Robert Street (1796-1865) stands as a notable, if sometimes overlooked, figure in the landscape of nineteenth-century American art. Active primarily as a portraitist, Street's career spanned a dynamic period of American history, from the Era of Good Feelings through the tumultuous years leading up to and including the Civil War. His extensive body of work offers a valuable visual record of the individuals who shaped and inhabited the burgeoning United States, particularly in his adopted city of Philadelphia. While perhaps not possessing the refined élan of some of his more celebrated contemporaries, Street's directness, prolific output, and dedication to capturing a likeness provide a significant contribution to the narrative of American portraiture.
Early Life and Artistic Formation
Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1796, Robert Street emerged into a young nation still forging its cultural identity. Details about his earliest artistic training are somewhat scarce, a common reality for many American artists of that period who often relied on apprenticeships, self-teaching, or brief periods of study with established painters. It is widely believed and documented that Street received instruction from the esteemed portraitist Thomas Sully (1783-1872) in Philadelphia. Sully, known for his elegant and somewhat romanticized depictions influenced by British masters like Sir Thomas Lawrence, would have provided Street with a solid foundation in academic portrait painting techniques.
This tutelage under Sully is significant. Sully's studio was a hub of artistic activity in Philadelphia, and exposure to his methods, his clientele, and the broader artistic discussions of the time would have been invaluable. Street would have learned about canvas preparation, paint mixing, posing subjects, capturing likenesses, and the business side of being a professional artist. While Street's mature style diverged from Sully's more fluid and graceful approach, the fundamental skills acquired would have served him throughout his long career.
The artistic environment of Philadelphia in the early 19th century was vibrant. The city was a major cultural and economic center, home to institutions like the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), founded in 1805. Artists like Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) and his talented family, including Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860) and Raphaelle Peale (1774-1825), had already established a strong tradition of portraiture and history painting. The presence of such figures and institutions created an atmosphere conducive to artistic development and patronage.
A Prolific Portraitist in Philadelphia
Robert Street established himself as a professional portrait painter, primarily based in Philadelphia, though he also worked in other cities, including Washington D.C., and reportedly traveled as an itinerant artist at times, seeking commissions in various locales. His career truly gained momentum in the 1820s, and he remained active for several decades. Philadelphia, with its growing merchant class, political figures, and established families, provided a steady demand for portraits. In an age before the widespread availability of photography, a painted portrait was the primary means of preserving one's likeness for posterity and a significant status symbol.
Street was known for his remarkable productivity. He is said to have painted thousands of portraits during his lifetime, a testament to his diligence and the demand for his services. His sitters were diverse, ranging from prominent political figures and military heroes to everyday citizens, merchants, and their families. This breadth of clientele suggests an artist who was accessible and whose style appealed to a wide segment of society.
He was a regular exhibitor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, one of America's oldest and most prestigious art institutions. His consistent presence in these exhibitions from the 1820s through the 1850s indicates his active participation in the Philadelphia art scene and his desire to showcase his work to a broader public. He also exhibited at other venues, such as the Artists' Fund Society in Philadelphia.
Artistic Style and Characteristics
Robert Street's style is often characterized by its directness and a commitment to capturing a faithful, if sometimes unidealized, likeness of his subjects. His portraits generally lack the overt romanticism or grandiosity found in the work of some of his contemporaries like Thomas Sully or the earlier Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828). Instead, Street's approach was often more straightforward, focusing on the sitter's features and attire with a degree of clarity and precision.
His figures are typically solidly rendered, often presented in conventional poses, either seated or standing, against plain or minimally detailed backgrounds. This focus on the sitter, without distracting elaborate settings, places emphasis on the individual's character as conveyed through their facial expression and demeanor. There's an earnestness to his work, a sense of the artist diligently working to record the person before him.
While some critics have noted a certain stiffness or lack of anatomical finesse in some of his works, particularly when compared to the more academically polished European or European-trained artists, Street consistently demonstrated an ability to capture a strong sense of presence. His attention to costume details – the fabrics, lace, and accessories – provides valuable historical information about the fashions of the period. His palette was generally sober, though he could employ richer colors when the subject's attire or status called for it.
It's important to place Street's style within the context of American art. While artists like Sully aimed for a more cosmopolitan, European-influenced elegance, there was also a strong current of more direct, less idealized representation in American art, sometimes linked to a lingering folk art tradition or a pragmatic American sensibility. Street's work seems to occupy a space between the highly refined academic style and the more naive approach of untrained folk painters. He was a professional, trained artist, but his work often retained a forthright quality that resonated with American patrons.
Representative Works and Notable Sitters
Among Robert Street's most well-known and historically significant works are his portraits of prominent American figures. He painted several United States presidents, a mark of considerable prestige for an artist of his time.
His portrait of Andrew Jackson is perhaps his most famous. Street painted Jackson on multiple occasions. One notable version, created around 1839-1840, depicts the former president in his later years, capturing the rugged strength and determination for which "Old Hickory" was known. These portraits were widely recognized and helped solidify Street's reputation as a painter of national figures. The demand for images of Jackson was immense, and Street's likenesses contributed to the visual iconography of this iconic president.
Street also painted Zachary Taylor, another military hero who became president. His portraits of Taylor, likely executed around the time of Taylor's presidency (1849-1850), would have been important commissions, further demonstrating Street's standing.
Beyond presidents, Street's oeuvre includes numerous portraits of other individuals. While a comprehensive catalogue is vast, his subjects often included local Philadelphia dignitaries, members of the clergy, military officers, successful merchants, and their wives and children. Each portrait, whether of a national figure or a local citizen, contributes to our understanding of American society during the antebellum period. For example, his portraits of women often highlight the fashions and societal roles of the time, while those of men can convey a sense of professional identity or civic importance.
His "Self-Portrait" (circa 1820s-1830s) offers a glimpse of the artist himself, presenting a serious and focused individual. Such self-portraits are invaluable for understanding how artists viewed themselves and their profession.
The Context of American Portraiture in the 19th Century
To fully appreciate Robert Street's contribution, it's essential to understand the role of portraiture in 19th-century America. In the decades following the Revolution, and well into the century, portrait painting was the dominant art form. The young republic was keen to establish its own heroes and preserve the likenesses of its leading citizens. Families, too, sought portraits as records of their lineage and achievements.
Artists like Gilbert Stuart had set a high standard with his iconic portraits of George Washington. The Peale family in Philadelphia, with Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, and James Peale (1749-1831), created a dynasty of portraitists. Thomas Sully, Street's teacher, brought a fashionable, romantic flair. Other notable portraitists active during parts of Street's career included Chester Harding (1792-1866), known for his robust and direct style; John Neagle (1796-1865), a contemporary of Street's in Philadelphia, famous for works like "Pat Lyon at the Forge"; Henry Inman (1801-1846), who was highly regarded for his refined portraits; and Samuel F.B. Morse (1791-1872), who was a distinguished painter before focusing on his invention of the telegraph.
Further afield, artists like Ezra Ames (1768-1836) in Albany, New York, and Matthew Harris Jouett (1788-1827) in Kentucky, catered to regional clienteles. The demand was such that many painters, including Street at times, worked as itinerant artists, traveling from town to town to find commissions. This practice helped disseminate artistic styles and provided visual records of individuals across a wider geographic area.
The rise of photography, particularly the daguerreotype in the 1840s and 1850s, began to impact the market for painted portraits. Photography offered a quicker and often cheaper way to obtain a likeness. However, painted portraiture continued to hold prestige, often seen as a more enduring and artistic form of representation. Many painters, Street included, continued to find work, though the nature of the market was gradually changing. Some artists even used photographs as aids for their painted portraits.
Street's Exhibitions and "Street's Great National Painting"
Robert Street was not only a prolific painter but also an entrepreneur in how he presented his work. Beyond regular submissions to PAFA, he organized his own exhibitions. Most notably, in 1840, he opened a gallery in Philadelphia to display his own collection of paintings, which included copies of Old Masters as well as his original works. This venture, sometimes referred to as "Street's Great National Painting" or similar promotional titles for specific large-scale works he might have exhibited, aimed to attract a broad public and showcase his versatility.
This endeavor to exhibit a large collection of works, including historical subjects or ambitious compositions alongside portraits, was not uncommon. Artists like Charles Willson Peale had famously established Peale's Museum, which combined natural history with art. Street's gallery, while perhaps more modest, reflects a similar desire to engage the public and elevate the status of art in America. It also demonstrates his ambition beyond simply fulfilling individual portrait commissions.
The inclusion of copies of Old Masters was a common practice. It served to educate the public about European art traditions and also demonstrated the artist's skill in emulating revered historical styles. For Street, it would have been a way to show his range and his connection to the broader history of art.
Later Career and Legacy
Robert Street continued to paint through the 1850s and into the early 1860s. The art world was changing, with landscape painting, championed by the Hudson River School artists like Thomas Cole (1801-1848), Asher B. Durand (1796-1886), Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900), and Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902), gaining immense popularity. Genre painting, depicting scenes of everyday life by artists such as William Sidney Mount (1807-1868) and George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879), was also capturing the American imagination.
Despite these shifts, the demand for portraiture persisted, and Street remained a practitioner. He passed away in 1865, the same year the Civil War ended. His death marked the close of a long and productive career that had witnessed significant transformations in American society and its art.
Today, Robert Street's paintings are held in numerous public and private collections, including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and various historical societies. While he may not be as widely known as some of his contemporaries, his work is valued by art historians and curators for several reasons.
Firstly, his portraits provide an extensive visual archive of Americans from a crucial period. His sitters, from presidents to less famous individuals, offer a cross-section of society. Secondly, his style, with its characteristic directness, offers a contrast to the more idealized or romanticized portraiture of the era, providing a different lens through which to view his subjects. Thirdly, his long career and consistent exhibition record make him a case study for understanding the life and business of a professional artist in 19th-century America.
His connection to Thomas Sully places him within an important lineage of Philadelphia painters. While his artistic path diverged, the foundational training was significant. He can be seen as part of a broader school of Philadelphia portraitists that included figures like Jacob Eichholtz (1776-1842), who also produced a large number of straightforward and honest likenesses, and John Neagle, his exact contemporary.
Critical Reception and Historical Placement
Historically, Robert Street's work has sometimes been characterized as competent but perhaps lacking the artistic brilliance or innovation of the period's leading masters. Some 20th-century art historical narratives, focused on tracing the development of modernism or celebrating artists who broke new ground, may have given less attention to prolific but stylistically more conservative painters like Street.
However, a more nuanced understanding of 19th-century American art appreciates the varied roles that artists played. Street fulfilled a vital function as a chronicler of his time. His success in securing commissions from prominent figures like Andrew Jackson indicates that his skills were recognized and valued by his contemporaries. The sheer volume of his output suggests a sustained demand for his particular style of portraiture.
In the context of American art, which was still developing its own distinct traditions separate from Europe, artists like Street contributed to a growing national visual culture. His work, while perhaps not revolutionary in technique, was part of the fabric of American artistic life. He provided a service that was highly valued: the creation of lasting likenesses that affirmed identity, status, and familial connection.
Compared to an artist like John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) later in the century, whose dazzling brushwork and psychological insight redefined portraiture, Street's approach is more workmanlike. But this is not necessarily a criticism. Street's era and clientele had different expectations. His patrons often sought a clear, recognizable, and dignified representation, and in this, Street generally succeeded.
Conclusion: An Enduring Record
Robert Street's career as a portrait painter spanned nearly half a century, a period of profound change in the United States. From his studio in Philadelphia and during his travels, he diligently recorded the faces of a nation, from its leaders to its ordinary citizens. His association with Thomas Sully provided him with a strong technical grounding, which he adapted to his own straightforward and honest style.
While the grand narratives of art history often focus on innovators and masters of exceptional genius, the contributions of prolific and competent artists like Robert Street are essential for a complete understanding of a period's visual culture. His portraits of Andrew Jackson and Zachary Taylor secure his place in the iconography of American leadership. His many other portraits offer a broader demographic snapshot of antebellum America.
His entrepreneurial efforts, such as establishing his own gallery, speak to the practicalities and ambitions of an artist working in a competitive field. He was an active participant in the Philadelphia art scene, consistently exhibiting his work and engaging with the public.
Robert Street may not have achieved the lasting fame of Gilbert Stuart or the fashionable acclaim of Thomas Sully, nor the groundbreaking vision of later artists. However, his dedication to his craft, his prolific output, and the historical value of his numerous portraits ensure his significance. He was a steadfast visual historian of his time, and his canvases continue to offer valuable insights into the people and the society of 19th-century America. His work remains a testament to the enduring human desire to be remembered, and to the artist's role in fulfilling that desire.
