James Frothingham (1786-1864)
We perform James Frothingham art authentication. appraisal, certificates of authenticity (COA), analysis, research, scientific tests, full art authentications. We will help you sell your James Frothingham or we will sell it for you.
James Frothingham was an early American painter born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He received his first artistic instruction while working in his fathers’ carriage company painting chaises. Though he knew little about color theory, Frothingham eventually move away from painting coaches and on to painting portraits. He essentially taught himself how to sketch and paint and became a fairly successful portraitist. Later, he was briefly a student of Gilbert Stuart. Frothingham’s copy of his famous George Washington portrait even earned him great accolades.
Though little is known about the details of Frothingham’s life, he left behind a fairly large oeuvre of work. It is said that most of his paintings were executed in either Salem, Massachusetts or New York, where he eventually took up residence and became a member of the New York National Academy.
One of the most telling elements of a painting by Frothingham would be to examine the head and the neck and shoulders of the sitter. Frothingham was said to have had an uncanny natural ability to recreate photorealistic images of his sitters, where the head was concerned. However, some art historians and critics say that he was less talented when it came to rendering the neck and shoulders of his sitters.
During his lifetime, Frothingham almost certainly painted landscapes and still life paintings and even left behind a few miniatures. Still wondering about an early American portrait hanging in your home? Contact us…it could be by James Frothingham.