Alfred T. Ordway (March 9, 1821 – November 17, 1897) was an American landscape and portrait painter, and one of the founding fathers of the

Boston Art Club The Boston Art Club, Boston, Massachusetts, serves to help its members, as well as non-members, to access the world of fine art. It currently has more than 250 members. History The Boston Art Club was first conceived in Boston in 1854 with the co ...

Early years

Alfred was born in

Roxbury, Massachusetts Roxbury () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts. Roxbury is a Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality and one of 23 official neighborhoods of Boston used by the city for n ...

to mother Currier, and father Thomas Ordway on March 9, 1821. With his father being the city's clerk, Alfred spent the majority of his childhood in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...

, where he attended the public schools. His family can be traced back to the early 17th century when James Ordway settled in

Dover, New Hampshire Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth largest municipality in the state. It is the county se ...

. Both his parents fought in the Revolutionary War, and his grandfather, Nehemiah Ordway, a physician in

Amesbury, Massachusetts Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the 2020 ...

, was put in charge "to form and equip a company for Bunker Hill." He first studied under a sign painter in Lowell, then portrait artist

George Peter Alexander Healy George Peter Alexander Healy (July 15, 1813 – June 24, 1894) was an American portrait painter. He was one of the most prolific and popular painters of his day, and his sitters included many of the eminent personages of his time. Born in Boston ...

, in Boston. One of his first commissions was to paint portraits of all the presidents to adorn the

Lowell Museum The Lowell Museum, located in Lowell, Massachusetts, was founded by Moses Kimball in 1840, as an art exhibit hall and entertainment venue. History The Lowell Museum was housed on the upper floors of a building on Merrimack Street at the head of Ce ...

, which shortly after he finished the museum burned to the ground.

Career

In 1845, Ordway opened up his studio on

Tremont Row Tremont Row (1830s-1920s) in Boston, Massachusetts, was a short street that flourished in the 19th and early-20th centuries. It was located near the intersection of Court, Tremont, and Cambridge streets, in today's Government Center area. It exi ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, around the same time he and friend,

Benjamin Champney Benjamin Champney (November 20, 1817Champney (1900) – December 11, 1907) was a painter known for his role in White Mountain art of the 19th century. He began his training as a lithographer under celebrated marine artist Fitz Henry Lane at P ...

, founded the

. He also spent the fall up north with Miss Bangs, Benjamin Champney, Richard William Hubbard, and

Sanford Gifford Sanford Robinson Gifford (July 10, 1823 – August 29, 1880) was an American landscape painter and a leading member of the second generation of Hudson River School artists. A highly-regarded practitioner of Luminism, his work was noted for its ...

painting landscapes in the White Mountains of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. He first exhibited his works at the

Boston Athenaeum Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

in 1855, and in 1856 he became Director of Exhibitions of the Boston Athenaeum till 1863, all the while exhibiting his own works each year of his eight-year term. After leaving the Director's position, he began to frequently exhibit his works in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

at 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, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

and the

Brooklyn Art Association Brooklyn () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county i ...

. In 1898, his works were exhibited at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. By 1890, the aging artist would spend each painting season in

North Conway, New Hampshire North Conway is a census-designated place (CDP) and village in eastern Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, North Conway is the second-largest village within the town ...

. He focused his works mainly on

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

landscapes particularly: mountain streams, summer valleys, and mountain peaks with a poetic feel for nature. As he often said, he "tried to paint nature exactly as he saw it." According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

, Alfred Ordway died on November 17, 1897, of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

while visiting a friend in

Melrose Highlands, Massachusetts Melrose Highlands is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Melrose, Massachusetts. Formerly part of neighboring Stoneham, it became part of Melrose in the latter part of the nineteenth century. There were some addresses that had the zip ...

. He was 76.

Notable works

''Fishing on Fairlee Pond, Mount Mansfield, Vermont'' ''Mt. Mansfield, Vermont'' (1870) * ''Fishing on Fairlee Pond,

Mount Mansfield Mount Mansfield is the highest mountain in Vermont with a summit that peaks at above sea level. The summit is located within the town of Underhill, Vermont, Underhill in Chittenden County, Vermont, Chittenden County; the ridgeline, including som ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

'' * ''The Lily Pond'' * ''The country garden'' * ''The Pumpkin Patch''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordway, Alfred 1821 births 1897 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters Artists from Lowell, Massachusetts People from Roxbury, Boston 19th-century American male artists