Allan Melville 1810

John Rubens Smith made this watercolor portrait of Allan Melville, the father of the author Herman Melville, in the early 19th century. Looking at this painting, we might consider what it meant to create an image in America at this time. Smith was an immigrant from England who made his living as a drawing master. The creation of visual art was just beginning to be institutionalized in the United States, with organizations like the American Academy of Fine Arts in New York. The art world was heavily influenced by European tastes and traditions. What does it mean to adopt European forms in the context of a newly independent nation? Smith’s portrait suggests the wealth and status of its sitter, Allan Melville. If we want to know more, we might look to sources that document the social structures of the time, such as city directories and census records. It’s through this kind of work that we can understand more about the social meaning of images.