JohnSmibert was born in Edinburgh, where he was trained as an artisan.
Smibert traveled in Italy from 1717 to 1720, for the grand tour was expected of an aspiring painter, and then reestablished himself in London, where he was regarded as no more than a competent painter.
In 1729 Smibert sailed for America with Dean (later Bishop) George Berkeley, who had organized a movement to establish a college in Bermuda "for converting the Indians to Christianity." Smibert had hoped that in America, where there were no European-trained painters, he would be successful.
JohnSmibert was born in Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1728.
JohnSmibert, American (born in Scotland), 1688-1751 Mrs.
John Sartain, Portrait of John A. Sutter, 1850
wwar.com /masters/s/smibert-john.html (593 words)
Amazon.com: John Smibert : Colonial America`s First Portrait Painter: Books: Richard H. Saunders(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
Scottish-born colonial American painter JohnSmibert (1688-1751), who settled in Boston in 1729 after stints in Edinburgh, Florence, Rome and London, brought fresh dynamism to portraiture and landscape.
Though he was born in Scotland and created some of his better portraits in London, Smibert can rightfully lay claim to the title of America's first portrait painter.
When funding for the project proved insufficient, Smibert remained in America, relocating to Massachusetts, where he turned to depicting the men and women of Boston.
John Smibert(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
This book by Richard Saunders is both a catalogue raisonné of Smibert's work and a discussion of his life and career.
Saunders explores Smibert's early Scottish and London training as well as his travels to Italy; his portrait practice in London; his arrival in America and his stylistic development; the creation of The Bermuda Group, Smibert's masterpiece; and, finally, the business of portrait painting in Boston.
He also describes how Smibert reconciled the conflicts between his search for spiritual well-being brought about by his Scottish Presbyterian heritage and his struggle for artistic achievement, social acceptance, and financial security.
John Smibert [1688-1751] - Featured Artist Lot on Artfact.com(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
JohnSmibert (1688-1751) Portrait of Mary Dudley Wainwright Atkins oil on canvas 30 1/8x25 1/4 in.
This portrait from a Newburyport, Massachusetts estate bore a label stating that the sitter was Mary Dudley Wainwright Atkins (1692-1774).
In Richard Saunder's JohnSmibert, Colonial America's First Portrait Painter, (New Haven and London, 1995), the portrait is listed under Unlocated Works number 454.
Amazon.ca: John Smibert : Colonial America`s First Portrait Painter: Books(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
Modest, intensely moral Smibert, a Scottish Presbyterian, faced ethnic prejudice in Boston, a bastion of conservative Congregational beliefs.
Art historian Saunders (American Colonial Portraits: 1700-1776, LJ 3/15/88) has carefully documented not only Smibert's life in Scotland and England but also his travels to Italy.
After arriving in the colony of Rhode Island with his good friend, the philosopher and divine George Berkeley, Smibert hoped to participate in Berkeley's...
ohn Smibert (also Smybert) was the first portrait painter to come to America.
After settling in Boston (then located in the Massachusetts Colony), he exerted a profound influence on eighteenth-century American art.
Smibert's training in the fashionable Dutch-influenced style of portraiture (the making of portraits) brought a new sophistication to painting in New England.
John Smibert [1688-1751] - Featured Artist on Artfact.com(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-10-11)
JohnSmibert [1688-1751] - Featured Artist on Artfact.com
He set out for London at the end of his apprenticeship, about which time he began recording in a Notebook the events of his life and in succeeding years the details of his travels and records of his painting activities.
Cleveland Museum of Art - JohnSmibert (American, 1688 - 1751)
