James Reid Lambdin

Background

James Reid Lambdin was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of James and Prudence Lambdin. At the age of twelve he spent most of his free time drawing, carving, and engraving on wood. He discovered his lifelong passion for painting when, over the door of a coffee house opposite his mother's home in Pittsburgh, he chanced to see, painted as a sign, a full-length copy of one of Stuart's portraits of Washington.

Education

He studied art in Philadelphia for two years (1823–25) under the tutelage of Thomas Sully, an English painter and miniaturist. After six months he was accepted as a pupil by Thomas Sully.

Career

Lambdin returned to his native city in 1826. At that time friends interested in his career endeavored to collect sufficient funds to send him to Europe, and Lambdin hurried to New York for embarkation. The funds, however, did not materialize, and the disappointed young painter returned to Pittsburgh.

In a zealous endeavor to acquaint the West with works of art, he opened a museum and gallery of paintings in Pittsburgh at Fourth and Market streets. Assisted by popular subscription, he enlarged his collection to include, besides fifty pictures--historical and otherwise--twenty quadrupeds, 200 foreign and American birds, 500 minerals, 400 fossils, 150 marine shells, marine plants, and Indian curios. For four years Lambdin remained in his native city, but in 1832 he moved his museum and family to Louisville, Ky. , seeking a wider field for his prospects as a painter.

Although he resided in Louisville for several years, he spent the greater part of his time visiting the large cities between Pittsburgh and Mobile, Ala. During this period of restless roving, he painted (1833) a portrait from life of Chief Justice Marshall.

By 1837, having tired of an itinerant existence, he had settled in Philadelphia, where he soon became a member of the Artists' Fund Society, in which organization he served as corresponding secretary in 1838 and 1844, as vice-president from 1840 to 1843, and as president from 1845 to 1867. From 1845 to 1864 he was a director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and for some time chairman of that institution's committee on instruction. In 1858 he presided over the convention of American artists at Washington, and was appointed by President Buchanan to serve as one of the United States art commissioners. He served as professor of fine arts at the University of Pennsylvania from 1861 to 1866.

He died of heart failure on the train between Philadelphia and his home in the suburbs.

Achievements

• Lambdin achieved recognition through portrait painting. Among his canvases are portraits of every president of the United States from John Quincy Adams to James A. Garfield, the majority having been executed in Washington at the Executive Mansion. He painted a self portrait which is owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He was also an accomplished miniaturist. His "Miniature of an Artist" was shown at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1845, and his miniature of "Polly Vincent" is also well known.

Works

More photos

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  • John Marshall James Reid Lambdin (1807-1889 American) Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art Washington DC USA Poster Print (24 x 36)

    (This fine art print is ready for hanging or framing and w...)

  • wall26 - Portrait of William Henry Harrison by James Reid Lambdin (9th President of The United States) - American Presidents Series - Framed Art Print Ready to Hang - 16"x24"

    (We use high quality canvases which are designed specifica...)

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Membership

Member of the Artists' Fund Society

Connections

Lambdin was married to Mary Cochran of Pittsburgh, and they had six children, five of whom lived to maturity.

Father:

James Lambdin

Mother:

Prudence Lambdin

Spouse:

Mary Cochran