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. 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, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

in 1829 and was an instructor at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

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

United States Capitol rotunda The United States Capitol building features a central rotunda below the Capitol dome. Built between 1818 and 1824, the rotunda has been described as the Capitol's "symbolic and physical heart". The rotunda is connected by corridors leading so ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

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 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 ...

. 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 (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, and other Italian masters of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. 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 (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

.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, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. 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 in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

and Seth Eastman. He also developed a special relationship with

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

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

Children

Weir was married twice and had 16 children. Son John Ferguson Weir (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 university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Art School in 1868. Son Julian Alden Weir (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 in 1877, and he became a member of the National Academy of Design (1886) and of the Ten American Painters, New York. Daughter Emma Weir married

Thomas Lincoln Casey Sr. Thomas Lincoln Casey Sr. (May 10, 1831 – March 25, 1896) was an American military and civil engineer of the late 19th century. He served as Chief of Engineers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers and oversaw the completion of the Wash ...

, 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, a developer of

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

, and the second New York City Fire Commissioner. His granddaughter was the educator and artist Irene Weir.

Works

Weir was considered part of the Hudson River School of American art. One of his best known paintings is ''The Embarkation of the Pilgrims'' which hangs in the

. He was commissioned by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

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. Exhibits at the

frequently included Weir's paintings – seventeen in 1832 alone. Many were also

engraved Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an inta ...

and published in '' The Token and Atlantic Souvenir'' annual gift book, reaching a wider audience. Among those are ''Greek Lovers'' (1830), ''Bourbon's Last March'' (1835), ''Sunset on the Hudson'' (1850), and ''The Spy'' (1836), the last of which being inspired by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonial and indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

's 1821 novel of the same name.

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), in the collection of the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; 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 one of the world's lar ...

* ''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) * ''Net Mending on Nantucket'' (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'', published in '' The Token and Atlantic Souvenir'' (1835) * ''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 Image:JamesMonroebyWeir.jpg,

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American Founding Father of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. He was the last Founding Father to serve as presiden ...

, (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 Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

Image:John Eaton.jpg, John Eaton

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