William Sidney Mount was an American genre 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...

 and contemporary of the Hudson River School

Hudson River school

The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...

.

Biography

William Mount was born at Setauket, Long Island, New York, on 26 November 1807. He trained at the National Academy of Design

National Academy of Design

The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...

 in New York, New York, and in 1832 was made a full Academician. He died at Setauket, Long Island, on the 19th of November 1868.

Although he started as a history painter

History painting

History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...

, Mount moved to depicting scenes from everyday life. Two of his more famous paintings are Eel Spearing at Setauket (1845, New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown) and Bargaining for a Horse (1835, New-York Historical Society

New-York Historical Society

The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...

, New York City).

The largest collection of his works is located in the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages

Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages

The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages is an open air museum located in Stony Brook, New York. Founded in 1939 as the Museums at Stony Brook, it changed its name in 2000...

.

William Sidney Mount House and other monuments

His home and studio, the William Sidney Mount House

William Sidney Mount House

The William Sidney Mount House is a wood sided and wood shingled house built in 1725 located in Stony Brook on Long Island, New York. The American genre painter William Sidney Mount, 1807–1868, lived there and had his studio in the 3rd floor attic, which benefited from unusual skylights through...

, is a National Historic Landmark

National Historic Landmark

A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...

. One of the local elementary schools in The Three Village Central School District is named in his honor, as is PS 174 elementary school in Rego Park, Queens. A residential building is named after him on the Stony Brook University campus.

Family

His brother, Shepard Alonzo Mount (1804–1868), also an artist, best known as a portrait painter, became a National Academician in 1842.

External links

• Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, in particular see Our Heritage: The World of William Sidney Mount (Word doc)