50th Annual Report for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Item
Title
50th Annual Report for the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Identifier
1855-AR.pdf
Date
1855
Creator
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Subject
annual report
finance report
school report
exhibition
history
Publisher
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' Dorothy and Kenneth Woodcock Archives
Medium
paper
Format
PDF
Source
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts' Dorothy and Kenneth Woodcock Archives
Language
eng
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extracted text
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY
,
I
OF THE
FI N E "A R TS,
"
I
.j
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
~EE,TING
ANNUAL
OF THE
(',
"
STOCJ(HOLDERS .
.,.
June 4 1855,
j
••
PHIL~DE1PHIA:
T.K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS.
1855.
PROCEEDINGS.
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS.
AT the " Annual Meeting
JOSEPH GRATZ, acting as
PEMBERTON HUTCHINSON, as
gen tlemen were elected as
year:-
of this Institution, Mr.
Chairman, . and Mr. 1.'
Secretary, the following
officers for the ensumg
PRESIDENT.
HENRY D. GILPIN.
. DIRECTORS.
HYMAN GRATZ,
CALEB COPE, '
JAMES R. LAMBDIN,
.JOHN T. LEWIS,
GEO"RGE S. PEPPER,
SAMUEL WELSH,
M. W. BALDWIN,
.•JOSEPH HARRISON,
CHARLES TOPP AN,
WILLIAM STRUTHERS,
JOHN SARTAIN,
FRANKLIN PEALE.
j
After the close of the election, Mr. GILPIN said,
that, before the meeting adjourned, he would ask to
detain .the members, of t~e Academy for a: f~w moments, while, he expressed his sense of the honor they
had conferred upon him in again selecting him to .
preside over an · institution, in the progressive well-
,
\
.....
'
4
doing of which he felt so deep an interest, and which
he believed to be so eminently calculated to afford a
source of refined and cultivated enjoyment for our
citizens, as well ,as to aid in the development of
genius and the application of taste in the arts, equally
of ornament and utility.
The official statement, said }\tIl'. GILPIN, will exhibit
the fiscal resources and situation of the Academy, and
the printed catalogue enumerates the works of art
which adorn its walls and galleries during the period
of the annual exhibition, now open; embracing as well
some of those which are the permanent property of
the Academy, as those which are temporarily placed
there by artists and the friends and patrons of art.
It will, however, ~vithout doubt, be interesting to the
proprietors, if some {acts are added which will show
what has been d~ne by those to whom its management
has been intrusted, in carrying into effect the objects
for the promotion of which it has been established.
N early half a century has now elapsed, since a
numper of our citizens voluntarily associated themsel ves together from a desire, as was stated in their
charter, to promote the cultivation of the Fine Arts
by the erection of a building for the reception of statuary and other specimens of art, alld for the public exhibition of them to the community. To establish in
our towns and cities, 'galleries in' which works of art
may be collected and exhibited, and to make them
places of resort, has ' ever been, as.it should be, an
object of enlightened interest and great utility. It
ministers to one of ' the pllrest and freshest sources of
enjoyment; it p~'omotes social intercourse and reunio!1
5
in a mode at once attractive and refined; and, beyond
these direct anet immediate influences, it produces
impressions and cultivates tastes, the benefits of
which will make themselves constantly apparent in
the business and pursuits of active life.
Depending, as all such institutions must do, in communities like ours, on the voluntary efforts of our citizens; having no resources but such as are produced by
the spontaneous liberality of those who are also called
upon to foster, in the same ·mode, other plans of public philanthropy, the Academy '-vas obliged to win its
way, year after year, in the development of its original
plan. It gradually enlarged its edifice by galleries
successively erected. It increased by degrees the
number of its specimens of art, seeking to make the
exhibitions of them more attractive, and securing, as
time passed on, the best evidence, at once of the accomplishment of its objects, and the favor with which
it was regarded, in the increasing numbers of those
who made it a place of habitual resort.
The destruction by fire, in the year 1845, of a large
portion of the buildings and property of the Academy,
seemed at first to be an irremediable blow to its progress by the llnfortunate loss of what it had thus been
laboring to attain. Thanks to the genera_us spirit of
our citizens, it has proved to be the reverse of this.
Their prompt and active liberality ill are than repaired
the injury that befell the institntion; its building~
have been restored and improved; its collections of
works of art have been augmented; and. the. number
of visitors habitually frequenting its galleries, not
only during the season of annual exhibiti0l:J., but
throughout the year, has largely increased.
6
o
"
..
The necessity of rebuilding the principal part of
the edifice, gave the opportunity of carrying , into
effect, more advantageously and appropriately, the
main objects of the institution, by the construction of
a series of galleries, adapted to the reception and exhibitiOll of works of art, an end which had been less
perfectly attained when the different apartments had
been added from time to time. Though there are
certainly edifices erected in other cities and countries
for the same purpose which are of greatBr magnitude,
it is not perhaps too much to say, that there are few
where 11l10re general taste and unity in the design
ha ve been displayed, than in the plan and construction of ~ur galleries as completed in 1847; nor have
the two objects which are most to be desired been
often rilore judiciously combined-a favorable display
of th~ works of art, and , arrangements slJch as contribute to the comfort and convenience of those ,vho
view them.
N ot,less important than the reconstruction of the
galleries, were .the restoration and augmentation of
the works of art, which were there to be collected
and exhibited; and to this object have been largely
devoted the means of the, Academy, derived from the
contributions of those who have resorted to its galleries, since their reconstruction in 1847. As it is by
these that the resources of the institution have been
greatly increased, and as the number of its habitual
visitors affords the best evideilce of the successful
attainment of its original design, it becomes more
and more an object to collect specimens of art worthy
0f their admiration.
At each of the annual exhibitions, which have
7
been punctually opened every year since the reCOllstruction of the buildings, large numbers of original
works have been temporarily collected, being deposited
either by the artists themselves or by persons to whom
they belong.
But in addition to this, the increase of works belonging to or permanently deposited with th'e Academy, has, been steadily pursued, so that the galleries
may at all times present objects of attraction to visitors, and continue to be, at all seasons of the year,
places of agreeable resort. In accordance with these
views, upwards of ten thousand dollars of the receipts,
of the Academy, since its destruction by fire, have'
been appropriated to the acquisition of pictures"
statuary, and casts. The number of works now on
exhibition in the galleries, amounts to five hundred..
and forty-six. Of these, one hundred and twenty are'
the property of or permanently deposited ,vith the'
Academy; and, in addition to them, it possesses a
large number of pictures and casts, temp(i)rarily removed froni the galleries during the exhibition.
To the specimens of modern sculpture thus acquired'
by purchase, and adorning the galleries, the Academy
has been lately enabled to add the noble statue of
Penelope, a ' work of RINALDI, one of the most dis·,
tinguishecl .o f the living sculptors of Rome, by the)
liberal donation of J. RHEA BARTON, Esq., a stock··
holder of the institution, and always interested in its.
well-doing.
.
It has bee:n an object greatly desired, since the
destruction, by the fire of 1845, of the casts from the
antique, of which the Academy possessed a large
number, to replace them; and it is with no small
8
satisfaction that we are now able to look forward to the'
accomplishment of this wish, to some extent at least.
A sum of one thousand dollars has been already appropriated; and copies in plaster, D.-om many of the
finest statues of ancient and modern sculptors, are in
the course of preparatioil at Paris. 'The gen'erous
interest in favor of the Academy, exhibited 'by the '
"'Rl incipal director of the noble Gallery of the Louvre,
, ~~>", Count de NIEUWERKERKE, himself a sculptor of
great talent, has not only added to the facilities for .
their prompt execution, but "diminished the expense
which would otherwise have attended it.
The most satisfactory proof that the efforts thus.
made to construct appropriate and convenieilt · galleries, such as our citizens can resort to with pleasure,
and to eollect in them works of art to remain there
permanently, as well as during the periods of the
annual exhibitions, has not been unattended with
success, is found in the largely increased number of
persons who visit the Academy.
Since the destruction of the building by fire, the
additional stockholders exceed the entire number of
those who existed during the :whole previous forty
years. The proprietors now amount to six hundred'
and twenty-three. As they are all entitled to free
admission to the galleries at all ' times, and as this
right extends to the members . of their families-a
right which is 'g enerally ex~rcised-the number of
annual visitors thus resorting to the Academy without
eharge, does not probably fa:ll short of two thousand,
and .of these a large number repeat their visits many
times during the year. At the annual exhibitions
since 1848; the number of. season tickets issued has
9
amounted to more than twenty-four thousand, making
an average of more than three thousand two hundred
of such visitors annually, of whom, as of the stockholders, a large. number repeat their visits many
times. During the same annual exhibitions, the
number of single tickets' issued has heen upwards of
thirty-seven thousand, making an av:erage of more
than five thousand three hundred of such visitors annually. During the residue of each year, the galleries
have been kept open at all times, and have been constantly frequented; and the number of visitors during .
the last five years, .in the intervals of the annual exhibitions, has amounted to more than fourteen thousand, making an average of more than twenty-eight
hundred of such visitors annually, exclusive of those
entitled ~o free admis~ion during the same intervals.
To all these are to be added the artists, and other
persons entitled, under the rules of the Academy, to
free admissiol?-. It will thus be seen that more than
thirteen thousand persons a~'e in t~e hab.it of resorting
annually to the Academy, many of them frequently
repeating their visits; and more than eleven thousan~
assisting, with the stockholders,to p:J;omote by their
contributions the beneficial objects of the instit.ution.
Although, however, this main design contemplated
by the charter, and which th.e Academy has thus
struggled to carry out, of collecting and exhibiting
specimens of art, has necessarily formed the prominent aim of the institution, it has constantly endeavored .to blend with it a system, as far as its means
and circlu~stances permitted, which should foster and
encourage the orjginal productions of artists, and
should afford instruction to students of art. The
10
plans adopted by the Academy to distribute . pre~
miums to living artists for original compositions, and
to extei1d to them the privileges of stockholders and
life members, as well as in regard to the establishment
of schools for the instruction of artists, have been so
fully stated to the stockholders, in a report made a
few years since, that it is unnecessary now to repeat
them; but it may be satisfactory to the present meeting to know that an amount exceeding two thousand
dollars has been expended in premiums since 1847;
and that mare than fifteen hundred dallal's have been
apprapriated tawards the schoals. The number of
schalars wha have cantinued ta be in attendance in
the . clas~es during the same periad has usually
amoiInted ta upwards .of twenty. Under the careful
and judiciaus supervisian .of Mr. ROTHERMEL, wha has
valuntarily undertaken, on behalf .of the Directars,
the principal charge .of this department, it is believed
that essential advantages have accrued; and there is
every reasan ta hape that, in future years, these may
be still further extended.
In the Library of the Academy are .one hundred
and fifty valumes .of various works, illustrating and
depicting many of the principal objects .of art in the
galleries .of Eurape; the remains .of antiquity; the
details .of architecture; the costumes .of variaus peaple
and ages; the objects mast useful ta the student and
mastattracti ve ta the amateur in variaus fields .of
natural science-with numeraus warks and treatises,
in additian, by which these subjects have been illusboated. The Academy has nat been insensible to the
advantage .of augmenting this callectian, and .of adapting such measures as may make it useful ta students
11
and to the visitors at the Academy, and the appropriations which have been lately made, with this view,
already exceed three hundred and fifty dollars.
In the fulfilment of the objects thus sought to be
attained, and in the appropriation and expenditure of
the sums of money which have been stated, as well
as in the disbursements required for the support of
the institution, the expenses of the annual exhibitions,
and the necessary expenditures for the preservation
of the property, it is a source of great satisfaction
that everything has been accomplished from the curTent revenues of the Academy.
While the amount of its property has been considerably increased, and its value has been largely
augmented, and while so much has been done, as it
is believed, to gratify and benefit the stockholder, the
visitor, the amateur, the artist, and the student, no
debt whatever ha~ been incurred; and the only obligation (with .the exception of a small ground rent
originally annexed to the lot, for the payment of
which the rent received from the buildings thereon,
not attached to the Academy, is more than sufficient)
consists of a 'debt of eight thousand dollars, secured
by mortgage, which was incurred previous to the fire
of 1845, and would in all probability have been discharged but for that occurrence. Even this small
debt, it is the desire of the Academy gradually to
reduce, so far as this can be done, from time to time,
,vithout too greatly interfering with the continuance
of the system that has been adopted and already
explained.
Yet it is, after all, on the continued favor of the
12
community that the success and progress of the
Academy must depend. It is this which must make '
its galleries more and more the resort of those to
whom they afford the gratification of a refined enjoyment; it is this which mllst enable it to preserve and
to enlarge each of the objects that are embraced in '
the plan it seeks to carry out. That this favor will
be continued by 'our coinmunity I do not doubt. It
was, r believe, the first , institution, founded on this
side of the Atlantic for the purpose of collecting and
exhibiting to the public specimens of sculpture and
painting; for conferring premiums on artists for
original and meritorious produCtiOIls in both of these
branches of intellect and genius; and for giving to
the student of art all the opportunities of study '
which well selected models,' galleries, and schools can
afford. Philadelphia has hitherto generously che- '
rished it; and it is no il'ilprOper wish or unreasonable '
belief to think that her future favors will increase
with her own prosperity and population.
/
CATALOGUE
OF .THE
WORKS OF ART
BELONGING TO THE '
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS.
1855.
PICTURES.
SUBJECT.
Death qn the Pale Horse,
Paul and Barnabas at Lystra,
The :Qead Man restored to Life,
The Deliverance of Leyden,
Gil Bla~ in the Robbers' Cave,
Copy of Gil BIas in the Robbers' Cave,
The Mnrc1er of Rutland,
The Shipwreck,
The Death of Abel,
Time !1l1d 'l'ruth correcting Love,
Adam ~l1d Eve,
, The Elll:barkation of Columbus,
David after the Overthrow of Golia~h,
Roget de Lisle singing the Marseillaise,
,The R~covery,
Judith with the Head of Holofernes,
Jhe Adoration of the Wise Men,
ARTIST.
West.
. vVest.
Allston.
Wittkamp.
Opie.
Sully.
Leslie.
Vernet.
Lotti.
Le Brun.
Lotti.
Rothermel.
Schweminger.
Guft'ens.
Hj1bner.
Jacobs.
Rubens.
14
SUBJEOT.
The Tribute Money (after),
R'oyal Family of Naples at Portici,
St. Peter delivered from Prison.
'1'he Miracle at Caua.
The Flight into Egypt .
.Iufant Christ and St. John (after),
The Rape of Europa,
The Martyrdom of St. Catharine.
The Cherry Girl,
The Conflagration,
Nymphs Bathing,
A Battle,
The Fete Champetre,
Musidora (after West),
The Music Party.
Mercury deceiving Argus,
Homer Reciting his Poems.
Courtship in Holland,
The Gentleman Dressing,
Cupid Musing,
Ganimede (after),
Cupid with a Vase,
Charity (after),
The Dutch Singing School.
The Country Wedding,
Beatrice Cenci (after),
The Fete Cham petre,
The Country School.
Nymphs;
The Flemish Inn.
The Water Works at the Centre Square of Philadelphia,
Banditti among Ruins,
Marine View in France,
Chew's House at Germantown,
The Snow Scene,
Battle Scene,
Sea Port in Holland,
Battle Scene,
ARTIST,
Rubens.
Vernet.
RaffaeUe.
G. Poussin,
Van Thol.
Vanderpool.
Polemberg.
Vander Meulen ,
Olivier.
Leslie.
S. Rosa.
Grausbaeh.
Van Aseh ..
Schidoni.
Guido.
Schidoni.
Teniers.
Krimmel.
Guido.
Olivier.
Polemberg.
Krimmel.
Pannini.
Vernet.
R. Smith.
Lucatelli.
Vander Meulin.
Storeks.
Vander Meulin.
15
SUBJECT.
Marine View,
Marine View,
The Susqnehanna,
Moonlight Scene.
River Scene,
Antique Ruins,
View near Hartford,
Marine View,
Marine View,
River .Scene,
Roma~ Aqueduct at Alcala,
Landscape,
Barn Yard Fowls,
Horse Market.
Landscape,
Landscape,
Cottage Scene.
Landscape,
Interior of a Cottage,
Landscape.
The Dutch Gardeners.
Fruiterers,
Gardeners,
Flower Piece.
Fishermen,
Interior.
Still Life,
Game.
Dead Game,
Fish and Lobsters.
Dead Game,
A Boar Hunt,
Full Length of Washington,
Full Length of Cooke as Richard III.,
Full Length of P . Lyon,
Portrait of Charles Kemble,
Portrait of Fanny Kemble,
Portrait of Dugald Stewart (after Raeburn).,
Portrait of James Ross,
ARTIST.
Vandervelde.
Benv. Peters.
Doughty.
Van Gorgen.
Pannini.
Doughty,
Canaletti.
Van Oss.
Van Goyen.
Bossuet.
De Groot, Sr.
Schouman.
R. Smith.
Grunewald.
S. Rosa.
Van Ostade.
Van Asch.
Van Asch.
L. Giordano\
Van Ostade.
Jan Fytt.
Snyders.
Snyders.
Stl!art.
Sully.
Neagle.
Sully.
Sully.
Lambdin.
Sully.
16
ARTIST.
SUBJECT.
Portrait of O. W. Peale,
Portrait of Nicolas Duval,
St. Jerome.
Old Head,
Rubens,
Raleigh,
Houdon,
Locke (after),
William Pitt,
David,
Denon,
Peale.
Duval.
S. Rosa.
Roos.
Vanderpool.
R. Peale.
Vandyke.
Hoppner.
R. Peale.
R. Peale.
ST.ATU.ARY.
Hero and Leander,
Penelope,
Bacchante (after),
Bacchante (after),
.Antinous (after),'
Diana (after),
Venus of Medicis (after),
Minerva (after),
Daughter of Niobe (after),
SQn of Niobe (after),
Priestess of Oeres (mutilated),
Torso .of a Draped Female,
Bust of Plato (after),
Bust of Venus' of .Arles (after),
Bust of Oaracalla (after),
_Bust ofSocrates .(after),
"',Bust of Pl,lOcion (after), - .
'i,Bust of Oom-modus (after),
Bust of Seneca (after),
Bust of Napoleon (after),
Bust of Maria Louisa,
Bust of Frauklin,
Bust of Hamilton,
Bust of Lafayette,
Steinhauser.
Rinaldi.
Oeracchi.
Ceracchi.
Antique.
.Antique.
Antique.
.Antique.
Antique.
Antique.
Antique.
.Antique.
.Antique . .
.Antique.
Antique.
Antique .
.Antique.
Antique.
Antique.
Oanova.
Canova.
Oeracchi.
Oeracchi.
Greenough.
17
SUBJECT.
Bust of Marshall,
Bust of Olay,
Bust of Ooxe,
Bust of Oannon,
Bust of William Rush
Dirce in Bronze (pJter),
Fighting Gladiator in Bronze (after),
ARTIST.
Fl'asee.
Oannon.
Oannon.
Oannon.
Rush.
Antique.
Antique.
CASTS IN PLASTER.
Centaurs and Lapithre,
Gate of the Florentine Baptistry (after),
Frederick the Great (after),
Day and Night (after),
Laughing Boy,
Innocence,
Bust,
Venus and Cupid,
Sleeping Oupid,
Singing School (after),
Gladiator.
Medallions of the Seasons (after),
Bust of Longfellow,
Bust of Adams,
Bust of Hopkinson,
Bust of Allston,
Bust of West,
Lough.
Ghiberti.
Rauch.
Thorwaldsen.
Fraikin.
Fraikin.
Fraikin,
Fl;aikin.
Fl'aikin.
L. della Robia.
Impressions of Antique Gems (fourteen cases),
Impressions of Antique Gems (six cases),
Impressions of Medals (eight cases).
Dolce. ,
Pichler.
2
J..,:
Thorwaldsen.
Brackett.
King.
Cleavenger.
Oleavenger.
Ohantry.
16"
----.... fL.
t
LIBRARY
OF THE
PENNSYLV ANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS.
1855.
FOLIO. ·
YOLS.
Piranesi; .Ul'bis (Eternal Vestigia,
Visconti; Iconographie Grecque,
Museo Pio Clementino, .
Volpato e MorgjJ.en; Principi del Disegno,
Schola PictlIrffi Italicffi,
Pil'anesi; Stampi,
Piranesi; Plates,
. Dolce; Museo Christiano,
Admiranc1a Antiquitatum Romanorum,
Wilkins; Antiquities of Mag'na Gl'fficia,
;Raccolte de' Statue Antiche,
Denon; Planches du Voyage. en Egypte,
Nash; Views of St. George's Chapel, Windsor,
Middleton; Picturesque and Architectnral Views,
Loggie del Vaticano,
Calcografia de' Belle Statue, .
Antichite di Ercolano,
Agincourt; History of Art by its Monuments,
Meyrich; Ancient Armor,
Skelton; Ancient Armor,
Costumes Franyaises depuis Clovis,
Ooney 's Foreign Cathedrals,
25
3
6
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
·1
1
1
1
9
1
3
2
2
1
19
VOLS.
Jardin de la Malmaison,
Redoute; les Liliacees,
Wilson; Ornithology,
Humboldt; Planches du Voyage en Novelle Espagne,
Humboldt; .Plantes de la Novelle Espagne,
<Euvres de Racine,
Rehburg; Collection of Engravings from drawings after
Nature,
Farr and Knox; Plates illustrating the Anatomy of the External Form of Man ,
.
Portfolio of Engravings,
1
5
8
1
1
3
1
1
1
QUARTO.
Antichite di Ercolano,
Veteres Arcus Allgustorum,
Raccolte di Citta di Rci~a,
Descrizione della Colonna di Trajano,
Il Vigno] 0 Illustrato,
Winkelmann; Storia delle Arte ,
Mab]y; Observations sur les Grecs et Romans,
Rossi; Scherzi Poetici Pittorici,
Denon; Description illustratif du Voyage en Egypte,
Dijonval; Dictionnaire des Peintres et Graveurs,
Charter and Account of the Royal Institution,
Ridolphi; Critical Letters,
Lorenzo; Gritica] Letters,
Carey; Review of Stothard's "Chancer's Pilgrims,"
Carey; Letter to Joseph Hopkinso.n,
Manni; N otizie de Professod del Disegno,
Illustrazioui di dlie Vasi trovati in Pesto,
Pugin; Gothic Ornaments and Gables,
Pugin; Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament,
Pugin; Examples of Gothic Architecture,
Pugin; Details of AnCient Timber Houses,
Pugin; Designs for Work in Iron and Brass,
Pugin ;. Designs for Gothic Furniture,
Pugin; Designs for Goldsmiths,
Martin; Civil Costumes of England,
4
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
22
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
VOLS.
Stl'utt ; Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities,
f::ltrutt; Dresses of England,
Field; Treatise on Oolors and Pigments,
1
2
1
OOTAVO.
Hope; Oostumes of the Ancients,
Bryan; Dictionary of Painters,
Shaw '; Antiquities and Dresses;
Farr and Knox; Anatomy of the External Form
(
I. -
• •1'-.
1
'1
1
of 'M~n,
I ,
,
I
OF THE
FI N E "A R TS,
"
I
.j
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
~EE,TING
ANNUAL
OF THE
(',
"
STOCJ(HOLDERS .
.,.
June 4 1855,
j
••
PHIL~DE1PHIA:
T.K. AND P. G. COLLINS, PRINTERS.
1855.
PROCEEDINGS.
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS.
AT the " Annual Meeting
JOSEPH GRATZ, acting as
PEMBERTON HUTCHINSON, as
gen tlemen were elected as
year:-
of this Institution, Mr.
Chairman, . and Mr. 1.'
Secretary, the following
officers for the ensumg
PRESIDENT.
HENRY D. GILPIN.
. DIRECTORS.
HYMAN GRATZ,
CALEB COPE, '
JAMES R. LAMBDIN,
.JOHN T. LEWIS,
GEO"RGE S. PEPPER,
SAMUEL WELSH,
M. W. BALDWIN,
.•JOSEPH HARRISON,
CHARLES TOPP AN,
WILLIAM STRUTHERS,
JOHN SARTAIN,
FRANKLIN PEALE.
j
After the close of the election, Mr. GILPIN said,
that, before the meeting adjourned, he would ask to
detain .the members, of t~e Academy for a: f~w moments, while, he expressed his sense of the honor they
had conferred upon him in again selecting him to .
preside over an · institution, in the progressive well-
,
\
.....
'
4
doing of which he felt so deep an interest, and which
he believed to be so eminently calculated to afford a
source of refined and cultivated enjoyment for our
citizens, as well ,as to aid in the development of
genius and the application of taste in the arts, equally
of ornament and utility.
The official statement, said }\tIl'. GILPIN, will exhibit
the fiscal resources and situation of the Academy, and
the printed catalogue enumerates the works of art
which adorn its walls and galleries during the period
of the annual exhibition, now open; embracing as well
some of those which are the permanent property of
the Academy, as those which are temporarily placed
there by artists and the friends and patrons of art.
It will, however, ~vithout doubt, be interesting to the
proprietors, if some {acts are added which will show
what has been d~ne by those to whom its management
has been intrusted, in carrying into effect the objects
for the promotion of which it has been established.
N early half a century has now elapsed, since a
numper of our citizens voluntarily associated themsel ves together from a desire, as was stated in their
charter, to promote the cultivation of the Fine Arts
by the erection of a building for the reception of statuary and other specimens of art, alld for the public exhibition of them to the community. To establish in
our towns and cities, 'galleries in' which works of art
may be collected and exhibited, and to make them
places of resort, has ' ever been, as.it should be, an
object of enlightened interest and great utility. It
ministers to one of ' the pllrest and freshest sources of
enjoyment; it p~'omotes social intercourse and reunio!1
5
in a mode at once attractive and refined; and, beyond
these direct anet immediate influences, it produces
impressions and cultivates tastes, the benefits of
which will make themselves constantly apparent in
the business and pursuits of active life.
Depending, as all such institutions must do, in communities like ours, on the voluntary efforts of our citizens; having no resources but such as are produced by
the spontaneous liberality of those who are also called
upon to foster, in the same ·mode, other plans of public philanthropy, the Academy '-vas obliged to win its
way, year after year, in the development of its original
plan. It gradually enlarged its edifice by galleries
successively erected. It increased by degrees the
number of its specimens of art, seeking to make the
exhibitions of them more attractive, and securing, as
time passed on, the best evidence, at once of the accomplishment of its objects, and the favor with which
it was regarded, in the increasing numbers of those
who made it a place of habitual resort.
The destruction by fire, in the year 1845, of a large
portion of the buildings and property of the Academy,
seemed at first to be an irremediable blow to its progress by the llnfortunate loss of what it had thus been
laboring to attain. Thanks to the genera_us spirit of
our citizens, it has proved to be the reverse of this.
Their prompt and active liberality ill are than repaired
the injury that befell the institntion; its building~
have been restored and improved; its collections of
works of art have been augmented; and. the. number
of visitors habitually frequenting its galleries, not
only during the season of annual exhibiti0l:J., but
throughout the year, has largely increased.
6
o
"
..
The necessity of rebuilding the principal part of
the edifice, gave the opportunity of carrying , into
effect, more advantageously and appropriately, the
main objects of the institution, by the construction of
a series of galleries, adapted to the reception and exhibitiOll of works of art, an end which had been less
perfectly attained when the different apartments had
been added from time to time. Though there are
certainly edifices erected in other cities and countries
for the same purpose which are of greatBr magnitude,
it is not perhaps too much to say, that there are few
where 11l10re general taste and unity in the design
ha ve been displayed, than in the plan and construction of ~ur galleries as completed in 1847; nor have
the two objects which are most to be desired been
often rilore judiciously combined-a favorable display
of th~ works of art, and , arrangements slJch as contribute to the comfort and convenience of those ,vho
view them.
N ot,less important than the reconstruction of the
galleries, were .the restoration and augmentation of
the works of art, which were there to be collected
and exhibited; and to this object have been largely
devoted the means of the, Academy, derived from the
contributions of those who have resorted to its galleries, since their reconstruction in 1847. As it is by
these that the resources of the institution have been
greatly increased, and as the number of its habitual
visitors affords the best evideilce of the successful
attainment of its original design, it becomes more
and more an object to collect specimens of art worthy
0f their admiration.
At each of the annual exhibitions, which have
7
been punctually opened every year since the reCOllstruction of the buildings, large numbers of original
works have been temporarily collected, being deposited
either by the artists themselves or by persons to whom
they belong.
But in addition to this, the increase of works belonging to or permanently deposited with th'e Academy, has, been steadily pursued, so that the galleries
may at all times present objects of attraction to visitors, and continue to be, at all seasons of the year,
places of agreeable resort. In accordance with these
views, upwards of ten thousand dollars of the receipts,
of the Academy, since its destruction by fire, have'
been appropriated to the acquisition of pictures"
statuary, and casts. The number of works now on
exhibition in the galleries, amounts to five hundred..
and forty-six. Of these, one hundred and twenty are'
the property of or permanently deposited ,vith the'
Academy; and, in addition to them, it possesses a
large number of pictures and casts, temp(i)rarily removed froni the galleries during the exhibition.
To the specimens of modern sculpture thus acquired'
by purchase, and adorning the galleries, the Academy
has been lately enabled to add the noble statue of
Penelope, a ' work of RINALDI, one of the most dis·,
tinguishecl .o f the living sculptors of Rome, by the)
liberal donation of J. RHEA BARTON, Esq., a stock··
holder of the institution, and always interested in its.
well-doing.
.
It has bee:n an object greatly desired, since the
destruction, by the fire of 1845, of the casts from the
antique, of which the Academy possessed a large
number, to replace them; and it is with no small
8
satisfaction that we are now able to look forward to the'
accomplishment of this wish, to some extent at least.
A sum of one thousand dollars has been already appropriated; and copies in plaster, D.-om many of the
finest statues of ancient and modern sculptors, are in
the course of preparatioil at Paris. 'The gen'erous
interest in favor of the Academy, exhibited 'by the '
"'Rl incipal director of the noble Gallery of the Louvre,
, ~~>", Count de NIEUWERKERKE, himself a sculptor of
great talent, has not only added to the facilities for .
their prompt execution, but "diminished the expense
which would otherwise have attended it.
The most satisfactory proof that the efforts thus.
made to construct appropriate and convenieilt · galleries, such as our citizens can resort to with pleasure,
and to eollect in them works of art to remain there
permanently, as well as during the periods of the
annual exhibitions, has not been unattended with
success, is found in the largely increased number of
persons who visit the Academy.
Since the destruction of the building by fire, the
additional stockholders exceed the entire number of
those who existed during the :whole previous forty
years. The proprietors now amount to six hundred'
and twenty-three. As they are all entitled to free
admission to the galleries at all ' times, and as this
right extends to the members . of their families-a
right which is 'g enerally ex~rcised-the number of
annual visitors thus resorting to the Academy without
eharge, does not probably fa:ll short of two thousand,
and .of these a large number repeat their visits many
times during the year. At the annual exhibitions
since 1848; the number of. season tickets issued has
9
amounted to more than twenty-four thousand, making
an average of more than three thousand two hundred
of such visitors annually, of whom, as of the stockholders, a large. number repeat their visits many
times. During the same annual exhibitions, the
number of single tickets' issued has heen upwards of
thirty-seven thousand, making an av:erage of more
than five thousand three hundred of such visitors annually. During the residue of each year, the galleries
have been kept open at all times, and have been constantly frequented; and the number of visitors during .
the last five years, .in the intervals of the annual exhibitions, has amounted to more than fourteen thousand, making an average of more than twenty-eight
hundred of such visitors annually, exclusive of those
entitled ~o free admis~ion during the same intervals.
To all these are to be added the artists, and other
persons entitled, under the rules of the Academy, to
free admissiol?-. It will thus be seen that more than
thirteen thousand persons a~'e in t~e hab.it of resorting
annually to the Academy, many of them frequently
repeating their visits; and more than eleven thousan~
assisting, with the stockholders,to p:J;omote by their
contributions the beneficial objects of the instit.ution.
Although, however, this main design contemplated
by the charter, and which th.e Academy has thus
struggled to carry out, of collecting and exhibiting
specimens of art, has necessarily formed the prominent aim of the institution, it has constantly endeavored .to blend with it a system, as far as its means
and circlu~stances permitted, which should foster and
encourage the orjginal productions of artists, and
should afford instruction to students of art. The
10
plans adopted by the Academy to distribute . pre~
miums to living artists for original compositions, and
to extei1d to them the privileges of stockholders and
life members, as well as in regard to the establishment
of schools for the instruction of artists, have been so
fully stated to the stockholders, in a report made a
few years since, that it is unnecessary now to repeat
them; but it may be satisfactory to the present meeting to know that an amount exceeding two thousand
dollars has been expended in premiums since 1847;
and that mare than fifteen hundred dallal's have been
apprapriated tawards the schoals. The number of
schalars wha have cantinued ta be in attendance in
the . clas~es during the same periad has usually
amoiInted ta upwards .of twenty. Under the careful
and judiciaus supervisian .of Mr. ROTHERMEL, wha has
valuntarily undertaken, on behalf .of the Directars,
the principal charge .of this department, it is believed
that essential advantages have accrued; and there is
every reasan ta hape that, in future years, these may
be still further extended.
In the Library of the Academy are .one hundred
and fifty valumes .of various works, illustrating and
depicting many of the principal objects .of art in the
galleries .of Eurape; the remains .of antiquity; the
details .of architecture; the costumes .of variaus peaple
and ages; the objects mast useful ta the student and
mastattracti ve ta the amateur in variaus fields .of
natural science-with numeraus warks and treatises,
in additian, by which these subjects have been illusboated. The Academy has nat been insensible to the
advantage .of augmenting this callectian, and .of adapting such measures as may make it useful ta students
11
and to the visitors at the Academy, and the appropriations which have been lately made, with this view,
already exceed three hundred and fifty dollars.
In the fulfilment of the objects thus sought to be
attained, and in the appropriation and expenditure of
the sums of money which have been stated, as well
as in the disbursements required for the support of
the institution, the expenses of the annual exhibitions,
and the necessary expenditures for the preservation
of the property, it is a source of great satisfaction
that everything has been accomplished from the curTent revenues of the Academy.
While the amount of its property has been considerably increased, and its value has been largely
augmented, and while so much has been done, as it
is believed, to gratify and benefit the stockholder, the
visitor, the amateur, the artist, and the student, no
debt whatever ha~ been incurred; and the only obligation (with .the exception of a small ground rent
originally annexed to the lot, for the payment of
which the rent received from the buildings thereon,
not attached to the Academy, is more than sufficient)
consists of a 'debt of eight thousand dollars, secured
by mortgage, which was incurred previous to the fire
of 1845, and would in all probability have been discharged but for that occurrence. Even this small
debt, it is the desire of the Academy gradually to
reduce, so far as this can be done, from time to time,
,vithout too greatly interfering with the continuance
of the system that has been adopted and already
explained.
Yet it is, after all, on the continued favor of the
12
community that the success and progress of the
Academy must depend. It is this which must make '
its galleries more and more the resort of those to
whom they afford the gratification of a refined enjoyment; it is this which mllst enable it to preserve and
to enlarge each of the objects that are embraced in '
the plan it seeks to carry out. That this favor will
be continued by 'our coinmunity I do not doubt. It
was, r believe, the first , institution, founded on this
side of the Atlantic for the purpose of collecting and
exhibiting to the public specimens of sculpture and
painting; for conferring premiums on artists for
original and meritorious produCtiOIls in both of these
branches of intellect and genius; and for giving to
the student of art all the opportunities of study '
which well selected models,' galleries, and schools can
afford. Philadelphia has hitherto generously che- '
rished it; and it is no il'ilprOper wish or unreasonable '
belief to think that her future favors will increase
with her own prosperity and population.
/
CATALOGUE
OF .THE
WORKS OF ART
BELONGING TO THE '
PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS.
1855.
PICTURES.
SUBJECT.
Death qn the Pale Horse,
Paul and Barnabas at Lystra,
The :Qead Man restored to Life,
The Deliverance of Leyden,
Gil Bla~ in the Robbers' Cave,
Copy of Gil BIas in the Robbers' Cave,
The Mnrc1er of Rutland,
The Shipwreck,
The Death of Abel,
Time !1l1d 'l'ruth correcting Love,
Adam ~l1d Eve,
, The Elll:barkation of Columbus,
David after the Overthrow of Golia~h,
Roget de Lisle singing the Marseillaise,
,The R~covery,
Judith with the Head of Holofernes,
Jhe Adoration of the Wise Men,
ARTIST.
West.
. vVest.
Allston.
Wittkamp.
Opie.
Sully.
Leslie.
Vernet.
Lotti.
Le Brun.
Lotti.
Rothermel.
Schweminger.
Guft'ens.
Hj1bner.
Jacobs.
Rubens.
14
SUBJEOT.
The Tribute Money (after),
R'oyal Family of Naples at Portici,
St. Peter delivered from Prison.
'1'he Miracle at Caua.
The Flight into Egypt .
.Iufant Christ and St. John (after),
The Rape of Europa,
The Martyrdom of St. Catharine.
The Cherry Girl,
The Conflagration,
Nymphs Bathing,
A Battle,
The Fete Champetre,
Musidora (after West),
The Music Party.
Mercury deceiving Argus,
Homer Reciting his Poems.
Courtship in Holland,
The Gentleman Dressing,
Cupid Musing,
Ganimede (after),
Cupid with a Vase,
Charity (after),
The Dutch Singing School.
The Country Wedding,
Beatrice Cenci (after),
The Fete Cham petre,
The Country School.
Nymphs;
The Flemish Inn.
The Water Works at the Centre Square of Philadelphia,
Banditti among Ruins,
Marine View in France,
Chew's House at Germantown,
The Snow Scene,
Battle Scene,
Sea Port in Holland,
Battle Scene,
ARTIST,
Rubens.
Vernet.
RaffaeUe.
G. Poussin,
Van Thol.
Vanderpool.
Polemberg.
Vander Meulen ,
Olivier.
Leslie.
S. Rosa.
Grausbaeh.
Van Aseh ..
Schidoni.
Guido.
Schidoni.
Teniers.
Krimmel.
Guido.
Olivier.
Polemberg.
Krimmel.
Pannini.
Vernet.
R. Smith.
Lucatelli.
Vander Meulin.
Storeks.
Vander Meulin.
15
SUBJECT.
Marine View,
Marine View,
The Susqnehanna,
Moonlight Scene.
River Scene,
Antique Ruins,
View near Hartford,
Marine View,
Marine View,
River .Scene,
Roma~ Aqueduct at Alcala,
Landscape,
Barn Yard Fowls,
Horse Market.
Landscape,
Landscape,
Cottage Scene.
Landscape,
Interior of a Cottage,
Landscape.
The Dutch Gardeners.
Fruiterers,
Gardeners,
Flower Piece.
Fishermen,
Interior.
Still Life,
Game.
Dead Game,
Fish and Lobsters.
Dead Game,
A Boar Hunt,
Full Length of Washington,
Full Length of Cooke as Richard III.,
Full Length of P . Lyon,
Portrait of Charles Kemble,
Portrait of Fanny Kemble,
Portrait of Dugald Stewart (after Raeburn).,
Portrait of James Ross,
ARTIST.
Vandervelde.
Benv. Peters.
Doughty.
Van Gorgen.
Pannini.
Doughty,
Canaletti.
Van Oss.
Van Goyen.
Bossuet.
De Groot, Sr.
Schouman.
R. Smith.
Grunewald.
S. Rosa.
Van Ostade.
Van Asch.
Van Asch.
L. Giordano\
Van Ostade.
Jan Fytt.
Snyders.
Snyders.
Stl!art.
Sully.
Neagle.
Sully.
Sully.
Lambdin.
Sully.
16
ARTIST.
SUBJECT.
Portrait of O. W. Peale,
Portrait of Nicolas Duval,
St. Jerome.
Old Head,
Rubens,
Raleigh,
Houdon,
Locke (after),
William Pitt,
David,
Denon,
Peale.
Duval.
S. Rosa.
Roos.
Vanderpool.
R. Peale.
Vandyke.
Hoppner.
R. Peale.
R. Peale.
ST.ATU.ARY.
Hero and Leander,
Penelope,
Bacchante (after),
Bacchante (after),
.Antinous (after),'
Diana (after),
Venus of Medicis (after),
Minerva (after),
Daughter of Niobe (after),
SQn of Niobe (after),
Priestess of Oeres (mutilated),
Torso .of a Draped Female,
Bust of Plato (after),
Bust of Venus' of .Arles (after),
Bust of Oaracalla (after),
_Bust ofSocrates .(after),
"',Bust of Pl,lOcion (after), - .
'i,Bust of Oom-modus (after),
Bust of Seneca (after),
Bust of Napoleon (after),
Bust of Maria Louisa,
Bust of Frauklin,
Bust of Hamilton,
Bust of Lafayette,
Steinhauser.
Rinaldi.
Oeracchi.
Ceracchi.
Antique.
.Antique.
Antique.
.Antique.
Antique.
Antique.
Antique.
.Antique.
.Antique . .
.Antique.
Antique.
Antique .
.Antique.
Antique.
Antique.
Oanova.
Canova.
Oeracchi.
Oeracchi.
Greenough.
17
SUBJECT.
Bust of Marshall,
Bust of Olay,
Bust of Ooxe,
Bust of Oannon,
Bust of William Rush
Dirce in Bronze (pJter),
Fighting Gladiator in Bronze (after),
ARTIST.
Fl'asee.
Oannon.
Oannon.
Oannon.
Rush.
Antique.
Antique.
CASTS IN PLASTER.
Centaurs and Lapithre,
Gate of the Florentine Baptistry (after),
Frederick the Great (after),
Day and Night (after),
Laughing Boy,
Innocence,
Bust,
Venus and Cupid,
Sleeping Oupid,
Singing School (after),
Gladiator.
Medallions of the Seasons (after),
Bust of Longfellow,
Bust of Adams,
Bust of Hopkinson,
Bust of Allston,
Bust of West,
Lough.
Ghiberti.
Rauch.
Thorwaldsen.
Fraikin.
Fraikin.
Fraikin,
Fl;aikin.
Fl'aikin.
L. della Robia.
Impressions of Antique Gems (fourteen cases),
Impressions of Antique Gems (six cases),
Impressions of Medals (eight cases).
Dolce. ,
Pichler.
2
J..,:
Thorwaldsen.
Brackett.
King.
Cleavenger.
Oleavenger.
Ohantry.
16"
----.... fL.
t
LIBRARY
OF THE
PENNSYLV ANIA ACADEMY OF THE FINE ARTS.
1855.
FOLIO. ·
YOLS.
Piranesi; .Ul'bis (Eternal Vestigia,
Visconti; Iconographie Grecque,
Museo Pio Clementino, .
Volpato e MorgjJ.en; Principi del Disegno,
Schola PictlIrffi Italicffi,
Pil'anesi; Stampi,
Piranesi; Plates,
. Dolce; Museo Christiano,
Admiranc1a Antiquitatum Romanorum,
Wilkins; Antiquities of Mag'na Gl'fficia,
;Raccolte de' Statue Antiche,
Denon; Planches du Voyage. en Egypte,
Nash; Views of St. George's Chapel, Windsor,
Middleton; Picturesque and Architectnral Views,
Loggie del Vaticano,
Calcografia de' Belle Statue, .
Antichite di Ercolano,
Agincourt; History of Art by its Monuments,
Meyrich; Ancient Armor,
Skelton; Ancient Armor,
Costumes Franyaises depuis Clovis,
Ooney 's Foreign Cathedrals,
25
3
6
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
·1
1
1
1
9
1
3
2
2
1
19
VOLS.
Jardin de la Malmaison,
Redoute; les Liliacees,
Wilson; Ornithology,
Humboldt; Planches du Voyage en Novelle Espagne,
Humboldt; .Plantes de la Novelle Espagne,
<Euvres de Racine,
Rehburg; Collection of Engravings from drawings after
Nature,
Farr and Knox; Plates illustrating the Anatomy of the External Form of Man ,
.
Portfolio of Engravings,
1
5
8
1
1
3
1
1
1
QUARTO.
Antichite di Ercolano,
Veteres Arcus Allgustorum,
Raccolte di Citta di Rci~a,
Descrizione della Colonna di Trajano,
Il Vigno] 0 Illustrato,
Winkelmann; Storia delle Arte ,
Mab]y; Observations sur les Grecs et Romans,
Rossi; Scherzi Poetici Pittorici,
Denon; Description illustratif du Voyage en Egypte,
Dijonval; Dictionnaire des Peintres et Graveurs,
Charter and Account of the Royal Institution,
Ridolphi; Critical Letters,
Lorenzo; Gritica] Letters,
Carey; Review of Stothard's "Chancer's Pilgrims,"
Carey; Letter to Joseph Hopkinso.n,
Manni; N otizie de Professod del Disegno,
Illustrazioui di dlie Vasi trovati in Pesto,
Pugin; Gothic Ornaments and Gables,
Pugin; Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament,
Pugin; Examples of Gothic Architecture,
Pugin; Details of AnCient Timber Houses,
Pugin; Designs for Work in Iron and Brass,
Pugin ;. Designs for Gothic Furniture,
Pugin; Designs for Goldsmiths,
Martin; Civil Costumes of England,
4
1
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
22
1
1
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
VOLS.
Stl'utt ; Regal and Ecclesiastical Antiquities,
f::ltrutt; Dresses of England,
Field; Treatise on Oolors and Pigments,
1
2
1
OOTAVO.
Hope; Oostumes of the Ancients,
Bryan; Dictionary of Painters,
Shaw '; Antiquities and Dresses;
Farr and Knox; Anatomy of the External Form
(
I. -
• •1'-.
1
'1
1
of 'M~n,
I ,