Walter Gould (1829 in Philadelphia – 1893 in Florence) was an American painter; known for his Orientalist scenes. He also painted landscapes, portraits and still-lifes.
Self-portrait, in imitation of Joshua Reynolds (1849)The Public Scribe
Biographyedit
At an early age, he began studying with the panorama painter, John Rowson Smith and the portrait painter, Thomas Sully. At the age of fourteen, he exhibited his first portrait and, the following year, exhibited with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He later worked in Virginia as well, although most of those works were lost during the Civil War.
In 1849, he went to Europe and, after a brief stay in Paris, moved to Italy and settled in Florence. There, he met and befriended the sculptor, Hiram Powers and appears to have become a sort of uncle to his numerous children. In 1850, Powers entrusted him with the task of salvaging a statue of his that had been lost in a shipwreck: a task in which Gould was successful.
In 1851, Powers encouraged him to travel to Turkey for a possible portrait commission and provided him with the means. The commission involved Lajos Kossuth, who had fled there as a refugee and was living in Kütahya. With a letter of introduction provided by the British Ambassador, Sir Stratford Canning, he was able to meet Kossuth and paint his portrait. Judging from his letters to Powers, they also became close friends. While there, he visited Istanbul and created some of the Orientalist works for which he is best remembered, as well as portraits, including one of the Grand Vizier, Mustafa Reşid Pasha.
A brief visit to America was disappointing in terms of sales, and he returned to Florence. He would continue to paint some Orientalist genre scenes, in addition to many portraits; holding a major exhibit in 1866 at the National Academy of Design which was not, however, well-received by the critics. In his later years, a visit from his old friend, Moncure Conway, found him with dimming eyesight from painting too many portrait miniatures, and fond of talking about the past.
He died of paralysis, while recovering from a stroke. A year after his death, his relatives made a gift of some of his works to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, but the great majority are in private collections. In many cases, their present locations are unknown.
Media related to Walter Gould at Wikimedia Commons
April 07, 2024
walter, gould, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, 2020, learn, when, remove, th. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Walter Gould 1829 in Philadelphia 1893 in Florence was an American painter known for his Orientalist scenes He also painted landscapes portraits and still lifes Self portrait in imitation of Joshua Reynolds 1849 The Public ScribeBiography editAt an early age he began studying with the panorama painter John Rowson Smith and the portrait painter Thomas Sully At the age of fourteen he exhibited his first portrait and the following year exhibited with the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts He later worked in Virginia as well although most of those works were lost during the Civil War In 1849 he went to Europe and after a brief stay in Paris moved to Italy and settled in Florence There he met and befriended the sculptor Hiram Powers and appears to have become a sort of uncle to his numerous children In 1850 Powers entrusted him with the task of salvaging a statue of his that had been lost in a shipwreck a task in which Gould was successful In 1851 Powers encouraged him to travel to Turkey for a possible portrait commission and provided him with the means The commission involved Lajos Kossuth who had fled there as a refugee and was living in Kutahya With a letter of introduction provided by the British Ambassador Sir Stratford Canning he was able to meet Kossuth and paint his portrait Judging from his letters to Powers they also became close friends While there he visited Istanbul and created some of the Orientalist works for which he is best remembered as well as portraits including one of the Grand Vizier Mustafa Resid Pasha A brief visit to America was disappointing in terms of sales and he returned to Florence He would continue to paint some Orientalist genre scenes in addition to many portraits holding a major exhibit in 1866 at the National Academy of Design which was not however well received by the critics In his later years a visit from his old friend Moncure Conway found him with dimming eyesight from painting too many portrait miniatures and fond of talking about the past He died of paralysis while recovering from a stroke A year after his death his relatives made a gift of some of his works to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania but the great majority are in private collections In many cases their present locations are unknown Sources editBiographical notes Schwarz Gallery Biographical notes and commentary Sotheby s Biography in American Orientalists by Gerald M Ackerman Google BooksExternal links edit nbsp Media related to Walter Gould at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Walter Gould amp oldid 1168360926, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
