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George Peter Alexander Healy
George PA Healy.jpg
A photograph of Healy
by Southworth & Hawes
Born (1813-07-15)July 15, 1813
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died June 24, 1894(1894-06-24) (aged 80)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality American
Known for Painting
Notable work
 The Peacemakers
Abraham Lincoln

George Peter Alexander Healy (born July 15, 1813 – died June 24, 1894) was a famous American portrait painter. He painted many important people of his time. He was one of the busiest and most popular artists of his era. Healy was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He studied art in Europe and had studios in both Paris, France, and Chicago, USA, during his life.

Biography of George Healy

George Peter Alexander Healy in his Paris studio by Edmond Bénard
George Peter Alexander Healy in his Paris studio, around 1884–1894.

George Healy was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the oldest of five children. His father was an Irish ship captain.

George's father passed away when George was young. This meant George had to help support his mother and family. At 16, he started drawing and dreamed of becoming an artist. Jane Stuart, who was the daughter of another famous painter named Gilbert Stuart, helped him. She lent him a painting to copy. He sold his copy to a priest. Later, she introduced him to Thomas Sully, another artist, who gave him good advice. Healy always remembered their kindness.

When he was 18, Healy began painting portraits. He quickly became very successful. In 1834, he traveled to Europe. He made sure his mother was well cared for before he left. He stayed in Europe for 16 years. During this time, he studied art in Paris and Rome. He learned from famous artists like Antoine-Jean Gros. He worked very hard at his painting.

Healy won a medal at the Paris Salon in 1840. The Paris Salon was a very important art show in France. In 1843, he became an Honorary Academician at the National Academy of Design in the U.S. He won another medal in Paris in 1855. This was for his painting called Franklin Urging the Claims of the American Colonies Before Louis XVI.

Grave of George Peter Alexander Healy (1813–1894) at Calvary Cemetery, Evanston
Healy's grave at Calvary Cemetery.

In 1855, Healy moved back to the United States. He set up his home and art studio in Chicago, Illinois. He lived there for the next 14 years. In 1857, he bought a small house in Cottage Hill, Illinois. This town is now called Elmhurst. He lived in this house for six years. A man named Thomas Barbour Bryan was a big supporter of Healy's art. Healy also helped start Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Even though his main studio was in Chicago, he traveled around the U.S. to paint for people.

Healy went back to Europe in 1869. He continued to paint steadily, mostly in Rome and Paris, for 21 more years. In 1892, he returned to Chicago to be near his family. He passed away on June 24, 1894. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston.

Healy wrote a book about his life called Reminiscences of a Portrait Painter. It was published in 1894.

Healy's Famous Artworks

George P. A. Healy
Portrait of the Artist (1851).
Young Lincoln-1c
The Young Abe Lincoln
by Healy
Used on a U.S. postage stamp in 1959.

George Healy was one of the most active and well-liked painters of his time. He was very talented, brave, and hardworking. He once wrote, "All my days are spent in my painting room." His painting style was influenced by French art. His colors were beautiful, his drawings were accurate, and he was excellent at using light and shadow. His portraits were strong and clear. They showed the people he painted in a powerful way.

Healy painted many famous people. These included Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Pope Pius IX. He also painted Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and King Louis Philippe of France. He created portraits of all the U.S. presidents from John Quincy Adams to Ulysses Grant. These paintings are now in the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

Healy also painted two very important historical works: The Peacemakers in 1868 and Abraham Lincoln in 1869. Another large painting, Webster's Reply to Hayne (1851), shows 130 different portraits! You can see it in Faneuil Hall in Boston.

Some of his other important works include portraits of Lincoln (at the Corcoran Gallery) and John James Audubon (at the Boston Society of Natural History).

The Newberry Library in Chicago has 41 of Healy's paintings. He donated them to the library in 1887. Most of these artworks are on display there. The library also has some of Healy's letters.

Healy's 1877 portrait of a young Abraham Lincoln was used for a U.S. postage stamp. This stamp was released on February 12, 1959. This date marked 150 years since Lincoln's birth.

Gallery

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