Background
Baker was born in New York, the son of a miniature painter, George Augustus Baker, who was born at Strassburg, France, and settled in New York City.
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George Augustus Baker
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From his father he received his first instructions in art and at the age of sixteen he started on his professional career as a miniature painter.
Career
He was so successful at painting portraits on ivory that his work was in constant demand and during his first year he painted 150 miniatures at five dollars apiece. For seven years he continued the profession of miniature painting, studying all the while at the National Academy of Design to equip himself as a portrait painter in oils. He then sailed for Europe, where he studied from 1844 to 1846, returning in the latter year to New York City, where he became as popular a painter of portraits in oils as he had been a miniature painter. In 1851 he was elected National Academician. He excelled in his portraits of women and children, and his portrait of one of the children of A. M. Cozzens was exhibited at the Paris Exposition in 1867. After 1866 he lived in Darien, Connecticut Although a life-long sufferer from neuralgia and afflicted with serious eye-trouble, he produced a great many portraits and had orders for two years in advance. His work is highly finished and carefully drawn and he confined himself almost entirely to painting portraits. "Love at First Sight, " "Wild Flowers, " "Faith, " and "The May Queen" are the titles of some of his compositions. His portrait of the artist John F. Kensett is owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Many of his paintings were bought by G. M. Vanderbilt for his collection.
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Born
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Died
April 2, 1880 (aged 59) -
Nationality
American