Background
Waldo, Samuel Lovett was born on April 6, 1783 in Windham, Connecticut, United States. Son of Zacheus and Esther (Stevens) Waldo.
Waldo, Samuel Lovett was born on April 6, 1783 in Windham, Connecticut, United States. Son of Zacheus and Esther (Stevens) Waldo.
At the age of sixteen, he moved to Hartford to began his formal art training under the tutelage of Joseph Steward, a prominent local artist. Four years later, he set up shop as a portraitist in Hartford, later relocating to Litchfield. From 1803 to 1805, Waldo earned a sizable income from his commissions and decided that he would use the money to study art in London.
He arrived in London in 1806 with letters of introduction to Benjamin West and John Singleton Copley.
While studying with them, he also studied drawing at the Royal Academy and exhibited a portrait there in 1808. They had five children.
In 1809, he returned to the United States and established a portrait studio in New New York Three years later William Jewett, a young coach painter from New London, Connecticut who wanted to be a fine artist, approached Waldo and asked to be taken in as an apprentice.
Waldo agreed and allowed him to live with his family during his time of study.
In 1818, they entered into a formal partnership which lasted until 1854, when Jewett retired. As a team, it is generally believed that Waldo painted the head and hands of their subjects, while Jewett filled in the clothing and draperies. In addition to his painting, Waldo served as a director of the American Academy of the Fine Arts from 1817 until its dissolution in 1841.
He died in New York on February 16, 1861.
He was also a founding member of the National Academy of Design.
Married Josephine Wood, April. Married second, Deliverance Mapes, May 8, 1826.