Nathaniel Smibert

Nathaniel Smibert (January 20, 1734 – November 8, 1756), was an American colonial artist in Boston, Province of Massachusetts, active in the mid-18th century. He is considered to be the first portrait painter in America.

Biography

Born in Boston in 1734, Nathaniel Smibert trained as a painter with his father, artist John Smibert. He painted several portraits, notably of Ezra Stiles, architect Peter Harrison, and Dorothy Wendell (in the Collection of Dr John L Hale, Boston). Smibert died young in 1756, at the age of twenty-two.

Image gallery

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  Portrait of Ezra Stiles, 1756
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  Portrait of John Lovell, 18th century
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  Portrait of an unidentified man, attributed to Nathaniel Smibert, 18th century

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Smybert, John". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 281.

Further reading

• Bénézit, Emmanuel (2006) [first published in French in 1911–1923]. Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Vol. 12. Paris: Gründ. pp. 1349. ISBN 2-7000-3082-6 – via the Internet Archive.