Henry Inman

Born in Utica, NY, in 1801, Inman became an apprentice to portraitist John Wesley Jarvis at age 14, spending seven years mastering the foundations of professional painting.¹

In 1826, he helped found the National Academy of Design, playing a pivotal role in elevating the status of American artists and establishing formal art education in the United States.¹

Moving to Philadelphia in 1831, he became a leader in the local art community and served as a director of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, significantly boosting regional art.¹

Traveling to England in 1844, he painted portraits of William Wordsworth and others; this exposure to English landscape and genre styles expanded his artistic range in his later years.¹

Despite suffering from asthma and heart issues, he painted until his death in 1846 at age 44; his passing was mourned as a major loss to the American art world.¹