John Smibert: Colonial America's First Portrait Painter
by: Saunders, Richard H.

Hardcover. New Haven CONNECTICUT, Yale University Press , 1st, 1995, Book: Near Fine, Dust Jacket: Near Fine, Hardcover, 239 pages, 134 pages of text, 135 b&w illustrations, 26 color plates. A catalogue of 533 items by this important American artist. Near fine in a slipcase, still in shrinkwrap. Sun fade to spine. John Smibert (1688-1751) was the first portrait painter of distinction to attempt to carve out an existence in colonial America. This book by Richard Saunders is both a catalogue raisonne of Smibert's work and a discussion of his life and career. Saunders explores Smibert's early Scottish and London training as well as his travels to Italy; his portrait practice in London; his arrival in America and his stylistic development; the creation of The Bermuda Group, Smibert's masterpiece; and, finally, the business of portrait painting in Boston.