Boughton, George Artist, Essayist, Illustrator, Travel Writer. Born in Norwich, England as a farmer's son, Boughton emigrated to Albany, New York with his family at the age of three. At age nineteen, and without the benefit of formal training, he sold his first painting, <em>The Wayfarer </em>, at the American Art Union exhibition. In 1858 he exhibited <em>Winter Twilight </em> at the New York Academy of Design. His influences included Edward May, with whom he studied during a visit to Paris, and Édouard Frère. In 1862 two of Boughton's paintings were exhibited in the British Institution. He submitted two pieces to the Royal Academy in 1863, and over the next forty-two years Boughton exhibited eighty-seven pieces there. He made London his permanent home in 1862, married Katherine Louise Cullen on Feb. 9, 1865, became a full member of the Royal Academy in 1896, and died in 1905 of heart disease (Hardie). Described by Mrs. Aldrich as a "Royal Academician and charming artist,” the true extent of Boughton’s connection to Pfaff’s is unknown, but we know he did move within the social group (Aldrich 231-2). Mark Lause connects Boughton and other members of the Hudson River School to Pfaff’s as these Pfaffian artists were moved by more “natural and exotic themes” rather than the economically stable portraiture of the “high and mighty” (62). Lathrop, a writer for <em>Harper’s, </em> does lists Boughton as a member of the Pfaff’s group and asserts that he may have been involved in the production of the <em>Saturday Press </em>: “This was Pfaff's; and thus arose the 'Pfaff group,' which assisted in the publication of the <em>Saturday Press, </em> and included in its circle Walt Whitman, Fitz-James O'Brien, T.B. Aldrich, and William Winter, with the painters George H. Boughton, Homer Martin, Winslow Homer, and some whose names are less widely known” (Lathrop 832). William Winter also lists him as someone who frequented Pfaff's and is also mentioned as a member of "Sol's [Eytinge] group of artistic companionship" (Old Friends 66, 319). We do know that he was a tenant of the Tenth Street Studio building from 1857-61 which helps establish Boughton’s connection to well-known artists and Pfaffians (Blaugrund 133). Remembered as a figure and genre painter, Boughton illustrated works by American writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Washington Irving. He also wrote a narrative about his travels in Holland, the aptly titled <em>Sketching Rambles in Holland </em> (1885). Along with Elihu Vedder, he is mentioned by contemporaries as one of the most gifted artists of his day. An 1870 art critic suggests that Boughton was a humorist as well as a "poet-painter," and his pictures "have always had something in them--something well rendered, and something personal" (E. Benson 11). His work was also admired by Vincent Van Gogh. References & Biographical Resources\n"; <div class="view view-works-related-to-people view-id-works_related_to_people view-display-id-default"> <div class="view-content"> <ul id="views-bootstrap-works-related-to-people-default"class="views-bootstrap-list-group views-view-list-group"> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57982" about="/node/57982" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57982">"A Symposium of Wood-Engravers." <em>Harper&#039;s New Monthly Magazine</em>, February 1, 1880, 442-53.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>The author cites a letter written by Boughton in which he states: "The practice that one gets in drawing for drawing's sake is very valuable.Nearly all the best artists in England are or have been draughtsmen on wood.Millais was telling me the other day that those who let their practise [sic] of drawing lapse in any degree, fall off at once more or less in their painting" (444).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 444]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55534" about="/node/55534" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55534">Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, Mrs. (Lillian Woodman Aldrich). <em>Crowding Memories</em>. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1920.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>In London, Mr. and Mrs. Aldrich renewed their friendship with George Boughton and his wife.Mrs. Aldrich describes Boughton as a "Royal Academician and charming artist"(231-232).</p> <p>Mrs. Aldrich quotes Comyns Carr's description of Boughton: "He achieved in England a deservedly high place among his comrades--he was a man of fine taste and delicate perception both in the region of art and the broader field of literature" (232).</p> <p>Prior to building a large house on Campden Hill, Mr. and Mrs. Boughton hosted a large artistic circle and their reputation continued after the building of their home.Browning was a frequent visitor, and, according to Mrs. Aldrich, "the house became a meeting-place for nearly all who were interested in art" (232).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 231-235]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="59018" about="/node/59018" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/59018">"Appletons&#039; Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume I, Aaron-Crandall." In <em>Appletons&#039; Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume I, Aaron-Crandall</em>, edited by Wilson, James Grant and John Fiske. New York: D. Appleton &amp; Co., 1888.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>Appleton locates Boughton's American popularity beginning with his return from England to New York in 1855.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 328]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57983" about="/node/57983" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57983">Benjamin, S. G. W. "Contemporary Art in England." <em>Harper&#039;s New Monthly Magazine</em>, January 1, 1877, 161-79.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>Boughton's "rapid success since his return to his native land has been owing undoubtedly in part to the fact that not only are his subjects of a popular character, but the treatment also suggests the simplicity, and consequently the consummate art, of the French school, while his color is generally quiet, and, if it does not impress at first, has the quality of growing in favor" (169).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 169]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57980" about="/node/57980" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57980">Benjamin, S. G. W. "Present Tendencies of American Art." <em></em>, March 1, 1879, 481-97.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>Mentions Boughton in relation to an upcoming artist named Grant.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 488]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55653" about="/node/55653" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55653">Benson, Eugene. "George Boughton." <em>Appletons&#039; Journal of LIterature, Science and Art</em>, January 11, 1870, 11-13.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>A biographical profile of the painter.Includes reproductions of his work.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 11-13, 12 (ill)]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57604" about="/node/57604" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57604">[Clapp, Henry Jr. and Robert W. Pearsall]. "The Fine Arts. A Reception." <em>New York Saturday Press</em>, February 14, 1860, 2.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57975" about="/node/57975" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57975">Conway, M. D. "Edouard Frere, and Sympathetic Art in France." <em>Harper&#039;s New Monthly Magazine</em>, June 1, 1871.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 813]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="60166" about="/node/60166" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/60166">Fawcett, Edgar. "[Before I was famous]." <em>Brooklyn Eagle</em>, May 25, 1884, 9.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55448" about="/node/55448" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55448">Griffis, William Elliot. "George H. Boughton, the Painter of New England Puritanism." <em>The New England Magazine</em>, December 1, 1896, 481-502.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57942" about="/node/57942" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57942">Hardie, Martin. "Boughton, George Henry." <em>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</em>, January 1, 2007.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57945" about="/node/57945" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57945">Johnston, William R. <em>William and Henry Walters: The Reticent Collectors</em>. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 1999.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>William Walters was an avid fan of Boughton's work (66).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 57, 66, 81, 82, 242, 248, 250]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55709" about="/node/55709" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55709">Lalor, Eugene T. "The Literary Bohemians of New York City in the Mid-Nineteenth Century." Ph.D. Dissertation, St. John&#039;s University, 1977.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>Described by Lalor as a "non-literary artist," perhaps a painter or a sculptor (3).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 3]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55781" about="/node/55781" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55781">Lathrop, George Parsons. "The Literary Movement in New York." <em>Harper&#039;s New Monthly Magazine</em> 73, no. 438 (1886): 813-833.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>A painter.Mentioned as a member of the "'Pfaff group,' which assisted in the publication of the <cite>Saturday Press</cite>.</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 832]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="60173" about="/node/60173" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/60173">Lause, Mark A. <em>The Antebellum Crisis and America&#039;s First Bohemians</em>. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2009.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57886" about="/node/57886" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57886">Leland, Charles Godfrey. <em>Memoirs</em>. New York: D. Appleton &amp; Co., 1893.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 403]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57946" about="/node/57946" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57946">Robinson, Ralph W. "George Henry Boughton (1833-1905)." <em>George Henry Boughton (1833-1905)</em>(1889).</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57978" about="/node/57978" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57978">"[Sketch of George Henry Boughton]." <em>Harper&#039;s New Monthly Magazine</em> 43, no. 253 (1871): 803.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55277" about="/node/55277" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55277"><em>The First Century of the Republic: A Review of American Progress</em>. New York: Harper &amp; Bros., 1876.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 412-413]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="57941" about="/node/57941" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/57941">"Who&#039;s Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary." In <em>Who&#039;s Who: An Annual Biographical Dictionary</em>, edited by Sladen, Douglas Brooke Wheelton. London: A. &amp; C. Black, 1897.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content"></div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> <li class="list-group-item"> <article data-history-node-id="55290" about="/node/55290" class="node node--type-work node--view-mode-bibliography-link"> <div class="node__content"> <a href="/node/55290">Winter, William. <em>Old Friends; Being Literary Recollections of Other Days</em>. New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1909.</a> </div> </article> <p class="list-group-item-text"><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-note"><div class="field-content"><p>He is listed as one of the artists that came to Pfaff's (66).Boughton is also mentioned as a member of "Sol's [Eytinge] group of artistic companionship" (319).</p> </div></div><div class="views-field views-field-field-mention-pages"><div class="field-content">[pages: 66,319]</div></div><div class="views-field views-field-edit-node"><span class="field-content"></span></div></p> </li> </ul> </div> </div>