Richard Morrell Staigg (7 September 1817

Leeds, England Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

- 11 October 1881

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

) or R.M. Staigg was a

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

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 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, in the 19th century.

Biography

When he was about thirteen years of age he was placed in an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

's office, and he subsequently received a few weeks' instruction in portrait painting. In 1831 he came to the United States with his father, and four years later he settled with the family in Newport. In his artistic efforts he met with encouragement and advice from

Washington Allston Washington Allston (November 5, 1779 – July 9, 1843) was an American painter and poet, born in Waccamaw Parish, South Carolina. Allston pioneered America's Romantic movement of landscape painting. He was well known during his lifetime for ...

, and soon devoted himself entirely to miniature painting. In Boston he kept a studio in Amory Hall.Boston Almanac. 1851 He belonged to the Boston Artists' Association. He was a regular exhibitor at 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, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, of which he was elected an associate in 1856, and an academician in 1861. He visited Europe 1867–1869, and again 1872–1874. The last twenty years of his life were devoted to painting life-size portraits in oil, as well as genre pieces and landscapes.

Works

Among his portraits are those of Washington Allston,

Edward Everett Edward Everett (April 11, 1794 – January 15, 1865) was an American politician, Unitarian pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator from Massachusetts. Everett, as a Whig, served as U.S. representative, U.S. senator, the 15th governor of Mas ...

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

, William H. Prescott, and others. Some of his miniatures were exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, and received warm praise. Among his works in oil are portraits of himself, of

Russell Sturgis Russell Sturgis (; October 16, 1836 – February 11, 1909) was an American architect and art critic of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1870. Sturgis was born in Baltimore Count ...

and George H. Calvert, and the "Crossing Sweeper," "The Sailor's Grave" (1862), and "Cat's Cradle" (1863).

Notes

References

External links

* WorldCat
Staigg, Richard Morrell 1817-1881
* http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Inventories/Portraits/52.htm 1817 births 1881 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters English emigrants to the United States 19th century in Boston Painters from Boston 19th-century American male artists National Academy of Design associates {{US-painter-1810s-stub