Ezra Ames (May 5, 1768 – February 23, 1836) was a popular

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

painter in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. More than 700 portraits have been attributed to him.

Life and career

He was born in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popu ...

, in 1768. He moved to

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, in 1790, and married Zipporah Wood in 1794. Some time later he moved to

, where he painted a number of prominent people, including early portraits of Governor George Clinton and

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

. It is not known whether Ames was formally trained or not, but his work had a popular appeal. In addition to portraits and landscapes, Ames' surviving accounts books indicated he painted miniatures, carriages, fire buckets, fences, mirror frames, and furniture. Ames painted a number of

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

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, and history paintings, and was skilled at engraving. The '' Chautauqan Magazine'' describes his importance in this way; ''"(he) was the most noted portraitist in the state, outside New York city. The sure and fluent ease of his brush, his keen characterization, his pure, fresh coloring, are all remarkable for this early period. His portrait of Governor George Clinton, exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1812, won him wide notice; but he did delightful work some years earlier, and many even finer canvases are scattered through the middle states, in private hands."'' During his career Ames painted many members of the New York State legislature and retired comfortably on his savings built up during his prolific career, primarily between 1800 and 1820. In fact he became known unofficially as the ''(official)'' New York State portrait painter. Ames was an active freemason, which brought him a number of commissions from his fellows. Ames served as chairman of the Fine Arts Committee of the Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts in 1805, and was also President of the

Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Albany The Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Albany was a state and national bank that became a subsidiary of the Bank of New York in 1969. History The Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank of Albany was formed on July 29, 1811, as the third bank incorporated in Alb ...

. He died in 1836 and is buried at the

Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical Am ...

(Lot 1 Section 59). Ames was posthumously elected an honorary member of the American Academy of Fine Arts in New York City. Ames had three children, two of whom followed him into the business: Angelo Ames and Julius Rubens Ames (1801–1850).

Paintings by Ezra Ames

Image:Joseph Brant by Ezra Ames.jpg, Portrait of

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

File:Ezra Ames - Simeon de Witt - Google Art Project.jpg, Portrait of

Simeon De Witt Simeon De Witt (December 25, 1756 – December 3, 1834) was Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and Surveyor General of the State of New York for the fifty years from 1784 until his death. Life ...

Image:Gideon Granger.jpg, Portrait of

Gideon Granger Gideon Granger (July 19, 1767 – December 31, 1822) was an early American politician and lawyer. He was the father of fellow Postmaster General and U.S. Representative Francis Granger. Early life Granger was born in Suffield, Connecticut on ...

Image:Solomon Townsend by Ezra Ames.JPG, Portrait of

Solomon Townsend Solomon Townsend (1746 – March 27, 1811) was a merchant ship's captain prior to the American Revolution, owned an ironworks in New York State, and was a representative to the New York State Legislature. Stranded in London following the outbrea ...

Image:Alexander Hamilton by Ezra Ames.jpg, Portrait of

Image:Benjamin Tallmadge by Ezra Ames.JPG,

Benjamin Tallmadge Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leade ...

File:Francis Bloodgood 1768-1840.jpg, Francis Bloodgood 1768-1840 George Clinton by Ezra Ames (full portrait).jpg, George Clinton

References

*''Who Was Who in America: Historical Volume, 1607-1896.'' Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1963.

Sources

Albany Institute of History and Art article

External links

Ezra Ames at American Art Gallery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, Ezra 1768 births 1836 deaths 18th-century American painters 18th-century American male artists American male painters 19th-century American painters Artists from Albany, New York Burials at Albany Rural Cemetery People from Framingham, Massachusetts Painters from Massachusetts Painters from New York (state) People of colonial Massachusetts 19th-century American male artists