Person Record
Metadata
Name |
King, Charles Bird, 1785-1862 |
Notes |
Charles Bird King (1785-1862) was born in Newport, first studied art under Edward Savage in New York City 1805, then made his way to England where he studied for seven years under Benjamin West and where he began a long and close friendship with Sully. He returned to America and spent several years in Philadelphia and Baltimore before settling in Washington, where he filled his studio and gallery with portraits of political and other celebrities of the day. Charles Bird King always summered in Newport (where he had a house/studio on Clarke St.), and showed his love of his native town by, in part, the donation of hundreds of paintings and several thousand dollars to the Redwood Library. He died in Washngton, D. C., 18 March 1862. He never married. Charles Bird King was considered an amiable and exemplary character that won him many friends. As for his painting: ".... it is his industry in painting that has served him instead of genius, in which nature has stinted him....". (Dunlap 28) However, during his most productive years, 1815-35, he created estimable works in all fields of painting, works that showed that his modest genius lay in several factors besides industry: "....technical excellence, close but creative adherence to tradition, and in the forceful power of his wit, which ranged from the quaint to the sardonic". (Cosentino 55) "Outside of the Peales, the most significant still-life artist of the early 19th century in America was Charles Bird King of Newport.... Less than half a dozen still lifes by him are known, but those that do exist constitute some of the most individual works in the history of American art". (Gerdts 13) |
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Record Type: Portraits
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