Happy New Year!

Jonathan Adams Bartlett (American artist, 1817-1902) Harriet, the artist's fiance c 1840

Wishing you God's peace & joy & love for the coming year!

1800s American Woman's Work - Tending the Fire

Platt Powell Ryder (American painter, 1821-1896) By the Hearth 1881


Enoch Wood Perry (American painter, 1831-1913) Saturday Afternoon.

Platt Powell Ryder (American painter, 1821-1896) Fireside Companion

Platt Powell Ryder (American painter, 1821-1896) The Grandmother

Platt Powell Ryder (American painter, 1821-1896) Fireside Chat

The Victorian family at home & on the road

George Hollingsworth (American artist, 1813-1882) The Hollingsworth Family

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (Bavarian-born American artist, 1823-1909) Visiting Grandma 1865

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (Bavarian-born American artist, 1823-1909) Return from Meeting

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (Bavarian-born American artist, 1823-1909) The Colgate Family

President John Tyler's Love Poetry

Although John Tyler's (1790-1862) decision to annex Texas led to the violent Mexican-American War, Tyler had a sensitive side as well. After his first wife died early in his presidency, he courted the much younger Julia Gardener (1820-1889). In a poem he wrote for her, he contemplated giving love a second chance:

"Shall I again that Harp unstring,
Which long hath been a useless thing,
Unheard in Lady's bower?"

Francesco Anelli (Italian-born American artist, 1805-1878) Julia Gardiner Tyler, second wife of President John Tyler c 1846

President Tyler's first wife Letitia Christian Tyler (1790-1842) died in the fall of 1842. Julia Gardiner had met President Tyler in January of 1842. In the spring of 1843, the widowed Tyler saw Julia again at a card party at the White House. He was smitten by the young beauty, nearly 30 years his junior. He asked her to marry him within weeks, but she didn't immediately agree.

In February of 1844, both were on a new steam frigate, when a huge naval gun exploded, killing a number of people, including Julia's father. This shared trauma seemed to draw them together. The next June, Julia married John Tyler in a secret ceremony in her home state of New York.

President John Tyler (1790-1862), painting by "Hart," c 1841–45

The 24-year-old stepped into the role of First Lady with vigor & became a new kind of First Lady. She was the 1st to pose for a daguerreotype; to hire a press agent; to dance at a White House party; and to be constantly accompanied by 12 "maids of honor," six on each side, all dressed alike.

John Tyler only served 1 term, so Julia's tenure as First Lady was over in a few months. The couple returned to Virginia, & had 7 children to expand Tyler's original family of 8 children.

Dogs & Children in genre art by John Thomas Peele, English-born American artist, 1822–1897

John Thomas Peele (English-born American genre artist, 1822–1897) Feeding the Pets


English-born John Thomas Peele came to the United States with his family, when he was a child. As a young man, he painted portraits in America; and in 1846, Peele opened a studio in New York City, where he also produced genre paintings.  He returned to England in 1851, becoming active in the Society of British Arltists & living on the Isle of Man from 1858 to 1865, & dying in England in 1897.

John Thomas Peele (English-born American genre artist, 1822–1897) Dressing Myself

John Thomas Peele (English-born American genre artist, 1822–1897) Asleep on the Watch

John Thomas Peele (English-born American genre artist, 1822–1897) Girl with Twigs

John Thomas Peele (English-born American genre artist, 1822–1897) Two Children and a Kid

John Thomas Peele (English-born American genre artist, 1822–1897) The Young Scholar

John Thomas Peele (English-born American genre artist, 1822–1897) Family Introductions in a Young Family

Music & Dance in Early America

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18th-Century Dancing

Dance in the Morning

I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth,
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be.
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.
I'll lead you all wherever you may be,
I will lead you all in the Dance, said he.

Dancing in a Grove in the 18th-century

Sidney Carter (1915–2004) wrote these words in 1963 Britain, to a 19th-century Shaker melody, "Simple Gifts" by Joseph Brackett. The tune was written by American Joseph Brackett (1797–1882) who first joined the Shakers at Gorham, Maine, when his father's farm helped to form the nucleus of a new Shaker settlement. The song was largely unknown outside of American Shaker communities; until it became world famous thanks to its use in Aaron Copland's score for Martha Graham's ballet "Appalachian Spring," 1st performed in 1944. Copland used "Simple Gifts" a second time in 1950, in his first set of "Old American Songs" for voice & piano, which was later orchestrated.

Dancing in the 19th-century

19th-Century Dance
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Itinerant Artist Joseph Goodhue Chandler (1813-1884)

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Melinda Prouty Lamson-with son Nathaniel

An itinerant painter born in Massachusetts, Joseph Chandler was a typical 19th-century American folk artist traveling from place to place painting portraits. To the relief of modern-day curators, he signed & dated his paintings on the backs of the canvases.  His portraits of children capture the awkwardness of his sitters, and he often included toys & pets & perhaps a landscape in the background--something he did not do with his adult sitters.

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Boy and Girl in Rose Garden

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Mary Elizabeth Bennet

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Whiting and Joseph Griswold

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Frederick Eugene Bennet

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Sylvia Parsons of Conway, Massachusetts

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Drummer Boy

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Girl with Kitten

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Mrs Annis S Griffen

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Boy and his Dog

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Annis Griffen

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Harriet M Kendall 1845

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Charles H Sisson

Joseph Goodhue Chandler (American artist, 1813 – 1884) Small Boy with Dog

American Folk Art _ Dogs & Cats & Hats & Children plus a few great carpets attributed to Joseph Whiting Stock (1815–1855)

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Jasper Raymond Rand 1844 (No grapes for the dog.)

Joseph Stock was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, working there most of his life. It is reported that he painting more than 900 works during his brief career. He sometimes shared a studio with local photographer O.H. Cooley and may have used some of his photographs as his portraits.

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) William James Coffin in a blue dress with a small white dog

At age 11, Stock suffered a crippling accident. He was later encouraged by a doctor to take up painting. He studied briefly with Francis White, a pupil of Chester Harding, but was mainly self-taught. He began his career by copying paintings of historical heroes, but soon switched to portraits, some painted as a memorial after their deaths. He was remarkable for his use of color.

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Girl with Riticule and Rose c 1840

Attributed to Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Amy Philpot in a Blue Dress wiwth Doll and Goldfish

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Child with Basket

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Baby in Wicker Basket 1840

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Boy with a Dog

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) The Marshall Children

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Young Girl 1837

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Jane Henrietta Russell

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Jane Tyler 1845

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Addison C Rand 1844

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Mary and Francis Wilcox

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Baby Boy with Rattle, Whip, and Ball

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Martha Otis Bullock 1841

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Mary Jane Smith

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Mother and Girl with Yellow Slippers c 1840

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Samuel Son of Captain Gardener 1842

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Boy with Whip and Sister with Flowers

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) The Farnum Children

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Girl in Pink Dress Holding Miniature Basket 1838

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Two Girlss with Red Dresses

Joseph Whiting Stock (American artist, 1815–1855) Self Portrait