Born on August 31, 1802 in Mason County Kentucky near Maysville, Aaron Corwine showed an early interest in art, which was whole-heartedly supported by his father. Corwine first studied in Maysville, Kentucky with a Mr. J.T. Turner, an itinerant artist, who encouragd his student to go to Cincinnati. He arrived there in 1818 and so impressed some of the wealthy citizens, such as Dr. Daniel Drake, that they collected money and sent him to Philadelphia to study with Thomas Sully. In 1820, he returned to Cincinnati, and stayed there until 1829. His portraits were true to the original in a Romantic style, and he quickly became successful in Cincinnati, where his work is still highly regarded by many families. Among his sitters were Andrew Jackson and the Marquis de Lafayette.
In the early part of 1829, he started for England, to perfect his art, but fell ill during his travels in London, England, and died on July 4, 1830 in Philadephia, Pennsylvania, apparently on his journey home to Kentucky.
Sources:
Historical Sketches of Kentucky, published by Lewis Collins, 1847. Courtesy, Ruth Brewster
Millard Rogers and Denny Carter: The Golden Age, Cincinnati Painters of the Nineteenth Century Represented in the Cincinnati Museum
Peter Hastings Falk, Editor, Who Was Who in American Art
|