soldier's Friend Society
during the Civil War.
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- Reproduction of John L. Mustian 1847
- By Edward L. Mooney 1813-1887
- Oil on canvas
- Gift of Miss Georgia Wilkins 1959.12
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- Reproduction of Julia Frances Mustian 1847
- By Edward L. Mooney 1813-1887
- Oil on canvas
- Gift of Miss Georgia Wilkins 1959.14
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- On display in the Columbus Museum's History Gallery
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- John L. Mustian was a stage line operator and prominent
railroad developer in Georgia and Alabama. In 1845, he was elected to the
Georgia Legislature as a Whig representative from Muscogee County. He is
best remembered, however, for his role in developing Warm Springs, Georgia,
into a spa and resort which in its early years was frequented by many members
of the Columbus elite. Mustian built the first hotel for visitors to the
natural springs, which were famous for their soothing and healing qualities.
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- Julia Frances Mustian survived both her daughter and
granddaughter, and raised her great granddaughter Georgia Mustian Wilkins.
Georgia Wilkins donated much of the family's land for the establishment
of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis at Warm Springs, and
became a good friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor.
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- Reproduction of John Fontaine 1847
- By Edward L. Mooney 1813-1887
- Oil on canvas
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Jackson and CB&T 1982.50
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- Reproduction of Mary Ann Stewart Fontaine 1847
- By Edward L. Mooney 1813-1887
- Oil on canvas
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry C. Jackson and CB&T 1982.51
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- On display in the Columbus Museum's Chattahoochee
Legacy Gallery
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- John Fontaine was the first elected mayor of Columbus.
Under his leadership, the city began to actively promote industrial development
along its riverfront, beginning a trend that would eventually make it one
of the leading industrial centers in the South. A wealthy steamboat owner
and cotton merchant, he was one of Columbus' foremost businessmen both
before and after his service as mayor. Little is known about the life of
his wife, Mary Ann Stewart Fontaine, outside of the fact that she was a
prominent member of early Columbus society.
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- Edward Troye
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- One of the most well- known painters to visit Columbus
in the Antebellum period was Edward Troye. Born in Switzerland and raised
in London, Troye came from an accomplished family with deep appreciation
for the arts. Troye studied art in England and worked in the West Indies
before coming to America as a magazine illustrator. He painted a variety
of subjects over the course of his career, but became especially known
in his day as the leading painter of horses of his day. He is believed
to have painted over 350 horses in his lifetime, and received commissions
from racehorse owners all across the South. He visited this area as early
as 1836, where he painted Indian Agent John Crowell's famous racehorse,
John Bascombe.
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- "Did you ever see a likeness that looked more like
a man than he did like himself? Step in at No. 18, Oglethorpe House, and
take a look at some ... Mr. Troye has suited his charges to the hardness
of the times, and deserves the patronage of those who wish a perfect likeness.
Call and see him."
-- Columbus Enquirer, February 7, 1844
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- Reproduction of John Bascombe 1844
- By Edward Troye 1808-1874
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery, Whitney Collections
of Sporting Art, given in memory of Harry Payne Whitney, B.A. 1894, and
Payne Whitney, B.A. 1898, by Francis P. Garvan, B.A. 1897, M.A. (Hon.)
1922
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- One of the most celebrated racehorses in American history,
John Bascombe achieved fame in 1835 and 1836 by winning three races
against well-known competition. He defeated Volney in Columbus,
General Wade Hampton's Argyle in Augusta, and Post Boy, considered
at the time to be the best racehorse in the country, in New York. Making
his feat all the more memorable, John Bascombe walked the entire
way to and from Union Course in Long Island for the final race.
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- Reproduction of Sir Henry ca. 1840s
- By Edward Troye 1808-1874
- Oil on canvas
- Courtesy of the New York Historical Society, Cooperstown,
New York 1909.5
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- These prints illustrates the type of work for which Troye
was celebrated in 19th century America. Easily the most famous of the itinerant
artists to visit Columbus during the Antebellum era, he was especially
known as a painter of horses. A horse painted by him was ensured of becoming
known far beyond its home region.
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- The Legacy of Itinerants Artists
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- The age of itinerant artists in Columbus was a brief
but significant one. Although the new technology of photography had greatly
decreased demand for their services by the early 1850s, itinerant artist's
work remains an important part of the historical record. Their portraits
are often the only known likenesses of their subjects, and are products
of some of the most talented artists of the Antebellum period. Just as
importantly, their work has preserved for us a moment in Columbus' history
through which we can better understand some of the people who helped transform
the city from a small frontier settlement to a thriving urban center within
the course of two decades.
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