St. Louis Mercantile Library

Early Saint Louis Artists

 

audobon1The St. Louis Mercantile Library
An Early Haven for Art in St. Louis

EARLY ST. LOUIS ARTISTS

Following is a short-name list of artists who passed through St. Louis when the Library was young, on their way to immortality in depicting the story of Western America:

Sources – City Directories, the Mercantile Library’s special files, and the writings of John Francis McDermott and others; dates reflect times by which listed artists flourished in the city. Often, only the last name is given in an ad, a notice, a letter. The list is a tantalizing reminder of St. Louis as an art center and hopefully will serve as an opportunity for further research.

1796: Joseph Warin

1809 : Christopher F. Schewe

1812 :  Francis M. Guyol

1819 : John Vos

1820 : John J. Douberman, Chester Harding, James O. Lewis, Jeremiah Paul

1826 : Charles Alexandre LeSueur

1828 : Basil Hall

1829 : Peter Rindisbacher, James G. Sawkins

1830 : Antonio Mondelli

1831 : A. Nickell

1832 :  George Catlin, Leon Pomarede

1833 : Karl Bodmer

1834 :  Barker, H.G. Fette, B.W. Jenks

1835 : George Caleb Bingham

1836  : William R. Herve, G. Markham, M.E. Mynerts, Charles Soule

1837 : Mary H. Mauro, Daniel Steele, Mrs. Daniel Steele

1838 :  J. Phillip Gerke, Paul Kane, T.H. Stevenson

1839 : J. Atwood, E.M. Clifford, Marchant, Martin

1840 : John Banvard, H. Bridport, Charles Deas, Nicolas Point, J.C. Wild

1841 : Charles E. Bowes, Bromie, Fronpuffer, Hicke,Mrs. H.L Hoffman, C.R. Parker, John R. Smith, Mrs. Charles Thomas, Trego, Vansnith

1842 : Bremmer, Debolle, Emmanuel J. DeFranca, C. Freligh, Mrs. E. Holden, S. Wise

1843 : John J. Audobon, William C. Cooper, P. Ord

1844 : A. Andrews, C. Mayer

1845 : C. Carpenter, James Carson, Thomas B. Harris, Henry Lewis, Sam Stockwell, James F. Wilkins

1846 :  Sarah Peale, W.R. Simpson

1847 : W.P. Cowperthwaite, Donnell, Freeman, F. Kurz, John Lee, Stout, Miss F. Sweeney

1848 : Herman D. Canfield, Seth Eastman, Shelton S. Fogus, Mrs. Merrick, L. Waite, A.S. Waugh, Wilgus

1849 : G.I. Barnett, F.T. Boyle, James Sidney Brown, W. Coggswell, A.J. Conant, T.W. Dodge, George C. Eichbaum, Peter Grummen, Matt Hastings, C. Hoffman, Henry C. Isaacs, Edward Kern, Lamasson, Mayer, Murdock, J.R. Meeker, Alfred J. Miller, G. Mueller, Thomas S. Noble, L. Patniel, Fred. Piercy, Powers, John Reid, E. Robyn, Paulus Roetter, Louis Schultze, Seymour, J.M. Stanley, Mme. Subit, Van Name

1850 : George St. P. Brewer, P. Dreesbach, Fasel, Charles Wimar

1851 : Bauer, Heade, Frank B. Mayer, Charles Rogers, T.B. Thorpe

FOR FURTHER READING:

American Frontier Life: Early Western Paintings and Prints. New York: Abbeville, 1987.

Art and the Excited Spirit: America in the Romantic Period. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1972.

Judith A. Barter and Lynn E. Springer. Currents of Expansion: Paintings in the Midwest, 1820-1940. St. Louis Art Museum, 1977.

Engravings and Lithographs for a Mississippi River Metropolis. Columbia: University of Missouri, 1989.

Elizabeth Johns. American Genre Painting: the Politics of Everyday Life. New Haven: Yale, 1991.

Nancy Rash. The Painting and Politics of George Caleb Bingham. New Haven: Yale, 1991.

Perry Rathbone, ed. Westward the Way; the Character and Development of the Louisiana Territory as Seen by Artists and Writers of the Nineteenth Century. St. Louis: City Art Museum, 1954.