Osbert Burr Loomis (July 30, 1813–April 30, 1886) was an American portrait painter. He is a founder of the

Loomis Chaffee School The Loomis Chaffee School (; LC or Loomis) is a selective independent, coeducational, college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, including postgraduate students, located in Windsor, Connecticut, seven miles north ...

. Loomis, the fourth son of James and Abigail S. (Chaffee) Loomis, was born in

Windsor, Connecticut Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population of Windsor was 29,492 at the 2020 census. Po ...

, July 30, 1813. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1835. After graduation, he studied with

Samuel F. B. Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After having established his reputation as a portrait painter, in his middle age Morse contributed to the invention of a single-wire telegraph ...

, the President of the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

, in New York City ; and in the winter of 1836 he began his career as a portrait painter, in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. On January 19, 1843, he married Jeannette H , eldest daughter of the Rev. Dr. Samuel F. Jarvis of Middletown, Conn. In January, 1844, he went with his wife to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba, where their residence continued until May, 1862. Loomis soon became the most esteemed portrait painter in Havana, and besides painted a number of

altarpieces An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a church (building), Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art s ...

for churches and chapels. On his return from Cuba he settled in New York City, where his residence continued—varied by foreign travel—until his death there, April 30, 1886, in his 73rd year. His wife survived him without children.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loomis, Osbert Burr 1813 births 1886 deaths Yale College alumni People from Windsor, Connecticut Painters from Connecticut