William Sidney Mount
| William Sidney Mount | |
|---|---|
 Daguerreotype photograph by Mathew B. Brady, circa 1855. | |
| Born |
November 26, 1807 Setauket, New York |
| Died |
November 19, 1868 (aged 60) Setauket, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Genre, landscape, and portrait painting |
William Sidney Mount (November 26, 1807 – November 19, 1868) was an American painter best known for his genre paintings, although he also painted landscapes and portraits. He was a contemporary of the Hudson River School.
Biography
William Mount was born in Setauket, Long Island, New York, on November 26, 1807 to Thomas Shepard Mount and his wife, Julia Ann Hawkins. He trained at the National Academy of Design in New York City, and in 1832 was made a full Academician. He died in Setauket on November 19, 1868.[1]
Although he started as a history painter, Mount moved to depicting scenes from everyday life. Two of his more famous paintings are Eel Spearing at Setauket (1845, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown) and Bargaining for a Horse (1835, New-York Historical Society, New York City).
The largest collection of his works is located in the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages.[2]
Musical legacy
In addition to his painting, William Sidney Mount was a respected player and composer of the fiddle. He patented his own type of fiddle, the Cradle of Harmony, which had a curved hollow back that produced a sound louder than a standard violin.
William Sidney Mount House and other monuments
His home and studio, the William Sidney Mount House, is a National Historic Landmark. One of the local elementary schools in The Three Village Central School District is named in his honor, as is PS 174 elementary school in Rego Park, Queens.[3] A residential building is named after him on the Stony Brook University campus.
Family
His brother, Shepard Alonzo Mount (1804–1868), also an artist, best known as a portrait painter, became a National Academician in 1842.[1]
Footnotes
- 1 2 Chisholm 1911.
- ↑ http://www.longislandmuseum.org/about.asp
- ↑ "Q174". nyc.gov. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mount, William Sidney". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Further reading
- Christopher J. Smith, The Creolization of American Culture: William Sidney Mount and the Roots of Blackface Minstrelsy. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2013.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Sidney Mount. |
- Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages.
- William Sidney Mount and His Circle, exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art fully available online as PDF
The Painter's Triumph, 1838
The Card Players, oil on panel, 1847–1850. Reynolda House Museum of American Art_-_William_Sidney_Mount_-_overall.jpg)
Caught Napping- (Boys Caught Napping in a Field) - Brooklyn Museum
The Bone Player, 1856
The Power of Music, 1847
Dancing on the Barn Floor, 1831
Cactus in Blossom, 1857
Bar-room scene, 1835
Portrait of Laertes Chapin, 1833
The Trap Sprung, 1844
Portrait of Maria Seabury,1846
At the Well, 1848
Winding Up, 1836
The Banjo Player, 1856- The Card Players
_by_William_Sidney_Mount%2C_1837.JPG)
The Raffle, 1837
Bargaining for a horse, 1835