Skip to main contentBiographyFrancis Bicknell Carpenter was born in Homer, New York, in 1830 to Asaph Harmon and Almira Clark, members of the Rehoboth Carpenter family, who founded the town of Rehoboth in Massachusetts. When his father saw Carpenter’s painting of his mother in 1844, he was permitted to go to Syracuse to study painting with Sanford Thayer. After this, in 1848, he received an award from the American Art-Union. This prize was followed by a number of portrait commissions, particularly from politicians and various officials at universities. Prior to his death in 1900, he became obsessively religious, which many believe caused his painting to change drastically; in fact, many did not believe that he some of his later paintings had been done by him.
His most notable work is The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, which now hangs in the US Senate. The massive painting was completed over a period of six months in 1864, during which time he lived in the White House with President Lincoln and his family, of whom he painted portraits during his residency (and after; one of his latest paintings was of Mary Todd Lincoln). He would later write a memoir about this experienced titled Six Months at the White House. He also painted portraits of Franklin Pierce, John Tyler, John C. Fremont, Horace Greeley, and other prominent Americans. Although he spent most of his career in Homer, NY (until 1852) and New York City (1852-60 and after), he made professional visits to Washington in 1855 and 1864.
Carpenter’s career varied in its success. While he did receive a number of commissions, he was often criticized for a lack of grace and making too many adjustments to his paintings. At the same time, his critics had to admit that he was skilled at capturing his subjects’ likenesses and put a great deal of thought into the composition of his paintings. His work is the collections of the National Gallery of Art, San Francisco Museum of Fine Art, Brooklyn Museum, and the New York Historical Society, but they are rarely exhibited. There is a collection of material on Carpenter at the Cortland County Historical Society (presented by Mary Bartlett Cowdrey).
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for Francis Bicknell Carpenter
Francis Bicknell Carpenter
American, 1830 - 1900
His most notable work is The First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln, which now hangs in the US Senate. The massive painting was completed over a period of six months in 1864, during which time he lived in the White House with President Lincoln and his family, of whom he painted portraits during his residency (and after; one of his latest paintings was of Mary Todd Lincoln). He would later write a memoir about this experienced titled Six Months at the White House. He also painted portraits of Franklin Pierce, John Tyler, John C. Fremont, Horace Greeley, and other prominent Americans. Although he spent most of his career in Homer, NY (until 1852) and New York City (1852-60 and after), he made professional visits to Washington in 1855 and 1864.
Carpenter’s career varied in its success. While he did receive a number of commissions, he was often criticized for a lack of grace and making too many adjustments to his paintings. At the same time, his critics had to admit that he was skilled at capturing his subjects’ likenesses and put a great deal of thought into the composition of his paintings. His work is the collections of the National Gallery of Art, San Francisco Museum of Fine Art, Brooklyn Museum, and the New York Historical Society, but they are rarely exhibited. There is a collection of material on Carpenter at the Cortland County Historical Society (presented by Mary Bartlett Cowdrey).
Person TypeIndividual
American, born Austria, Wiener Hagenbund, 1895 – 1977
