biografia di Alfred Thomas AGATE (1812-1846)

Birth place: Sparta, NY

Death place: Wash., DC

Addresses: NYC, 1831-38; Wash., DC, 1842-46

Profession: Painter in oils, miniaturist, and illustrator

Studied: Frederick S. Agate (brother) and T. S. Cummings

Exhibited: NAD, 1831-39

Member: ANA, 1832; NA, 1840 (honorary)

Work: NMAA; NAD; BMFA; NY Hist. Soc.; Nat. Mus. Natural History; U.S. Naval Academy

Comments: Active as miniature painter until 1838 when he joined the round-the-world exploring expedition of Charles Wilkes as the official portrait and botany artist. Agate made drawings in Australia, the South Pacific Islands, and the Antarctic before returning to America in 1842. He settled in Wash., D.C., where he prepared his numerous sketches and paintings for inclusion in Wilke's 1844 publication Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition. Two years later, Agate died of consumption.

Sources: G&W; The 1812 birth date is given in DAB; obits. in Washington lntelligencer (Jan. 6, 1846) and N.Y. Evening Post (Jan. 8, Jan. 9, 1846) give his age at death as 28, which would place his birth in 1817 or 1818. This seems unlikely since it would mean he was only 13 when he first exhibited at the National Academy. Cowdrey, NAD; Cummings, Historic Annals, 190; NYCD 1833-35. Examples of Agate's work are reproduced in Wilkes (op. cit.) and Met. Mus. Bulletin (May 1952), 251. More recently, see NYHS Catalogue (1974),which includes discussion of his brother's portrait of him (cat. no. 17); McMahan, Artists of Washington, D.C., 3-4; Peggy and Harold Samuels, 5; Forbes, Encounters with Paradise.

Riserve legali