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 Franklin Stanwood was born in the
Portland Alms House and shortly thereafter was adopted by Captain
Gideon Stanwood. He was self-taught and
developed a very linear style, which accorded well with the ship portraits for
which he is best known. He also painted "house
portraits" and landscapes. He was a sailor by
profession and perhaps went to England at some time for it is
believed that he met Charles Dickens, whom he admired, either there or in
this country at the time of the Dicken's
1867 visit.
In the middle of the 19th century, Portland was an important
commercial and cultural center, boasting such artists and writers as
Charles Codman, Charles Octavius
Cole, Harrison Bird Brown,
John Rollin Tilton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Nathaniel Willis.
Stanwood died at the early age of 36 of consumption.
Franklin Stanwood Chronology
References
New Hampshire Scenery
Who Was Who in American Art
Credits
Newspaper photo, The Magazine Antiques,
October 1981, page 926.
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