Benjamin Trott - Anne Hume Shippen - 1999

Benjamin Trott - John Cleves Short - 1999

Benjamin Trott (c.1770, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

– 27 November 1843, in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

) was an American painter who specialized in

portrait miniatures A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

Biography

His original source of artistic training is unknown, and he was probably self-taught. He seems to have begun his career as a miniaturist in 1791.

William Dunlap William Dunlap (February 19, 1766 – September 28, 1839) was a pioneer of American theater. He was a producer, playwright, and actor, as well as a historian. He managed two of New York City's earliest and most prominent theaters, the John Str ...

, ''History of the rise and progress of the arts of design in the United States'', Scott, 183
Online
@ Google Books His earliest known works are oil portraits of the residents of Nottoway and Amelia Counties in Virginia; possibly painted in collaboration with William Lovett (1773-1801).Judith H. Bonner and Estill Curtis Pennington, ''The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Art and Architecture'', UNC Press Books, 2013
Online
@ Google Books In 1793, he was offered advice and assistance by

Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Stuart ( Stewart; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-k ...

, following the latter's return from Ireland. Of greater influence, however, were the miniatures of Walter Robertson (1750-1802) an Irish painter who had come to America with Stuart. In 1795, Trott accompanied (or followed) Stuart when he went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, which served as his headquarters for many years; interrupted only by a painting trip to

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. After 1808, he frequently shared a home with

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was an English-American portrait painter. He was born in England, became a naturalized American citizen in 1809, and lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including in the Thomas Sull ...

, who may have introduced him to the merchant, Benjamin Chew Wilcocks (1776-1845), a major patron. The two eventually had a falling out during a dispute between local artists and the

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...

, where Trott held several major exhibitions. He also taught drawing at the associated Society of Artists. Citing the weather, he moved to South Carolina in 1819. His stay was brief, however, and he returned to Philadelphia, where he got married. He seemed to be ashamed of his choice for a wife, as the marriage was never publicly announced. It may have failed. He then relocated to Newark, where he lived in seclusion. Later, he moved to New York, where he attempted to paint full-scale portraits, with little success. In 1833, he returned to Boston, for a time. He moved to Baltimore around 1840. He was apparently obsessed with the idea that some artists had a secret chemical process for applying pigments to ivory and, throughout his life, spent many hours conducting alchemical experiments. None of his later oils are known to exist.

References

External links

More works by Trott
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Trott, Benjamin 1770s births 1843 deaths 19th-century American painters American portrait miniaturists Painters from Boston American male painters 19th-century American male artists

Biography

References

Further reading

External links