Thomas Birch
Thomas Birch
1779 - 1851
American painter of English birth. He was one of the most important American landscape and marine painters of the early 19th century. He moved to America in 1794 with his father William Birch (1755–1834), a painter and engraver from whom he received his artistic training. The family settled in Philadelphia, where William, armed with letters of introduction from Benjamin West to leading citizens of that city, became a drawing-master. Early in their American careers both Birches executed cityscapes, several of which were engraved. Thomas contributed a number of compositions to The City of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania, North America, as it Appeared in the Year 1800 (1800), a series of views conceived by the elder Birch in obvious imitation of comparable British productions. An English sensibility is also apparent in the many paintings of country estates executed by father and son in the early 19th century (e.g. Eaglesfield, 1808; priv. col., see 1986 exh. cat., p. 26). These compositions, along with such portrayals of important public edifices in and near Philadelphia as Fairmount Waterworks (1821; Philadelphia, PA Acad. F.A.), emphasize the cultural progress and commercial prosperity of the young United States as well as its almost Edenic natural beauty. Birch is also known for his representations of winter landscapes (examples in Shelburne, VT, Mus.)
Among Birch’s most accomplished landscapes from the 1810s are his two views of Point Breeze, the country seat of Joseph Bonaparte outside Bordentown, NJ. The sweeping view of the Delaware River as seen from the elegant terrace of this villa, decorated with Classical sculpture and populated with fashionably dressed men and women (1818; priv. col., see 1986 exh. cat., p. 146), is perhaps unique in American art of this period. Its pronounced French flavour seems particularly appropriate for a composition probably commissioned by Napoleon’s brother or by one of the Prince’s admirers. The collection of Old Masters and contemporary European works at Point Breeze was a major artistic attraction and a source of inspiration to many American painters, including Birch.
At the time of the War of 1812 with Britain, Birch took up marine painting. Although he continued to paint landscapes, particularly with river views (e.g. View on the Delaware, 1831; Washington, DC, Corcoran Gal. A.) and country estates, many of his works from the second half of his career are naval scenes that reflect his familiarity with the Anglo-Dutch tradition of marine painting. While these compositions frequently depict shipping on the Delaware and in New York harbour (several in Boston, MA, Mus. F.A.), he also executed a series of important canvases chronicling major naval engagements of the war (Philadelphia, PA, Hist. Soc.; New York, NY Hist. Soc.). His seascapes with shipping along rocky coasts buffeted by storms, such as Shipwreck (1829; New York, Brooklyn Mus. A.), recall the compositions of Joseph Vernet, whose work Birch knew first hand and through prints, and those of Vernet’s followers in England, such as Philippe de Loutherbourg. Birch was a frequent exhibitor at the Pennsylvania Academy, where he served as keeper from 1812 to 1817, as well as at other artistic institutions in Philadelphia and New York. [Edward J. Nygren. "Birch, Thomas." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed September 3, 2014, http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T008958.]
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