Alfred Jacob Miller
Introduction '''Alfred Jacob Miller''' (January 2, 1810 – June 26, 1874) was an American artist best known for his paintings of trappers and Native Americans in the fur trade of the western United States. He also painted numerous portraits and genre paintings in and around Baltimore during the mid-nineteenth century.
Life Miller was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the eldest of nine children of George W. and Harriet J. Miller. Miller's father was a merchant and tavern keeper in central Baltimore, and also had a farm in Hawkins Point. Miller attended a private school in Baltimore, John D. Craig's Academy, but did not receive formal art instruction there. He may have received his first lessons in art from Thomas Sully. In 1832, with the financial support of his family and art patrons in Baltimore, Miller traveled to Paris to study art. He was admitted as an auditor to life drawing classes at the École des Beaux-Arts, and copied paintings in the collections of the Louvre. In 1833, he traveled to Italy, visiting Bologna, Florence, and Venice before settling in Rome, where he studied at the English Life School. During his travels in Europe, he became friends with the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen and studied with the French painter Horace Vernet. ''Bartering for a Bride'' (''The Trapper's Bride''), 1845, oil on canvas, 36 x 28 in., Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis, IndianaHe returned to Baltimore in 1834, where he opened a downtown studio and advertised himself as a painter of portraits and Old Master copies. Professional and financial difficulties may have prompted his decision to move to New Orleans in 1837.The city was a relatively open market for artists, and Miller quickly established a studio on Chartes Street and began receiving orders for portraits. It was in his studio that he met the Scottish aristocrat and adventurer, Sir William Drummond Stewart.Stewart hired Miller to accompany him and record his hunting journey to the Rocky Mountains. That same year, along with representatives of the American Fur Company, they ventured as far as Fort William and Green River.After returning to New Orleans later that year, Miller started working up his sketches in watercolors and oils. The scenes and incidents of the hunting journey were the foundation of a series of paintings documenting Native Americans of the United States. In July 1838 Miller was able to arrange an exhibition in New Orleans. In October 1840 he traveled with his paintings to Stewart's Murthly Castle in Scotland, where a collection of his commissioned work was ultimately hung.After spending a year in Scotland and another in London, Miller returned to Baltimore in April 1842.He established himself as an acknowledged portrait artist in the city. He died on June 26, 1874.
Paintings File:Alfred Jacob Miller - The Lost Greenhorn - Walters 371940141.jpg|''The Lost Greenhorn'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller - Attack by Crow Indians - Walters 371940179.jpg|''Attack by Crow Indians'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller - Breakfast at Sunrise - Walters 37194052.jpg|''Breakfast at Sunrise'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Old Bill Williams.jpg|''Old Bill Williams'', 1839File:Alfred Jacob Miller - The Lake Her Lone Bosom Expands to the Sky.jpg|''The Lake Her Lone Bosom Expands to the Sky'', 1850, Dallas Museum of ArtFile:Alfred Jacob Miller - Camp Scene (Sioux) - Walters 37194064.jpg|''Camp Scene (Sioux)'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller - Yell of Triumph - Walters 371940151.jpg|''Yell of Triumph'', 1858-1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Cavelcade Jacob alfred Miller.jpg|''Cavelcade'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller, American (1810–1874). 'War Path'.jpg|''War Path''File:Alfred Jacob Miller - "Big Bowl" ( A Crow Chief) - Walters 37194015.jpg|''Big Bowl (A Crow Chief)'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred_Jacob_Miller_-_Breaking_up_Camp_at_Sunrise_-_Walters_371940142.jpg|''Breaking up Camp at Sunrise'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller - Our Camp - Walters 371940177.jpg|''Our Camp'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller - Fort Laramie - Walters 37194049.jpg|''Fort Laramie'', 1858–1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller, L' Aiguille du Dru prise du Montenvers.jpg|"L' Aiguille du Dru prise du Montenvers"File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Hunting Buffalo - Walters 371940190.jpg|''Hunting Buffalo'', 1858-1860, Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred jacob miller lassoing wild horses093903).jpg|''Lassoing Wild Horses''File:Landscape with Snake Indians.PNG|''Landscape with Snake Indians''File:Escape from Blackfeet, by Alfred Jacob Miller, Walters Art Museum.jpg|''Escape from Blackfeet'', Walters Art Museum, 1860File:Alfred Jacob Miller, Trapper, depicting Moses "Black" Harris.jpg|''Trapper'', depicting Moses "Black" Harris, 1850File:Alfred Jacob Miller - After the "Slap Up" Party of Last Night! - Walters 3724687.jpg|''After the "Slap Up" Party of Last Night! '', Walters Art MuseumFile:Alfred Jacob Miller - "Don?t give up that ship!" - Walters 372463.jpg|''"Don't Give Up That Ship! "'', a depiction of the death of Captain James Lawrence, circa 1840, Walters Art MuseumFile:WilliamStewart.jpg|''7th Baronet of Blair'', a depiction of Miller's patron William Drummond Stewart, 1837File:Alfred Jacob Miller - Portrait of Antoine - Walters 372573.jpg|''Portrait of Antoine'', circa 1840, a depiction of  Antoine Clement, Miller's guide during his 1837 expedition with Stewart
Notes
References * Miller's Biographical Note**
External links * *  Alfred Jacob Miller manuscript and sketches, (undated and 1837 from the Archives of American Art*  William Drummond Stewart biography at 3rd1000.com* American paintings & historical prints from the Middendorf collection, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Miller (no. 21)