William D. Washington[1] (October 7, 1833 – December 2, 1870[2]) was an American painter and teacher of art. He is most famous for his painting The Burial of Latané, which became a symbol of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy in the years following the American Civil War[3], and for the work he did in establishing the fine arts program of the Virginia Military Institute.
Biography
Washington was born in Clarke County, Virginia, the child of Perrin Washington and Hannah Fairfax Whiting[4], and was a descendant of Warner Washington, a first cousin of George Washington. His father secured a job with the United States Post Office in Washington, D.C., and his family moved to that town in 1834[5]. The younger Washington began his own career at the Patent Office, working there for some years as a draughtsman. He studied painting with Emmanuel Leutze during his time in Washington, working with the elder painter between 1851 and 1852. He also pursued further study in Düsseldorf, also with Leutze[4]. Eastman Johnson was in his second year at the Academy there when Washington arrived, and it has been speculated on the basis of style that the two may have worked together in some capacity, possibly going on trips along with Leutze, who traveled frequently. In any event, Washington's style is closer to Johnson's than to that of his teacher, although the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear[5].
While working at the Patent Office, in 1855, Washington drew an unauthorized copy of Emmanuel Leutze's Washington Crossing the Delaware in colored crayon on the wall of a basement room in the building[6]. The office messenger saw it and was preparing to whitewash over it when one of Washington's superiors, William Langdon, praised it; soon the Commissioner of the Patent Office took note, and brought President Franklin Pierce and his Secretary of the Interior, Robert McClelland, to view the picture. So impressed were they that the president returned on the following day, bringing with him his wife and another lady. What became of the picture is unknown, although it was recorded as having been still in place as late as October 1856[6].
Returning to the District in 1854, Washington remained there until 1861. He had some success as a painter of portraits and history paintings, and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the National Academy of Design and with the Washington Art Association[5]. He served as a staff officer for brief stretches during the Civil War, under the command of John B. Floyd[2]; while on duty he completed a number of sketches of mountain and battle scenes, some of which he would later translate into finished canvases[4]. Ill health kept him in Richmond for the duration of the war, however[2], and it was during this time that he created two of his most important paintings, The Burial of Latané and Jackson Entering Winchester[4]. He was in England between 1865 and 1866[5]; returning to the United States, he settled in New York City, operating a studio there from 1866 until 1869[4]. In July of the latter year, Washington accepted a teaching post at the Virginia Military Institute, where he would remain until his death some eighteen months later[4].
Virginia Military Institute
During his short time in Lexington, Washington managed to achieve a great deal. He was commissioned to paint posthumous portraits of alumni and faculty who had died in battle during the Civil War. Among the subjects he so commemorated were[7]:
· George Patton
· Tazewell Patton
· Robert E. Rodes
· Stonewall Jackson
· J.E.B. Stuart
· Joseph W. Latimer
· Samuel Garland
He also contributed a portrait of the then-still-living Robert E. Lee to the gallery[7]. The artist had not known any of these men personally, and thus had to rely on photographs and descriptions from their colleagues to complete their likenesses[4]. Many of Washington's portraits are still on display in Preston Library on the VMI campus[7]. Also in the Institute's collections are a number of landscapes and genre paintings he completed after poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson[4]. Washington was also active in promoting the Institute's cultural life; he founded an art gallery on campus, for which he secured funding from William Wilson Corcoran, and taught fine arts to those students who desired such instruction[4]. Among his pupils was Richard Norris Brooke[5].
Washington remained at Lexington for only eighteen months; never in good health, he died suddenly on December 2, 1870[4]. He was the first member of the Institute's faculty to die in office, and was greatly mourned across the campus[2]. Washington was interred in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery in Lexington; studies were suspended as a mark of honor until after his burial, and a battalion of cadets escorted the coffin to the grave during the funeral[2].
Most of Washington's surviving paintings are held at VMI, but a few have made their way into a number of museum collections, including those of the Morris Museum of Art[8] and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts[9]; in addition, a portrait of John Marshall, which he painted for the Fauquier County Courthouse in Warrenton, Virginia, is still hanging there today[10]. Prints of The Burial of Latané were also popular, and some may still be found in various collections[11].
References
1. ^ Washington's middle name is unclear, and is given differently in various sources. According to the archives at VMI, his name was William Dickinson Washington; other sources, such as the Morris Museum of Artand the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, give his name as William De Hartburn Washington.
2. ^ a b c d e "William D. Washington, Artist. Obituary, December 1870". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
3. ^ "Inspiration for "The Burial of Latané"". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
j "William D. Washington, Artist & VMI Faculty Member, 1869–1870". Retrieved 2008-06-30.5. ^ a b c d e "William D. Washington — Fine Art Dealers Association". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
6. ^ a b "History of the United States Patent Office, Chapter 24". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
7. ^ a b c "A Guide to Portraits in VMI' s Preston Library". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
8. ^ "Morris Museum of Art: Explore Art". Retrieved 2008-06-30.[dead link
]9. ^ "VMFA: What's New: New Acquisitions". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
10. ^ "Town Of Warrenton, Virginia". Archived from the original on 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
11. ^ "The Confederate Memorial Hall". Retrieved 2008-06-30.
External links
The Burial of Latané in Encyclopedia Virginia
