Shepard Alonzo Mount

Shepard Alonzo Mount (17 July 1804, Setauket, New York - 18 September 1868, Stony Brook, New York was an American painter, best known for his portraits, although he worked in several genres. He was the older brother of the famous painter and musician, William Sidney Mount.

"Rose of Sharon" (Ruth Mount)
Martin Van Buren, (c.1830)

Biography

After his father's early death in 1814, the family moved to Stony Brook. He was originally apprenticed to James Brewster, a coach maker in New Haven. In 1827, he followed the company in a move to New York and joined his brothers William and Henry (1803-1841), who were both studying to become painters. He soon decided to follow suit and spent two years at the National Academy of Design, after which he began to participate in exhibitions there.[1]

He and William opened a studio in 1829 and he became an Associate of the Academy in 1833. The studio was not successful and they relocated to Athens, Pennsylvania, although Shepard returned to New York not long after. There, he studied portrait painting with Henry Inman.[2]

In 1837, he married Elizabeth Hempstead Elliott, daughter of the portraitist Charles Loring Elliott. In 1841, they settled with his family in Stony Brook. The following year, he was named an Academician at the National Academy. He preferred to paint landscapes, but continued as a portrait painter to support his family.

In the early 1860s, his relatively placid life took a downward turn when his eldest daughter, Ruth, died of tuberculosis. Then, his son William, who was living in Mississippi, was drafted into the Confederate Army. After he was captured and imprisoned as a spy, Mount enlisted the help of Francis Bicknell Carpenter and William Cullen Bryant to petition President Lincoln for his release. This effort was successful in 1864.[2]

Shepard died of cholera in September 1868. His brother William also died of cholera, one month later and his son, William, died of pneumonia the month after that.[3]

His works may be seen at the Delaware Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the New York Historical Society, and in the White House.

References
  1. Biographies @ Victorian.com
  2. Biography @ the Oxford Gallery
  3. William Shepard Mount @ Geni.

Further reading
  • Deborah J. Johnson, Shepard Alonzo Mount, Museums at Stony Brook, 1988 ISBN 978-0-943924-12-0
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