John Trumbull

John Trumbull (1756-1843)

John Trumbull, who was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, decided early in life that he wanted to become an artist. He was, however, often sidetracked in achieving his goal. After meeting John Singleton Copley and tutoring himself in the fine arts while attending Harvard College, his progress was interrupted by the Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to George Washington in 1775 and was appointed deputy adjutant-general the following year. In 1780 he went to London and began to study with Benjamin West, but after only a few months he was jailed on charges of treason. After his release in 1781, he returned to Connecticut and worked for several years in his brothers' provisioning business. Returning to London in 1783, Trumbull resumed his studies with West, attended classes at the Royal Academy, and socialized with Copley, Gilbert Stuart, and other expatriate Americans. Although he found he could support himself with portraiture, Trumbull was more interested in producing large paintings of the Revolutionary War, a subject West and Copley had invented and popularized. In 1786 Trumbull began what would become his most famous work, “The Declaration of Independence” (1787-1820; United States Capitol Rotunda). He returned to New York in 1790 and began composing portraits for use in a series of historical paintings. By 1794, however, he abandoned his artistic career once again, becoming secretary to Chief Justice John Jay in London. In 1804 he returned to New York and resumed painting, executing a number of portrait commissions for the city's leading Federalist politicians, including John Jay and Alexander Hamilton (both 1805; Art Commission of the City of New York). After another extended trip to London from 1808 to 1815, he lived in New York, where he became president of the American Academy of the Fine Arts, which he had helped found in 1804. In 1817 he received a commission from Congress to decorate the rotunda of the new United States Capitol with scenes of the Revolutionary War (1817-26). He resigned from the American Academy in 1836 and spent the remaining years of his life writing his memoirs, which were published two years before his death.

Reverend Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright, ca. 1820

Oil on canvas, 29 ¾ x 23 ¾ in. (75.6 x 60.3 cm)

Harriet Russell Stanley Fund (1948.8)

Trumbull executed numerous portraits during his career, yet he always preferred history painting, and it is perhaps because of this lack of enthusiasm that his portraits are rather uneven. He painted a large number of portraits between 1804 and 1808, when he developed the formula of a half-length seated pose, three-quarter profile, and dominant color scheme of reds and blacks. This standard, which he subsequently used for most of his portraits for the remainder of his career, was adopted by the well-known portrait team of Samuel Lovett Waldo and William Jewett, who painted New York’s social and political leaders. Through their works, Trumbull's formula became the recognized New York portrait style in the second quarter of the nineteenth century.(1)

The portrait of the Reverend Wainwright (1792-1854) is exemplary of this formulaic style. Dressed in dark clerical robes and white collar, Wainwright holds a book with a red cover, gilt-edged pages, and gold decoration while gazing to his left. His clothes and accessories are indicative of his profession. Wainwright, who was educated at Harvard, was admitted to the episcopal priesthood in 1817.(2) After serving two years as assistant minister at Trinity Church in New York, he was appointed rector of Grace Church where he served until 1834. Wainwright and Trumbull were close friends. Wainwright was the clergyman at Mrs. Trumbull's funeral in 1824(3) and named his daughter Maria Trumbull in honor of their friendship.(4) A devoted advocate of higher education, he was one of the founders of the University of the City of New York (later New York University) and a trustee of Columbia College and Trinity College. He published a number of sermons, addresses, and books and was elected bishop of the New York diocese in 1852. He died of exhaustion, apparently worn out by ceaseless devotion to his office.

Perhaps because of his close friendship with the sitter, the painting is well executed. The facial features are detailed, and the sitter's ruddy pink cheeks and pale forehead give a lively quality to the portrait despite Wainwright's rather mild expression. According to his biographer, he was of striking appearance and of benevolent countenance. He was known for a generous disposition and a magnanimity of soul; a man who was an appreciating admirer of the fine arts, including music and painting. The historian William H. Prescott attested to Wainwright’s popularity with his congregation: “Never have I known a minister who acquired a wider influence over his people, or who took a stronger hold of their affections.”(5) Trumbull also executed a pendant of Wainwright's wife, Amelia Maria Phelps (1822; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). The couple had married in 1818.

MAS

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Theodore Sizer, ed., “The Autobiography of Colonel John Trumbull, Patriot-Artist”, 1756-1843 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953); Theodore Sizer, “The Works of Colonel John Trumbull: Artist of the American Revolution”, rev. ed. (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1967); Irma B. Jaffe, “John Trumbull: Patriot-Artist of the American Revolution” (Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1975); Helen A. Cooper, “John Trumbull: The Hand and Spirit of a Painter”, exhib. cat. (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1982).