George Ropes Jr. (1788–1819) was an American artist, known for his maritime oil paintings.George Ropes, Jr. Death Notice, ''Columbian Centinel,'' 27 Jan 1819 (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/50015/40699_1220705043_3551-00116?pid=293642&backurl=http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D50015%26h%3D293642%26ssrc%3Dpt%26tid%3D75499337%26pid%3D350130365726%26usePUB%3Dtrue&ssrc=pt&treeid=75499337&personid=350130365726&hintid=&usePUB=true&usePUBJs=true).Brewington, M.V. and Dorothy. ''Marine Paintings and Drawings in the Peabody Museum,'' pp.271-77, Peabody Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, 1968.George Curwin (1683-1717) painting description/artist information, americanantiquarian.org (http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Inventories/Portraits/bios/37.pdf). The son of a sea captain, and the nephew of a ship owner ( Jerathmiel Peirce), in Salem, Massachusetts, George Ropes Jr. was a deaf-mute. He lived in Salem all his life, except for the years 1798–1801, when his father tried his hand at farming (but later went back to sea). Cleopatra's Barge 1818

George Jr. received training in painting as a boy from

Michele Felice Corne Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identically ...

(1752-1845), and demonstrated skill as early as age 14. The diary of William Bentley states, "Mr. George Ropes' dumb (mute) boy is very successful at painting. He is instructed by Corne, an Italian artist in Salem." George, Jr's. father died when he was 19 years old, and he turned to painting carriages and signs as a way of supporting his mother and eight siblings. He did not give up painting though, and became one of the prominent artists in the region, painting maritime subjects, landscapes and portraits. His paintings are prized for their accuracy and attention to detail. His career was cut short by

consumption Consumption may refer to: *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically * Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...

, which took his life, at the age of thirty, on 24 January 1819.Hill, Ruth Henderson. "George Ropes: 1788-1819." Paper presented to the Beverly Historical Society, Beverly, Massachusetts, 1967. One of his paintings is a painting of

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, which is in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

in Washington, D.C. Other examples of his work are in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in Washington, D.C, and the

USS Constitution Museum The USS Constitution Museum is located in the Charlestown Navy Yard, which is part of the Boston National Historical Park in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The museum is situated near the ship at the end of Boston's Freedom Trail. The ...

Charlestown, Boston Charlestown is the oldest Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from dow ...

. Several of his paintings are in the collection of the

Peabody Essex Museum The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, US, is a successor to the East India Marine Society, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem (which acquired the Society's collection) and the ...

in Salem, Massachusetts, including one of the ''

Friendship of Salem The ''Friendship of Salem'' is a 171-foot replica of the ''Friendship,'' a 1797 East Indiaman. It was built in 2000 in the Scarano Brothers Shipyard in Albany, New York. The ship usually operates as a stationary museum ship during most of the yea ...

''. A replica of this sailing ship (built using his painting as a reference) is at the

Salem Maritime National Historic Site The Salem Maritime National Historic Site is a National Historic Sites (United States), National Historic Site consisting of 12 historic structures, one replica tall-ship, and about 9 acres (36,000 m2) of land along the waterfront of Salem Harbo ...

in Salem.

References

External links

Example of a George Ropes, Jr. painting
at the

George Ropes, Jr. paintings
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ropes, George American artists 1788 births 1819 deaths