Thomas Chambers. Thomas Chambers was an English-born painter who spent most of his life in the United States.
He is generally classified as a Primitivist, but has also been called the First American Modern. Most of his paintings were unsigned, which delayed his recognition.
His father was a merchant sailor, and his mother a laundress. His artistic education, if any, is not a matter of record, although he almost certainly worked with his brother, George, who was self-taught but became a prominent marine artist.
It is possible that he was apprenticed to an engraver. He emigrated to the United States in 1832, shortly after George was granted the patronage of King William IV. First, he went to New Orleans and filed a declaration of intent to become a naturalized citizen.
From 1834 to 1843, he was in the New York City Directory as a painter and restorer. This was followed by a period in Boston, then he spent some time in Albany before returning to New York, around 1857. Many of his works feature the Hudson River Valley, but he was not influenced by the Hudson River School of painting. He also painted scenes from the Connecticut Valley. He never exhibited, but often sold his paintings at auction. Around 1866, he returned to England, penniless and disabled, where he died in a poorhouse. He was virtually unacknowledged until 1942, when the discovery of a signed painting connected him to a large number
He is generally classified as a Primitivist, but has also been called the First American Modern. Most of his paintings were unsigned, which delayed his recognition.
His father was a merchant sailor, and his mother a laundress. His artistic education, if any, is not a matter of record, although he almost certainly worked with his brother, George, who was self-taught but became a prominent marine artist.
It is possible that he was apprenticed to an engraver. He emigrated to the United States in 1832, shortly after George was granted the patronage of King William IV. First, he went to New Orleans and filed a declaration of intent to become a naturalized citizen.
From 1834 to 1843, he was in the New York City Directory as a painter and restorer. This was followed by a period in Boston, then he spent some time in Albany before returning to New York, around 1857. Many of his works feature the Hudson River Valley, but he was not influenced by the Hudson River School of painting. He also painted scenes from the Connecticut Valley. He never exhibited, but often sold his paintings at auction. Around 1866, he returned to England, penniless and disabled, where he died in a poorhouse. He was virtually unacknowledged until 1942, when the discovery of a signed painting connected him to a large number
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