Painter, born in North Kingston, Rhode Island, USA. Showing an early talent for drawing, he followed the Scottish painter Cosmos Alexander to Edinburgh (1772). Returning to Rhode Island (1773), he was unable to advance with his painting, so he went to London (1775), where he studied (177582) with Benjamin West. His Portrait of a Gentleman Skating (1782) gained such praise that he was soon busy painting portraits of wealthy British. Extravagant and careless in his spending habits, he fled London (1787) to avoid debtors' prison. In Dublin, Ireland, he repeated the pattern of successful portraitist, but also a debtor. He returned to America (1793), settling in Philadelphia, where he painted two life portraits of George Washington, the third of which, the famous unfinished Athanaeum Head, was painted in nearby Germantown, PA (1796). He moved his studio to Washington, DC (18035), then settled permanently in Boston. Known for his wit and knowledgeable talk, but also for his touchiness and taking snuff, his reputation as a portraitist remains as high as ever, especially for his luminous colouring effects.
Gilbert Charles Stuart (born Stewart) (December 3, 1755 - July 9, 1828) was an American painter.
Born in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, he grew up in Newport and was tutored by Cosmo Alexander, a Scottish painter. Stuart moved to Scotland with Alexander in 1771 to finish his studies.
Stuart's prospects as a portraitist were jeopardized by the onset of the American Revolution and its social disruptions. Following the example set by John Singleton Copley, Stuart departed for England in 1775. The relationship was a beneficial one, with Stuart exhibiting at the Royal Academy as early as 1777.
By 1782 Stuart had met with success, largely due to acclaim for "The Skater," a portrait of William Grant. Despite his many commissions, however, Stuart was habitually neglectful of finances and was in danger of being sent to debtors' prison.
Stuart returned to the United States in 1793, settling briefly in New York City. He painted George Washington in a series of iconic portraits, each of them leading in turn to a demand for copies and keeping Stuart busy and highly paid for years.
In 1803 Stuart opened a studio in Washington, D. But I should like to sit to Stuart from the first of January to the last of December, for he lets me do just what I please, and keeps me constantly amused by his conversation." Stuart worked without the aid of sketches, beginning directly upon the canvas.
He had moved to Boston in 1805, continuing in critical acclaim and financial troubles. Stuart died in Boston at the age of 72 and is buried there in the Old South Burial Ground.
At present there is some debate as to the identity of the sitter for one of Stuart's unfinished portraits. In 1878 "John Bill Ricketts, the Circus Rider" was identified by George Washington Riggs, also known as "The President's Banker" and trustee for the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., as "Breschard, the Circus Rider" and as ""Breschard" was publicly displayed at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in 1880. In 1970 the National Gallery of Art changed the identification from "Breschard" " to "Ricketts" and to this day the NGA has failed to explain the reason for this identity change. National Gallery of Art
J.E. Stuart, a famous California artist of the later 19th century, is the grandson of Gilbert Stuart.
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