William Sidney Mount

William Sidney Mount worked under Henry Inman in 1824 before attending course at the national Academy of Design in 1826. He was the leading genre painter of the 19th century and was the most famous of his three brothers, also artists. Mount grew up in Stony Brook, Long Island where he resided most of his life excluding several periods of study and practice in New York City from 1829-36. His first genre painting "Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride" (BMFA) was shown at the NAD in 1830 and helped establish his reputation. I t was during this time that his strongest body of work emerged and he became quite popular with the press and NYC clients who found humorous truth in his anecdotal scenes. Mount's work was in demand across Europe and America. His genre scenes of African Americans were distributed widely as lithos and engravings but his popularity declined with the rise of Western scenes and American Indians. Mount's compositions were planned with mathematical accuracy and dry objectivity but were full of sun and atmosphere. Mount's output lessened after the 1850s but he continued to work until his death in 1868.

Biography courtesy of The Caldwell Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/caldwell