Francis Alexander (February 3, 1800 – March 27, 1880)[1] was an American portrait-painter.
Biography
Alexander was born in Windham county Connecticut in February 1800. Brought up on a farm, he taught himself the use of colors, and in 1820 went to New York City and studied painting with Alexander Robertson.[2]
He spent the winters of 1831 and 1832 in Rome. Afterwards, he resided for nearly a decade in Boston, Massachusetts, where he had considerable vogue, and where he painted a portrait of Charles Dickens (1842).[2]
In 1840 he was elected to the National Academy of Design as an honorary member. Francis Alexander died in 1881 in Florence.[2]
Family
Alexander married Lucia Grey Swett in 1836. Their daughter Francesca Alexander was a popular illustrator, author, and translator.[3]
Works
One of Alexander's best portraits is that of Mrs. Fletcher Webster, formerly in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.[2] This romantic portrait, in which the sitter appears swathed in ermine, was deaccessioned from the Museum early in the 20th century and returned to descendants in the Sargent family.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ National Gallery of Art 2020.
- ^ a b c d Chisholm 1911, p. 564.
- ^ Radcliffe College 1971.
References
- James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S.; Radcliffe College (1971). Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary. Vol. 1. Harvard University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-674-62734-5.
- "Alexander, Francis". National Gallery of Art. 2020.
Attribution:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexander, Francis". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 564.
External links
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