The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art [Hardcover]

Hugh Howard (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Patron of the arts is not the first association one makes with George Washington, but Howard elegantly makes the case that the founder of the nation also helped establish Americas art. Though architecture, not painting, was Washingtons preferred art, Americas first prominent artists painted him: Charles Willson Peale, John Trumbull, Benjamin West and Gilbert Stuart, the most distinguished American painter of the period. Washington, who Howard argues was easier to see and admire than to understand, is subtly revealed in a narrative that is precisely paced and elegantly composed. Howard (Dr. Kimball and Mr. Jefferson) illuminates Washington as an eminent patron of emerging American artists, who fostered nothing less than the birth of American painting. He also insightfully documents how Washingtons evolving public image and often inscrutable character were diversely revealed by some of the most eminent visual artists of the 18th century, many of whose images propelled Washingtons iconic status. This perspective will interest scholars of Washington and of early American art, as well as general readers seeking a refreshing angle on Washington and art in America. 8 pages of color photos. (Feb.)
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Review

“[A] lively narrative…A novel, ingeniously executed approach to the inspiring man whose dollar-bill likeness is arguably the most reproduced painted image in history.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Intricate and engaging…Howard’s story is…not only about the birth of American painting, but—through the creation of its first, most long-lasting, and most transcendent human icon—about the invention of America itself.”—The American Scholar

"Patron of the arts is not the first association one makes with George Washington, but Howard elegantly makes the case that the founder of the nation also helped establish America’s art. Though architecture, not painting, was Washington’s preferred art, America’s first prominent artists painted him: Charles Willson Peale, John Trumbull, Benjamin West and Gilbert Stuart, the most distinguished American painter of the period. Washington, who Howard argues was “easier to see and admire than to understand,” is subtly revealed in a narrative that is precisely paced and elegantly composed."—Publishers Weekly

"In the delightful The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art, Hugh Howard develops the idea of Washington as a patron of the arts and examines how art and the painting of portraits developed in the United States."—Book Page

 

“Hugh Howard's highly original work offers a completely new perspective on the Father of our Country, examining his life through the eyes of six of the 28 artists for whom he sat, showing how his increasing fame accelerated the development of American painting, and offering insight into how history and myth are made by images…History is a story, a myth that we are told and that we tell one another, that defines our existence as a people and a nation. What Hugh Howard so deftly tells in this important book is how the arts of painting and sculpture came to take an increasingly central part in our understanding of the first decades of the United States. He also alters our understanding of that amazing man, George Washington”—Dallas Morning News

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Press; 1 edition (February 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596912448
• ISBN-13: 978-1596912441
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #82,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #85 in	Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Themes
  #48 in	Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Regional > United States

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars George Washington and The Founding Fathers of American Art, August 29, 2009

By	G. Anderson (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art (Hardcover)

Hugh Howard's The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art brings to life not only America's most inaccessible founding father but also the men for whom he sat as they created his "likeness." Although I've taught and talked about some of these works for many years, the artists have only been relative stick figures for me. Now Hugh Howard breathes life into the young dandy John Singleton Copley, the hard-working Charles Willson Peale, the hard-living aristocrat Jonathon Trumbull, and the raffish Gilbert Stuart.

Some books of history are important works of research but dreadfully dull to actually read. Not this one. These intertwined stories of the founding fathers of the American nation and the founding fathers of American art comprise a fascinating, decades-long drama. The Painter's Chair will be a contender when the awards are presented for best history book of 2009.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Father of His Country's Painters, March 3, 2009

By	Jack McLaughlin - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art (Hardcover)

In "Dr. Kimball and Mr. Jefferson," Hugh Howard included a history of early American architecture in tracing the career of architectural historian Fiske Kimball. Now, in his latest book, "The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art," he has accomplished a similar tour de force for American painting.

His argument is simple: the image of Washington was so desired by the American public that the first president's portraiture encouraged early American painters to establish an art culture that was previously non-existent. Washington sat in "the painter's chair" for Charles Wilson Peale, his son Rembrandt, John Trumbull, and perhaps most importantly, Gilbert Stuart, whose portrait is on the one-dollar bill.

Washington hated to sit for his portrait, but he obliged a series of painters by posing for them, and in doing so, established portraiture, and subsequently landscape painting, as an art form to be admired and encouraged in the newly-created nation. In this well-researched account, Howard's narrative of the lives and careers of the nation's first painters is a short history of early American portraiture, and of the popularity of Washington to his countrymen.

As is true of Howard's earlier works, this is a gracefully-written, highly-readable book, an engaging feast for anyone interested in American history or American art.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Painter's Chair-American history, portraiture, and George Washington, January 30, 2010

By	Jeannette (southeastern PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art (Hardcover)

Hugh Howard has manages to create a complete reading pleasure in "The Painter's Chair." Readers simultaneously learn about American revolutionary history (many of the early American portrait painters were military men who served under Washington), the genesis and evolution of American portrait painting in America, and the complex life of George Washington (and how very often he patiently sat for these artists!)

Howard's book is easily readable, quietly engaging, and you finish feeling immense affection and gratitude for our founding fathers, as well as the brave soldiers/artists who captured their personalities on canvas.

The Painter's Chair is a perfect blend of art, intrigue, and American history.