Francis Alexander
Encyclopedia
Francis Alexander was an American
portrait-painter
.
He was born in Killingly, Connecticut
. Brought up on a farm, he taught himself the use of colors, and in 1820 went to New York City
and studied painting with Alexander Robertson. He spent the winters of 1831 and 1832 in Rome
. Afterwards, he resided for nearly a decade in Boston, Massachusetts, where he had considerable vogue, and where he painted a portrait of Charles Dickens
(1842). He died in 1881 in Florence
. There is a tradition that when Dickens visited Boston, a line of New England portraitists was already fawning on shore, hoping to be the first to capture the great novelist's image on canvas. But Francis Alexander reached the writer well ahead of his peers--by traveling in a small advance boat to greet Dickens as his vessel entered the harbor. Longfellow would later coin the verb Alexandered (as in, whangled), sniffing that such and such a person had Alexandered his way into a highly coveted invitation to a party.
One of Alexander's best portraits is that of Mrs. Fletcher Webster, formerly in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. This romantic portrait, in which the sitter appears swathed in ermine, was deaccessioned from the Museum early in the 20th century and returned to descendants in the Sargent family.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
portrait-painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
He was born in Killingly, Connecticut
Killingly, Connecticut
Killingly is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 16,472 at the 2000 census. It consists of the borough of Danielson and the villages of Attawaugan, Ballouville, Dayville, East Killingly, Rogers, and South Killingly....
. Brought up on a farm, he taught himself the use of colors, and in 1820 went to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and studied painting with Alexander Robertson. He spent the winters of 1831 and 1832 in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Afterwards, he resided for nearly a decade in Boston, Massachusetts, where he had considerable vogue, and where he painted a portrait of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
(1842). He died in 1881 in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. There is a tradition that when Dickens visited Boston, a line of New England portraitists was already fawning on shore, hoping to be the first to capture the great novelist's image on canvas. But Francis Alexander reached the writer well ahead of his peers--by traveling in a small advance boat to greet Dickens as his vessel entered the harbor. Longfellow would later coin the verb Alexandered (as in, whangled), sniffing that such and such a person had Alexandered his way into a highly coveted invitation to a party.
One of Alexander's best portraits is that of Mrs. Fletcher Webster, formerly in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. This romantic portrait, in which the sitter appears swathed in ermine, was deaccessioned from the Museum early in the 20th century and returned to descendants in the Sargent family.