Alfred Jacob Miller (January 2, 1810 – June 26, 1874) was an American artist best known for his paintings of trappers and Native Americans in the fur trade of the western United States. He also painted numerous portraits and genre paintings in and around Baltimore during the mid-nineteenth century.

Life

Miller was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of nine children of George W. and Harriet J. Miller. Miller's father was a merchant and

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

keeper in central Baltimore, and also had a farm in Hawkins Point. Miller attended a private school in Baltimore, John D. Craig's Academy, but did not receive formal art instruction there. He may have received his first lessons in art from

Thomas Sully Thomas Sully (June 19, 1783November 5, 1872) was a portrait painter in the United States. Born in Great Britain, he lived most of his life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He painted in the style of Thomas Lawrence. His subjects included nation ...

. In 1832, with the financial support of his family and art patrons in Baltimore, Miller traveled to Paris to study art. He was admitted as an auditor to life drawing classes at the École des Beaux-Arts, and copied paintings in the collections of the Louvre. In 1833, he traveled to Italy, visiting Bologna, Florence, and Venice before settling in Rome, where he studies at the English Life School. During his travels in Europe, he became friends with the Danish sculptor

Bertel Thorwaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danish and Icelandic sculptor medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a working-class Danish ...

and studied with the French painter

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (30 June 178917 January 1863), more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famous painter, who w ...

He returned to Baltimore in 1834, where he opened a downtown studio and advertised himself as a painter of portraits and Old Master copies. Professional and financial difficulties may have prompted his decision to move to New Orleans in 1837. The city was a relatively open market for artists, and Miller quickly established a studio on Chartes Street and began receiving orders for portraits. It was in his studio that he met the Scottish aristocrat and adventurer, Sir William Drummond Stewart. Stewart hired Miller to accompany him and record his hunting journey to the

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. That same year, along with representatives of the American Fur Company, they ventured as far as Fort William and

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

. After returning to New Orleans later that year, Miller started working up his sketches in watercolors and oils. The scenes and incidents of the hunting journey were the foundation of a series of paintings documenting Native Americans of the United States. In July 1838 Miller was able to arrange an exhibition in New Orleans. In October 1840 he traveled with his paintings to Stewart's Murthly Castle in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, where a collection of his commissioned work was ultimately hung. After spending a year in Scotland and another in London, Miller returned to Baltimore in April 1842. He established himself as an acknowledged portrait artist in the city. He died on June 26, 1874.

Paintings

File:Old Bill Williams.jpg, Old Bill Williams by Alfred Jacob Miller 1839 File:Alfred Jacob Miller - The Lake Her Lone Bosom Expands to the Sky.jpg, ''The Lake Her Lone Bosom Expands to the Sky'', 1850,

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Camp Scene (Sioux) - Walters 37194064.jpg, ''Camp Scene (Sioux)'', 1858–1860,

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Yell of Triumph - Walters 371940151.jpg, ''Yell of Triumph'', 1858-1860, Walters Art Museum File:Cavelcade Jacob alfred Miller.jpg, ''Cavelcade'', 1858–1860, Walters Art Museum File:Alfred Jacob Miller, American (1810–1874). 'War Path'.jpg, ''War Path'', File:Alfred Jacob Miller - "Big Bowl" ( A Crow Chief) - Walters 37194015.jpg, ''Big Bowl (A Crow Chief)'', 1858–1860, Walters Art Museum File:Alfred_Jacob_Miller_-_Breaking_up_Camp_at_Sunrise_-_Walters_371940142.jpg, ''Breaking up Camp at Sunrise'', 1858–1860, Walters Art Museum File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Our Camp - Walters 371940177.jpg, ''Our Camp'', 1858–1860, Walters Art Museum File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Fort Laramie - Walters 37194049.jpg, ''Fort Laramie'', 1858–1860, Walters Art Museum

Notes

References

Miller's Biographical Note
* *

External links

*
Alfred Jacob Miller manuscript and sketches, (undated and 1837
from the

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...

William Drummond Stewart biography
at 3rd1000.com
American paintings & historical prints from the Middendorf collection
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Miller (no. 21) {{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Alfred Jacob 1810 births 1874 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters People of the American Old West Artists from Baltimore Painters from Maryland American portrait painters American landscape painters 19th-century American male artists