American, 1807 - 1868
After the death of his father in 1814, William Sidney Mount moved from Setauket to Stony Brook. Mount began his education shortly after this move and was subsequently sent to New York where he resided with his uncle while continuing his studies. In 1824 he was apprenticed as a sign painter to his elder brother, Henry. During his apprenticeship he began studying engravings after paintings of the old masters, and in 1826 he enrolled in the antique school of the newly founded National Academy of Design. Upon returning to Long Island the following year, Mount began painting portraits of his family and in 1828 he exhibited his Christ Raising the Daughter of Jairus (Suffolk Museum, Stoney Brook) at the National Academy's third annual exhibition.
During the following two years Mount's facility as an artist developed rapidly. He began studying engravings after the genre paintings of Sir David Wilkie and in 1830 executed his Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). When this painting was exhibited at the National Academy later in the same year, Mount was immediately heralded as one of America's most promising genre painters. For the next six years Mount traveled frequently between Stony Brook and New York. He continued to study the works of Wikie and of seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish genre painters but chose to depict thoroughly American scenes. He continued to exhibit his paintings frequently at the National Academy and was patronized by such notable collectors as Luman Reed and Jonathan Sturges In 1837, with his reputation firmly established, he returned to reside permanently in Stony Brook. Although Mount's preference for the country led him to abandon New York, he remained actively involved with the city's artistic community. His scenes of rural American life were frequently included in the exhibitions of the American Art Union and the National Academy and, as a prolific correspondent, he maintained close ties with many of America's leading artists. His death followed that of his younger brother, Shepard Alonzo, by only two months. At the Academy's annual meeting held the following year, Daniel Huntington stated:
The brothers Mount have left an aching void in our circle. Here we entered with them into friendly and familiar discourse, here their wit and humor sparkled, their fifes in harmonious unison charmed our ears, and their truthful, earnest and sympathetic conversation spread a cheering influence and gave us a happier view of life.
During the following two years Mount's facility as an artist developed rapidly. He began studying engravings after the genre paintings of Sir David Wilkie and in 1830 executed his Rustic Dance After a Sleigh Ride (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). When this painting was exhibited at the National Academy later in the same year, Mount was immediately heralded as one of America's most promising genre painters. For the next six years Mount traveled frequently between Stony Brook and New York. He continued to study the works of Wikie and of seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish genre painters but chose to depict thoroughly American scenes. He continued to exhibit his paintings frequently at the National Academy and was patronized by such notable collectors as Luman Reed and Jonathan Sturges In 1837, with his reputation firmly established, he returned to reside permanently in Stony Brook. Although Mount's preference for the country led him to abandon New York, he remained actively involved with the city's artistic community. His scenes of rural American life were frequently included in the exhibitions of the American Art Union and the National Academy and, as a prolific correspondent, he maintained close ties with many of America's leading artists. His death followed that of his younger brother, Shepard Alonzo, by only two months. At the Academy's annual meeting held the following year, Daniel Huntington stated:
The brothers Mount have left an aching void in our circle. Here we entered with them into friendly and familiar discourse, here their wit and humor sparkled, their fifes in harmonious unison charmed our ears, and their truthful, earnest and sympathetic conversation spread a cheering influence and gave us a happier view of life.
