The Historical Artwork of Albert Martin's Story

Ambroise Louis Garneray “Nouvelle Orleans” Courtesy of The Historic New Orleans Collection, Williams Research Center, New Orleans, LA, 2016

http://hnoc.minisisinc.com/thnoc/catalog/1/36812

This engraving by Sigismond Himely (1801-1872) of a painting by Ambroise Louis Garneray (1783-1857) was created circa 1834 during the time the Martin’s were engaged in business in New Orleans as Martin, Coffin and Company. It is a view of New Orleans at Jackson Square, showing St. Louis Cathedral just slightly to the left. The Martin’s conducted business in New Orleans for decades before moving there.

Garneray was a French commercial and privateering (Corsair) seaman. Early in his painting career, he sketched the harbors of many French Ports that became the background for other commissioned paintings and engravings. The hills in the “Nouvelle Orleans” background are stylistic. He travelled extensively in the 1820s and early 1830s visiting many foreign ports including New Orleans.

Theodore Gentilz, “Stick-Stock” (Surveyors in Texas before Annexation to the U.S.) ca. 1844, Courtesy of the San Antonio Museum of Art, 2016

Louis Theodore Jean Gentilz (1819-1906) was born in Paris and immigrated to Texas in 1844 as a surveyor and artist for Henri Castro, the French entrepreneur and colonist. Gentilz moved to San Antonio in 1849 and taught art at St. Mary’s College. His paintings often had daily life in San Antonio and surrounding areas as his theme.

Unknown Artist “Portrait of Wheeler Martin, 1825” Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2015

This oil on wood painting of Wheeler Martin who was born in 1765 the 8th son of Sylvanus Martin and Martha Wheeler Martin of Rehoboth Massachusetts was one of Albert Martin’s maternal grand uncles. He settled in Providence and rose to become a Chief Justice of the Rhode Court of Common Pleas (1809). In 1816, he completed as a birthday gift for his 94-year-old mother Martha a genealogy of the Martin family which focused on Abby Martin’s side of Albert’s heritage. He lived in a brick house today located on the edge of the Roger Williams National Memorial Park, from which he would have witnessed the mayhem associated with the two riots (1824, 1831). He was 71 years old when he died, May 22, 1836 just 2 months after Albert and one month before Joseph S. Martin. It was a deadly year for the Martin’s.

J.O. Davidson “The “Constitution” and the “Guerriere” in Battle”, Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2016.

Julian O. Davidson (1853-1894) was an American artist who, in a series of oil paintings, depicted the August 17, 1812 engagement of the U.S. Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) and H.M.S. Guerriere which resulted in an historic defeat of a British Warship by an American frigate. Merchants like Joseph S. Martin often endured the capture of their merchant ships before and during the War of 1812. The Joseph S. Martin and Samuel Greene Arnold vessel brig Canton was seized and cargo taken by a Danish Privateer on December 24, 1812. By 1833 a U.S-Danish Commission resolved any claims, including Martin’s concerning the loss of brig Canton and its cargo.

Fitz Henry Lane “Boston Harbor” c.1850-1855, Copyright 2016, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865) who was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts produced oil paintings of landscapes, harbor views, and ship portraits throughout his career. Although Boston Harbor was a much larger port than Providence, this scene provides a glimpse of a 19th century sailing.

Jan Mooy “Janson”, 1819. Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2016

The Janson was a ship built in Dighton Massachusetts and registered to Joseph S. Martin and Samuel Greene Arnold in 1820. This watercolor of the vessel was painted in 1819 by Dutch artist Jan Mooney (1776-1847). It sank in 1820 “within two cable lengths of New Dieppe” off the coast of Holland, according to Captain Benjamin Mayo. A full account of the ship’s wreck was published in the Providence Daily Journal on March 15, 1820. Mayo recounted that drift ice struck the ship on her starboard bow, and in 20 minutes she went to the bottom in 15 fathoms of water. We nearly escaped with our lives… “There is nothing saved except for the stern boat.”

John Singleton Copley “John Amory” (detail), 1768) Copyright 2016, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

John Singleton Copley (1738-1815) is a noted American painter from Boston who specialized in portraits of American colonial influential people. This oil painting of Boston merchant John Amory was completed in 1768. Amory also owned a wharf and distillery, while Albert’s grandfathers Joseph and Sylvanus Martin established themselves as merchants in Providence. However, unlike the Martin’s who supported the American Revolution, Amory went to live in England and consequently was banished from Boston. After the conflict, Amory moved to Providence, Rhode Island for a period of time before being allowed to return to Boston.

Joseph Partridge, “President Street, Providence”, 1822. Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2016, RHiX 5362

This watercolor on paper view of President Street in Providence, now known as Waterman Street, was painted by Joseph Partridge (n.d.), who moved to Providence from Nova Scotia, opened a drawing school, and then left the town by 1824. The First Baptist Church is on the right, just a short distance from the Market Square. Joseph S. Martin and Abby Martin rented a house at the end of President Street that probably was home for Albert until they bought a house on Weybosset Street across the river circa 1819.

Alvan Fisher, “Providence from Across the Cove, 1819” Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2016

This oil on canvas landscape “Providence From Across the Cove” was painted in 1819 by Alvan Fisher, one of two painted for Rev. Thomas D. Carlile. After Carlile’s death in 1824 they were bought by Charles H. Russell and decorated the walls of the steamboats Providence and Rhode Island. The painting is a view of the cove from its West bank making these still exiting landmarks visible today: St. John’s Cathedral, The First Baptist Meeting House, the old Rhode Island State House, the First Congregational Church and University Hall of Brown University.

Charles A. Foster, “Providence Hydraulion No. 2”, Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2016

Hydraulion Company #2 was formed in 1830 about the time Albert Martin was serving in Stationary Forcing Engine Company #2. This oil painting was commissioned by the company in 1850. Charles A. Foster (1817-1886) was a portrait, genre and animal artist who had moved to Providence in 1850. The two men in the paining are identified as Henry Staples on the left and Cornelius S. Cunliff on the right, and both were officers. (See American Paintings in the Rhode Island Historical Society, Frank Goodyear Jr, 1974).

Edward Lewis Peckham, “Providence Market Square, 1835”. Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2016

This Watercolor view of Market Square in Providence was painted by Edward Lewis Peckham (1812-1882), was a contemporary of Albert Martin and became a Providence artist known for his watercolor landscape views of Providence. This view of Market Square is from west of the Providence river, with the Market House to the right side. The First Baptist Church steeple is clearly visible on the left.

George Catlin “View of West Point, 1827”, Courtesy of the West Point Museum Collection, United States Military Academy, 2015

George Catlin (1796-1872) is best known as an American painter who specialized in depicting the North American Indian. Born in Pennsylvania, Catlin studied law and art and by 1826 lived in New York City to pursue a career in painting portraits. This oil painting of an artillery drill on the West Point Parade Grounds was completed a few years after Albert Martin attended the military academy in 1824. Like Albert, Catlin too left the east, moved to Missouri by 1830 and spent the rest of his professional life painting Native Americans and their way of life.

John Russell Bartlett “Great Gale, 1815”, Courtesy of the Rhode Island Historical Society, 2016

John Russell Bartlett (1805-1886) was an artist, linguist, Providence bookseller, the Rhode Island Secretary of State (1855-1872), a librarian for the John Carter Brown Library and a U.S. Boundary Commissioner for the Southwest United States (1850-1853). His oil on canvas painting of The Great Gale of September 23, 1815, that struck almost without warning, causing a great deal of damage to the town of Providence, was painted circa 1835-1840. It depicts Market Square in Providence at the height of the storm. Two ships are being driven into the Market House. The Martin Home on President Street was just a short walk beyond the Market House and could have suffered damage.