William Henry Powell

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William Henry Powell , photograph by Jesse Harrison Whitehurst (1819–1875), around 1850

George William Henry Powell (born February 14, 1823 in New York City , † October 6, 1879 there ) was an American history and portrait painter .

Life

Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto AD 1541 (The discovery of the Mississippi by Hernando de Soto in 1541) , 1847-1853

Powell, New York by birth, grew up in Cincinnati , Ohio , from the age of seven . In 1837 he returned to New York City and studied painting with Henry Inman . In 1844 he went on a study trip to France and Italy ( Florence and Rome ). A study visit to Düsseldorf is also documented. Powell was a member of the National Academy of Design .

In 1847 he was commissioned by the Congress of the United States to furnish the last free space for the rotunda of the Capitol with a history painting. He chose the motif Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto AD 1541 (The discovery of the Mississippi by Hernando de Soto in 1541) , which was a great success when completed in 1853 and a follow-up order from the State of Ohio for its State House led. He carried out this commissioned work in the form of the history painting Perry's Victory on Lake Erie (The victory of Oliver Hazard Perry on Lake Erie) from 1857 to 1865 in his New York studio, clearly based on Emanuel Leutzes painting Washington Crossing the Delaware , which was painted in New York in 1851 and 1853 York City was on display. On March 2, 1865, on the recommendation of the United States Congress Joint Committee on the Library, this picture in turn resulted in a follow-up commission from Congress to paint a picture for the stairwell of the Senate Wing of the Capitol that "illustrates a victory at sea". So by 1873 - as an enlarged version of the picture in the State House of Ohio - the painting Battle of Lake Erie ( The Battle of Lake Erie ) was created .

Works (selection)

Battle of Lake Erie ( The Battle of Lake Erie ) , 1865-1873

literature

  • Henry T. Tuckerman: Book of the Artists: American Artist Life Comprising Biographical and Critical Sketches of American Artists . James F. Carr, New York 1867 (reprinted 1966), pp. 458 f.
  • William Henry Powell . In: Andrew Oliver: Portraits of John Quincy Adams and His Wife . The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge / Massachusetts 1970, p. 273 ( Google Books )
  • Michael J. Devine: The Historical Paintings of William Henry Powell . In: Ohio History Journal , Vol. 89, No. 1 (1980), pp. 65-77
  • William Henry Powell . In: David Bernard Dearinger (Ed.): Paintings and Sculpture in the National Academy of Design . Volume I (1826–1925), Hudson Hills Press, New York and Manchester, 2004, p. 449 ( Google Books )

Web links

Commons : William Henry Powell  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Richard Muther : History of painting in the XIX. Century . Third volume, G. Hirth's Kunstverlag, Munich 1894, p. 370 (reprint: Salzwasser Verlag, Paderborn, Google Books )
  2. ↑ Bettina Baumgärtel , Sabine Schroyen, Lydia Immerheiser, Sabine Teichgröb: Directory of foreign artists. Nationality, residence and studies in Düsseldorf . In: Bettina Baumgärtel (Hrsg.): The Düsseldorf School of Painting and its international impact 1819–1918 . Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-86568-702-9 , Volume 1, p. 438
  3. ↑ The Battle of Lake Erie . In: Catalog of Fine Art , p. 34 ff. ( PDF )
  4. ^ Robert Anderson , website in the portal www1.nyc.gov , accessed on March 12, 2017
  5. ↑ Battle of Lake Erie , website in the portal senate.gov , accessed on March 12, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Powell, William Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Powell, George William Henry (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American history and portrait painter
DATE OF BIRTH February 14, 1823
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 1879
Place of death New York City