William Simpson (portrait artist)

For other artists, see William Simpson (disambiguation).

William H. Simpson (c.1818 – 1872)^[1] was an African American artist and civil right activist in the 19th century, known for his portraits.

William Simpson
Born	William H. Simpson c.1818 Buffalo, New York, US
Died	1872 Boston, Massachusetts, US
Occupation	Portrait painter
Known for	Painting, civil right activist

Portrait of Bishop Jermain Wesley Loguen (1835) by William Simpson

Bibliography

William Simpson was born c.1818 in Buffalo, New York to an African American family.^[2] He apprenticed with British–American Neoclassical portraitist and miniature painter, Matthew Henry Wilson (1814–1892).^[2][3] In 1854, Simpson moved to Boston where he became known for his portrait paintings.^[2] He is known for his portraits of Jermain Wesley Loguen, a former slave who became bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in New York.^[2] Other subjects of his portrait paintings include Caroline Loguen, the wife of Jermain Loguen; Charles Sumner, the abolitionist and statesman; and John T. Hilton, the abolitionist, author, and businessman.^[4]

After 1866, Simpson moved back to Buffalo, New York, and also lived throughout the Northern part of the United States and Canada.^[5] He became an active speaker against slavery and participated in the Underground Railroad.^[5] His painting style and aesthetic was influenced by European painting, which was common at the time for American artists.^[5] However unlike the majority of American artists of his time, Simpson documented the lives of the first African American leaders.^[5]

His work is included in public museum collections including at Howard University Gallery of Art,^[2][4] and the Frick Collection in the art reference library.^[6]

See also

• List of African-American visual artists

Further reading

• Brown, William Wells (1874). The Rising Sun, or the Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race. The Basic Afro-American Reprint Library. Boston, MA: A. G. Brown. pp. 478–480. ISBN 9780598578051.

References

1. Irvine, Betty Jo (1969). Fine Arts and the Black American, Issue 6. Indiana University Libraries. p. 14.
2. "Simpson, William H.". Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford University Press. October 31, 2011. doi:10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.b00204445. ISBN 978-0-19-977378-7. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
3. Brown, William Wells (1874). The Rising Son: Or, The Antecedents and Advancement of the Colored Race. The Basic Afro-American Reprint Library. Boston, MA: A. G. Brown. pp. 478–480. ISBN 978-0-598-57805-1.
4. Dickason Cederholm, Theresa (1973). Afro-American Artists: A Bio-Bibliographical Directory. Boston Public Library. Boston, MA: Trustees of the Boston Public Library. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-89073-007-2.
5. Lewis, Samella S. (2003). African American Art and Artists. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-520-23935-7.
6. Simpson, William H. (1920), William H. Simpson c.1818–1872: artist file, Frick Art Reference Library, retrieved December 21, 2020