Robert Walter Weir (June 18, 1803 – May 1, 1889) was an American artist and educator and is considered a painter of the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area ...

. Weir was elected to the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the ...

in 1829 and was an instructor at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. His best-known work is '' Embarkation of the Pilgrims'' in the

United States Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...

at Washington, D.C. More than 450 of his works are known, and he created many unsigned paintings that may never be attributed to him.

Life and career

Weir Robert Walter The Entrance To A Wood

Weir was born to Robert and Mary Katherine Brinckley (or Brinkley) Weir on June 18, 1803 in New York City. His father worked at mercantile and shipping jobs. His mother Mary is remembered for composing the song "The Lord of the Castle." Robert never graduated from college, and he left a job as a mercantile clerk to pursue painting in 1821 at age 18. He studied art in New York City from 1822 to 1824, teaching himself drawing and painting before departing to study in Italy in 1824. He remained in Florence from 1824 to 1825, then in Rome from 1825 to 1827, during which time he studied the works of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual ...

, and other Italian masters of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

. He returned to New York in 1827 to care for a sick friend and remained there until 1834, becoming an integral part of its artistic community. He was appointed as Teacher of Drawing (1834–1846) then Professor of Drawing (1846–1876) at the

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

.Ahrens, p. 4. Weir was the fifth artist to hold the position of art instructor at the academy. During his 42 years (1834–1876) in this post, he instructed many of the future commanders of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. Among his notable students at West Point were

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

and

Seth Eastman Seth Eastman (January 24, 1808– August 31, 1875) was an artist and West Point graduate who served in the US Army, first as a mapmaker and illustrator. He had two tours at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory; during the second, extended tour he ...

. He also developed a special relationship with

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...

. He died in New York City on May 1, 1889.

Children

Weir was married twice and had 16 children. Son

John Ferguson Weir John Ferguson Weir (1841–1926) was an American painter, sculptor, writer, and educator. He was a son of painter Robert Walter Weir, long-time professor of drawing at the Military Academy at West Point. His younger brother, J. Alden Weir, also ...

(born 1841) was a painter and sculptor who became a Member of the National Academy of Design in 1866, and was made director of the

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

Art School in 1868. Son

Julian Alden Weir Julian Alden Weir (August 30, 1852 – December 8, 1919) was an American impressionist painter and member of the Cos Cob Art Colony near Greenwich, Connecticut. Weir was also one of the founding members of "The Ten", a loosely allied group of ...

(born 1852) studied under his father and under J.-L. Gérôme and became a distinguished portrait, figure, and landscape painter. He was one of the founders of the

Society of American Artists The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative. The group began meeting in 1874 at the home of ...

in 1877, and he became a member of the National Academy of Design (1886) and of the

Ten American Painters The Ten American Painters (also known as The Ten) was an artists' group formed in 1898 to exhibit their work as a unified group. John Henry Twachtman, J. Alden Weir, and Childe Hassam were the driving forces behind the organization. Dissatisfi ...

, New York. Daughter Emma Weir married Thomas Lincoln Casey Sr., an American army officer and

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

. Daughter Helen Rutgers Weir married

Thomas Sturgis Thomas Sturgis (April 6 or 30, 1846 – February 25, 1914) was a businessman, soldier and financier. He was appointed the second New York City Fire Commissioner by Mayor Seth Low on January 1, 1902 and served in that position until the end of the ...

, a developer of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne metropolitan statistic ...

, and the second

New York City Fire Commissioner The New York City Fire Commissioner is the civilian administrator of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York. There have been 34 commissioners excluding Acting Fire Commissioners, and 38 commission ...

. His granddaughter was the educator and artist Irene Weir.

Works

1833, Weir, Robert Walter, The Greenwich Boat Club

Weir was considered part of the

of American art. One of his best known paintings is ''The Embarkation of the Pilgrims'' which hangs in the

United States Capitol Rotunda The United States Capitol rotunda is the tall central rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda is located below the ...

. He was commissioned by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

in 1837 and the painting was placed in the rotunda in December 1843. His canvases deal principally with historical subjects, though he also did several portraits.

Works

* ''Paul Preaching at Athens'' * Two portraits of Sylvanus Thayer appus, p. 210* ''Embarkation of the Pilgrims at Delft Haven, Holland, July 22, 1620'' * ''Picnic Along the Hudson'' * ''Saint Nicholas'' (1837) (1837), in the collection of the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds ...

. * ''Landing of Hendrik Hudson'' (1842) * ''Amerigo Vespucci'' (1842) * ''A Compositor Setting Type'' (ca. 1844)Untitled, Hawk-Eye (Burlington, Iowa), 13 June 1844 * ''Portrait of Robert E. Lee''. One of only two portraits of Lee painted before the Civil War. * "Microscope" (1849) * ''Evening of the Crucifixion'' (1867) * ''Virgil and Dante crossing the Styx'' (1869) * ''Seascape with Lighthouse,'' 1869. Exhibited at Whitney Museum, New York, 1975, in exhibition entitled "Seascape and the American Imagination" * ''The Portico of the Palace of Octavia, Rome'' (1870) * ''Christ in the Garden'' (1873) * ''Our Lord in the Mount of Olives'' (1877) * ''Indian Falls'' (1878) * ''Titan in his Studio'' * ''Columbus before the Council of Salamanca'' (1884) * ''The Bourbons Last March'' * ''Indian Captive'' * ''Taking the Veil'' * ''The Evening of the Crucifixion'' * ''Portrait of Jared Mansfield'' * ''Portrait of General Winfield Scott'' * ''Portrait of Dennis Hart Mahan'' * ''Il Penseroso''

Portraits

Image:SpencerJohn.jpg,

John Canfield Spencer John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President John Tyler. Early life John Canfield Spencer was born on January 8, 1788, in H ...

Image:JamesMonroebyWeir.jpg,

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

, (after Durand and Stuart) Image:Winfield Scott - National Portrait Gallery.JPG,

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

Image:John Eaton.jpg,

John Eaton John Eaton may refer to: *John Eaton (divine) (born 1575), English divine * John Eaton (pirate) (fl. 1683–1686), English buccaneer *Sir John Craig Eaton (1876–1922), Canadian businessman *John Craig Eaton II (born 1937), Canadian businessman an ...

Other works

File:Robert Walter Weir, Saint Nicholas.jpg, ''Saint Nicholas'', 1837 File:Robert Walter Weir, The Microscope.jpg, ''The Microscope'', 1849 File:Robert Walter Weir, Taking the Veil.jpg, ''Taking the Veil'', 1863 File:Robert Walter Weir, The Hudson River from Hoboken.jpg, ''The Hudson River from Hoboken'', 1878

References

External links

''Art and the empire city: New York, 1825-1861''
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Robert Walter Weir (see index)
Catalogue of oil paintings and water colors by Robert W. Weir
an auction catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF)
Catalogue of oil paintings and water colors by Robert W. Weir
at archive.org, as the MMA one disappeared

retrieved December 14, 2007
Askart.com
io information retrieved December 14, 2007 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Robert Walter 1803 births 1889 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 19th-century painters of historical subjects American landscape painters Hudson River School painters Artists from New Rochelle, New York American portrait painters Painters from New York (state) Artist families Weir family

Life and career

Children

Works

Works

Portraits

Other works

See also

References

External links