Cornelia Adele Strong Fassett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cornelia Adele Strong Fassett
|
|
|---|---|
Cornelia Adele Strong Fassett. Photo, Library of Congress
|
|
| Born | November 9, 1831 Owasco, New York
|
| Died | January 4, 1898 (aged 66) Washington, D.C.
|
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | "The Florida Case before the Electoral Commission" |
| Spouse(s) |
Samuel Montague Fassett
(m. 1851) |
Cornelia Adele Strong Fassett (born November 9, 1831 – died January 4, 1898) was an American painter. She was famous for painting portraits, especially of important politicians. Her most well-known artwork shows the Electoral Commission of 1877, a group that decided a very close presidential election.
Contents
Who Was Cornelia Fassett?
Cornelia Adele Strong was born in Owasco, New York, on November 9, 1831. She was the third of six children. Her parents were Captain Walker Strong and Sarah Devoe Strong. In 1851, Cornelia married Samuel Montague Fassett, who was also an artist and photographer.
Her Art Training
Cornelia Fassett studied art in New York City. She learned how to paint tiny portraits called miniatures from a Scottish artist named J.B. Wandesforde. Later, she spent three years studying in Paris and Rome. She learned from famous artists like Giuseppe Castiglione and Henri Fantin La Tour.
Moving to Washington, D.C.
After starting her career in Chicago, Fassett and her husband moved to Washington, D.C., in 1875. There, she became known for painting important government figures. Her husband worked as a photographer for the U.S. Treasury. In 1876, her painting of the Supreme Court justices was shown at a big event called the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
After she passed away, the Washington Post newspaper called Cornelia Fassett "one of the best known artists and portrait painters in the United States."
Her Most Famous Painting: The Florida Case
.jpg)
The Florida Case Before the Electoral Commission is a huge historical painting. Fassett created it between 1877 and 1878. It shows a meeting of the Electoral Commission. This group was formed to settle the disputed U.S. presidential election of 1876.
How the Painting Was Made
Fassett decided to paint this scene on her own; she wasn't asked to. She set up a temporary art studio in the Supreme Court Chamber of the U.S. Capitol building. She worked there during the summers of 1877 and 1878, when the Court was not in session.
The finished painting is very large, measuring 75 inches wide and 60 inches tall. It is an oil painting on canvas. Fassett signed it "C. Adele Fassett / 1879".
Who Is in the Painting?
This amazing painting shows 256 different people! This includes 60 women, some of whom were wives and daughters. There are also 17 journalists in the gallery section of the painting. Fassett even included herself in the painting. Another female artist, Imogene Robinson Morrell, and the writer Mary Clemmer Ames are also shown.
Almost everyone involved in that political crisis is in the painting. Other important city figures are there too. For example, James G. Blaine and banker William Wilson Corcoran are included. Fassett used photographs by Mathew Brady to help her paint some of the people.
Comparing It to Another Work
Fassett's painting is often compared to Samuel F.B. Morse’s painting, The Old House of Representatives. Morse's painting was finished in 1822. It shows the House Chamber from the same view. However, Morse's painting has fewer people. Fassett had to fit her figures into rows, while Morse could arrange his people in groups. Fassett likely knew Morse’s painting. It was displayed publicly at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Where Is It Now?
Fassett's painting received some criticism from newspapers and art groups. Seven years after she finished it, Congress decided to buy the painting. They paid $7,500 for it, which was less than she asked. Today, the painting is part of the art collection at the Supreme Court of the United States.
Other Important Artworks
Portrait of Martha J. Lamb (1878)
This painting is called "one of her finest portraits." Fassett painted Martha J. Lamb in her home library. She showed Lamb sitting among stacks of books and old-fashioned furniture. A writer in 1886 mentioned how the painting showed Mrs. Lamb's "fine face and handsome figure." The painting was first shown at the National Academy of Design in 1878. Now, it is at the New-York Historical Society.
Other Notable Works
- Pastel portrait of Abraham Lincoln (1860). Some say this was the first portrait Lincoln ever posed for. It is now at the Chicago Public Library.
- Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant. This painting was shown at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition.
- Portrait of Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite. This painting is now in the art collection of the Supreme Court of the United States.
