Figure 1.--Tompkins Matteson painted this work, "Caught in the Act", during the 1860s.
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Figure 1.--Tompkins Matteson painted this work, "Caught in the Act", during the 1860s. |
Tompkins Matteson is one of those painters whose paintings are much more famous than the painter. He is an interesting painter noted for his genre paintings, providing many fascinating scenes of mid-century American life when the camera was still largely restricted to the photographic studio. He is a noted painter who worked in upstate New York during the 1850s. He is known for both his genre and historical subjects as well as some excellent portraits. His best known paintings are probably his historical works, "The Spirit of '76" and "Washingington's Farewell to His Officers". Painted in 1855, it was executed at the beginning of what has come to be termed the Colonial Revival in America. Paintings like this helped to remind people of their country's heroic past. Tompkins genre work also helped to nostalgically remind Americans embarked on a new industrial future of their rural roots. Especially his genre pictures provide a good glimpse of ordinary American children, how they dressed and behaved.
Tompkins Matteson was born in Peterboro, Madison County, upstate New York in 1813. At the time it was a very rural area.
No information available.
Matteson is an interesting painter noted for his genre paintings, providing many fascinating scenes of mid-century American life when the camera was still largely restricted to the photographic studio. He is a noted painter who worked in upstate New York. Matteson's most prolific period appears to have been the late 1840s through the 1860s. He is known for both his rural genre and historical subjects as well as some excellent portraits. His best known paintings are probably his historical works, "The Spirit of '76" and "Washingington's Farewell to His Officers". "The Spirit of '76" has to be one of the most recognizable American paintings. Only a handful of Americans, however, could name the painter. Another major work is "Washington's Farewell to His Officers" painted in 1855. It was executed at the beginning of what has come to be termed the Colonial Revival in America. Paintings like this helped to remind people of their country's heroic past. Tompkins genre work also helped to nostalgically remind Americans embarked on a new industrial future of their rural roots.
Especially his genre pictures provide a good glimpse of ordinary American children, how they dressed and behaved. HBC is unsure just how to evaluate the boys' clothing depicted in Matteson's paintings. We believe that it is a fairly accurate depiction of the clothing he remembered from his boyhood. Many of the clothes appear to be from the early and mid 19th century despite the fact that he lived unto the 1880s. I do not know of any portraits of bots from wealthy families like Sargent--but HBC is not familiar with all of his portraits.
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