Hamilton Hamilton (1 April 1847 – 4 January 1928) was a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and

etcher Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

, known mostly for his

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

s of the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

. Born in

Oxford, England Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, he lived most of his life in the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

. He painted landscapes 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 * '' ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, the American West, England, and France. He also painted portraits and drew illustrations.

Artistic career

Hamilton Hamilton was born in

, on 1 April 1847. While young, he was a protégé of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

. In 1872, he began his mostly self-taught career as a portrait artist in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. He created 47 landscape paintings during an 1873 expedition to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

which were chosen to be part of the 1876

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

in Philadelphia. He spent 1878 and 1879 painting in

Pont-Aven Pont-Aven (, Breton: 'River Bridge') is a commune in the Finistère department in the Brittany region in Northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 2,821. Demographics Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called ''Pontavenistes'' in French ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, alongside

Barbizon School The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name f ...

painters. He moved to New York City in 1881 and shortly after began to practice genre painting and etching. He became an associate member of 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 ...

in 1886 and a National Academician in 1889. Until the end of the century, he and his family resided alternately in upstate New York, Long Island, Colorado, and England. In 1907 and 1908, Hamilton spent two years painting landscapes in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

. In 1912 he and his family permanently moved to

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

. There he became involved with the Silvermine group of artists led by

Solon Borglum Solon Hannibal de la Mothe Borglum (December 22, 1868 – January 31, 1922) was an American sculptor. He is most noted for his depiction of frontier life, and especially his experience with cowboys and native Americans. He was awarded the Croix ...

. After Borglum's death, he and others founded the

Silvermine Silvermine is a word used in numerous place names around the world. Hong Kong *Silvermine Bay, a bay in Mui Wo, Lantau Island * Silver Mine Bay Beach, also known as Silvermine Bay Beach Ireland *Silvermine Mountains, a mountain range in County T ...

Guild of Artists. At the time of his death, he was known as the dean of the group. His works are in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

, the

Phoenix Art Museum The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,000 works of ...

, 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 ...

, the

Akron Art Museum The Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, United States. The museum first opened on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library. The Institute offered clas ...

, and the East Hampton Historical Society.

Artistic style

Hamilton was known for his landscape paintings of the American West, New York, Connecticut, England, and France. He used multiple layers of colors to execute his landscapes, suggesting the influence of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. He also did portraiture and illustrations.

Personal life

Hamilton married Helen McIlhenney (sister of artist Charles Morgan McIlhenney). In 1889, they had twin daughters, Helen and Marguerite, who served as his models. Both daughters grew up to be artists; Helen in particular became a noted

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

landscape painter. Hamilton died in Norwalk, Connecticut, on 4 January 1928, aged 80.

Paintings

File:Trout Lake, Colorado 1879 - Hamilton Hamilton.jpg, ''Trout Lake, Colorado'' (1879) File:Hamilton Hamilton Falling Apple Blossoms.jpg, ''Falling Apple Blossoms '' File:Hamilton Hamilton Lady with a Parasol.jpg, ''Lady with a Parasol'' File:Hamilton Hamilton Lil-l Southern Belles.jpg, ''Lil Southern Belles'' (1894) File:Hamilton Hamilton Woman with a Fan.jpg, ''Woman with a Fan''

References

External links

*
Artnet Collection of Hamilton's paintingsThe Athanaeum collection of Hamilton's paintingsHamilton Hamilton, American ArtistWorthington Galleries Biography of Hamilton Hamilton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Hamilton 1847 births 1928 deaths English emigrants to the United States 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters American landscape painters Artists from Oxford American etchers