James Hamilton Shegogue
Clouds at Dawn, watercolor over graphite, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund 1983.29.1
James Hamilton Shegogue (sometimes styled Shégogue) (February 22, 1806– April 7, 1872)[1] was an American painter. He was described as a "man of unusual education, a proficient linguist, and a scientific explorer" by one contemporary.[1][2]
Shegogue was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and was of French extraction;[1] little is known of his training, though it is has been said he traveled in Europe and studied there in his early years.[3] Around 1833 he exhibited a painting titled An Old Straw Hat, currently unlocated, at the American Academy of Fine Arts; this was the first piece he showed publicly. Among the artists whose notice it attracted was John Trumbull.[2] In 1839 his name was listed on the register of students at the National Academy of Design, but he is known to have already developed a reputation as an artist. In 1846 he traveled to Europe for a year of study, prompting a critic for the Literary World to observe that he had already seen "no small degree of success as a painter of portraits in fancy dresses, with an occasional fancy face."[2] He returned to Europe for other painting trips during his career; on one of these a copy of Guido Reni's Aurora which he painted in the Palazzo Borghese for a New York client won praise from the Princess Borghese.[1]
Shegogue participated in the artistic life of New York City, holding membership in the Old Sketch Club, the Artists Sketch Club, and the Century Association.[3] He was quite prolific as a portraitist,[2] but produced history paintings, landscapes, and genre works as well.[3] He became a member of the National Academy, and later served as that organization's corresponding secretary, from 1849 to 1852. He was adjudged quite successful, and made a good deal of money during his career.[1] Tiring of city life, in 1862 he moved to Warrenville, Connecticut, where he died; he continued to paint up until a few weeks before his death.[2]
Two portraits by Shegogue are in the National Academy collection, a self-portrait and one of James David Smillie; the former is recorded as having been shown at the Academy's annual exhibition in 1844, suggesting that it was painted to mark his elevation to full member status.[2] Three watercolors are owned by the National Gallery of Art,[4] and an oil portrait is in the collection of the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia.[5] Other pieces are owned by the City of New York, the New York Historical Society, and the Brooklyn Museum.[3][6]
References
Harry Willard French (1878). Art and Artists in Connecticut. Lee and Shepard. pp. 71–.
David Bernard Dearinger; National Academy of Design (U.S.) (2004). Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design: 1826–1925. Hudson Hills. ISBN 978-1-55595-029-3.
"Charleston Renaissance Gallery". Charleston Renaissance Gallery. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
"Artist Info". nga.gov. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
"Morris Museum of Art -". themorris.org. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
"Brooklyn Museum: James Hamilton Shegogue". brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
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