James reid lambdin biography sample

James Reid Lambdin was born in Pittsburgh on May 10, 1807.

James reid lambdin biography sample

His father's death in 1812 left his family in difficult financial straits, so at age twelve Lambdin left school to work in a bookstore. There he studied art instruction books and taught himself to draw. After seeing a reproduction of one of Gilbert Stuart's portraits of George Washington, Lambdin determined to pursue a career as a painter.

In 1823 he went to Philadelphia, intending to study with Thomas Sully (1783-1872). Sully, however, only agreed to take him as an apprentice after he had completed six months of training with Edward Miles (1752-1828), a portrait and miniature painter and one time court artist in both England and Russia.

Lambdin exhibited a portrait at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1824; he returned to Pittsburgh in 1826 and quickly established a reputation as a portrait painter.

In 1827 Lambdin established and ran a Museum of Natural History and Gallery of Painting in Pittsburgh, which inclu