Washington Allston
Here we see the American painter Washington Allston captured in a moment of creative focus, dressed in a rather fabulous, swirling-patterned dressing gown that screams 'artist at work in his studio.' He sits comfortably with a palette in hand, brush poised over a canvas that hints at classical figures, looking every bit the serious Romantic artist. This engraving by David Claypoole Johnston was made for The New Mirror, a popular literary magazine of the 1840s, giving us a glimpse into how the public viewed their artistic heroes. Allston was actually a close friend of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and was considered the first American Romantic painter, so this cozy, robe-clad portrait fits his bohemian reputation perfectly.
- Technique
- Engraving