Stuart left
Newport RH in the fall of 1775—already the colonies were under threat of war,
the harbor had become so dangerous that Stuart’s ship was held up for a week by
a British man-of-war. The goal was
London. Stuart surely knew that
Benjamin West (born in PA) was already there. Out of funds quickly thereafter,
he auditioned successfully as a church organist and lived in “cheap lodgings”
(according to his daughter.) The artist
continued to be destitute, finally sometime
in the late winter of 1776 Stuart wrote to West to ask for help “to live
and learn.” Stuart’s talent began to
unfold and success quickly followed.
In 1782
Stuart achieved an explosion of prominence, and his reputation skyrocketed,
with the display of his portrait The Skater in the Royal Academy’s exhibition
of that year, allowing him to leave his apprenticeship with West. He now felt that in order to better convey
his success and prosperity, impressive expensive lodgings were in order (despite
the cost). He rented a grand house, as
was usual with other successful portrait painters, which also provided the
suitable surroundings for his more prominent sitters and for proper entertainment. It was here, on Sept 13
1786, that Sophie von La Roche [from Germany] visited Stuart.
The Skater by Gilbert Stuart 1782
Sophie kept a diary of her trip to London, one day was designated to paying tribute to famed English artists. September 13, 1786: She begins
her entry “An extraordinary day!” and continues “Pictures by Reynolds,
Gainsborough, West and Stuart; then to Green, the engraver’s. To my mind, in the homes of these men the
English character glistens like the gold they employ for the encouragement and
reward of diligence in art; the numerous orders and the artists’ prosperity are
evidence of this. Lovely homes,
apartments hung with pictures by famous old masters, bronze and marble
ornaments—these are one’s first impressions;
... “we
found West, the painter of historical scenes, there in person, surrounded by
pupils and masterpieces by his own hand.
He received us nobly, though unassumingly, in the manner of all great
achievement. He works in a room lit
from above, and the gallery leading to it is hung with sketches of completed
pictures of which engravings had been made....
[and here
are the few comments made when she visits “Mr. Stuart.” One could come away with the impression that
Sophie did not care for the turn of the conversation towards the price of
portraits]
...“From here we arrived at Mr. Stuart’s, a young,
but respected artist, who will become an excellent portrait painter; he already
has plenty to do, and deserves every encouragement. He, too, lives as if in the hall of the temple of the Muses, in
rooms of magnificent style, fit for true genius to unfold its wings and soar. Fine architecture surrounds him; and it
would be almost impossible for him to introduce anything niggardly or anxious
into his pictures. But in accordance
with all this, 20, 50, 100 and 150 guineas are the sums quoted here when the
talk turns to the prices of portraits.”No other words referring to Stuart. Sophie visited the engraver Green, and then lunched with "Mr Heinzelmann" a relative. A brief description of the rest of the afternoon: "We had an old English menu; a large fish, boiled mutton, pudding, boiled cabbage with butter, and a roast. Punch was made at table. After the meal Miss Heinzelmann played the piano and sang until I was fetched to see Somerset House, a magnificent palace built in four large wings dedicated to the academies of science and art."
Stuart did not last long in his grand digs. 1787 he went to Dublin at the invitation of a patron (who unexpectedly died), and decided to stay. To avoid creditors in London? In 1789 he was sent to debt prison where he irreverently continued to paint portraits for "bread."
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