George Caleb Bingham Paintings

George Caleb Bingham was an American artist, soldier, and politician known for his evocative paintings of American frontier life along the Missouri River. Born on March 20, 1811, in Augusta County, Virginia, Bingham moved with his family to Franklin, Missouri, as a child. The Missouri landscape and life along the river became central themes in his work. Largely self-taught, Bingham began his career as a portrait artist, traveling to study art briefly in Philadelphia but returned to Missouri to work.

Bingham's early works were portraits, but he gained fame for his genre paintings depicting ordinary people in scenes of daily life on the frontier. His most famous works, created in the 1840s and 1850s, include 'Fur Traders Descending the Missouri', 'The Jolly Flatboatmen', and 'Election Series'. These paintings reflect a realist approach and are praised for their detailed representation of figures and landscapes, as well as their commentary on American democracy and society at that time.

In addition to his art, Bingham was involved in politics. He served as a delegate to the Missouri constitutional convention in 1845, was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1848, and during the Civil War, he supported the Union cause and was appointed state treasurer.

Bingham's later years were marked by financial struggles and a decline in the popularity of his work. Nevertheless, he continued to paint, focusing on landscapes and politics and serving as the first professor of art at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He also worked as the State Superintendent of Schools from 1870 to 1873.

George Caleb Bingham died on July 7, 1879, in Kansas City, Missouri. His work was largely forgotten after his death but was rediscovered in the 1930s and reassessed by art historians. Today, Bingham is celebrated as one of the greatest American genre painters, whose work provides invaluable insights into the life and times of the American Midwest during the 19th century.