This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| A designer, painter, illustrator, and engraver, John Chapin became especially noted for his Civil War illustrations and his western scenes, although it is unknown if he ever visited the West. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and was a descendant of Pilgrims. He grew up in New York City where he studied law and then art as a student of Samuel F.B. Morse.
From 1843 to 1845, Chapin traveled throughout the South as a correspondent and artist for "Gleason's Pictorial." When that magazine failed, he became a commercial illustrator in New York until 1850, and later (1860) returned to New York to organize the Art Department for "Harper's" Magazine. From 1850 to 1860, he created drawings in the Patent Office in Washington DC, and from 1861 during the Civil War was an important field artist. After 1890, when he retired, he had retained such fascination for this subject that he continued to depict Civil War subjects in watercolor and India ink.
Following the Civil War, he designed coins and bank notes with historical scenes for the U.S. government and also worked as a book illustrator, doing western themes. He made wood engraving and had a business that specialized in business catalogues. In 1875, he returned to illustrating in New York City and from 1880 to 1890 was an illustrator in Boston.
Source:
Peggy and Harold Samuels, "The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West"
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art" |
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John Chapin is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Civil War Art
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