George Caleb Bingham Chronology

YEAR

TIMELINE FOR THE LIFE OF GEORGE CALEB BINGHAM

ART WORK TITLE

1834

As an itinerant portrait artist, George Caleb Bingham travels from Arrow Rock to Columbia, St. Louis, and Liberty, Missouri

Dr. John Sappington

Mrs. John (Jane Breathitt) Sappington

Meredith Miles Marmaduke

Mrs. Meredith Miles (Lavinia Sappington) Marmaduke

Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins

Mrs. Anthony Wayne (Sarah [Sallie] Harris Rodes) Rollins

Major James Sidney Rollins

Colonel Thomas Miller

Josiah Woodson Wilson

Colonel Shubael Allen

Mrs. Shubael (Dinah Ayres Trigg) Allen

Colonel Oliver Perry Moss

Colonel John Thornton

Judge Thomas Minor Chevis

Mrs. William (Mary Sedwick) Wilson

Mrs. James (Margaret Foreman) Strode

1835

January & February – paints in Columbia, Missouri

Self-Portrait

Jacob Fortney Wyan x3

Mrs. Jacob Fortney (Nancy Shanks) Wyan x3

Portrait of a Man

March – opens studio in St. Louis

May – travels to Liberty, Missouri, falls ill with small pox and loses hair, wears a wig the rest of his life

November – returns to St. Louis

1836

14 April – marries Sarah Elizabeth Hutchison in Boonville, Missouri

William Curtis Skinner

William C. Carr

Dr. Isaac Galland

Roger North Todd

November – returns to St. Louis

Winter – Natchez, Mississippi

1837

26 March – son Newton born

Colonel Caleb Smith Stone

David Steele Lamme

Mrs. David Steele(Sophia Woodson Hickman) Lamme

Judge Warren Woodson

Robert Steele Barr

Miss Mary Eliza Barr

Mrs. Ebenzer W. (Juliann or Julia Ann Snell) McBride

Colonel Thomas Miller

Mrs. William Johnston (Rachel Spears)

Judge David Todd

27 May – in Columbia, painting portraits

Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins

Mrs. Anthony Wayne (Sarah [Sallie] Harris Rodes) Rollins

Mrs. James Sidney (Mary Elizabeth Hickman) Rollins

Miss Sarah Helen Rollins

John Woods Harris

27 July – purchases lot in Arrow Rock where GCB eventually builds a home and studio

1838

March and early June, studies in Philadelphia and probably visits New York City and introduces himself at the Apollo Gallery

Western Boatmen Ashore

Judge Priestly Haggin McBride

Mrs. Priestly Haggin (Mary Snell) McBride

Ebenezer W. McBride

Mrs. Ebenezer W. (Julia Ann Snell) McBride

John Glendi Caldwell

Alfred Orr

Mrs. Thomas (Eliza Cheves Pulliam) Shackelford

Dr. Thomas Nicholas Cockerill

Mrs. Thomas Nicholas (Emma Ann Donohoe) Cockerill

Joshua Belden

Mrs. Joshua (Agnes Elizabeth Lewis) Belden

Mrs. Robert (Matilda Donohoe) Aull

Mrs. William Franklin (Martha Jane Shackelford) Dunnica

Richard Henry Robinson

Col. Samuel Bullitt Churchill

July, August – in Missouri

September – exhibits Western Boatmen Ashore at the Apollo Gallery in New York City

November, December – paints portraits in Missouri

1839

Paints in central Missouri

Judge Henry Lewis

Mrs. Henry (Elizabeth Morton Woodson) Lewis

Lewis Bumgardner

Mrs. Lewis (Hetty Ann Halstead) Bumgardner

Samuel [C.] Grove

David Kunkle

Mrs. David (Sarah Ann Cooper) Kunkle

Thomas Erskine Birch

Miss Sally Buckner

Marbel Camden

Miss Sallie Ann Camden

Mrs. John Fletcher (Mary M. Wilkinson) Darby

Mrs. John (Elizabeth McClanahan) Harrison

Henry Sheffer Geyer

Mrs. Henry Sheffer (Joanna Easton Quarles) Geyer

Vachel Hobbs

Jacob Fortney Wyan

Mrs. Jacob Fortney (Nancy Shanks) Wyan

Mrs. Jacob Fortney (Nancy Shanks) Wyan

Reuben Smith Leveridge

Mrs. Reuben Smith (Rebecca Munro) Leveridge

Mid-March – returns to St. Louis where he spends most of the year

5 December – fire in St. Louis studio destroys paintings

1840

January – in St. Louis

Landscape

Tam O’Shanter

Pennsylvania Farmer

Sleeping Child

Mid-February – in Fayette, Missouri – painting portraits

John Hickman Turner

Leonidas Wetmore

Captain William Daniel Swinney

Mrs. William Daniel (Lucy Ann Jones) Swinney

Mrs. James (Katherine Stith) Jones

May – in Arrow Rock – paints political banner for the Saline County delegation to the state Whig convention

Saline County Banners

Ariadne

Mid-June – attends state Whig convention in Rocheport, Missouri

Autumn – following Whig victory of William Henry Harrison,  moves family to Washington, DC

1841

13 March – son Newton dies

James or Joseph Quisenberry

John Howard Payne

Jesse Heath

Mrs. Hartwell Peebles (Elizabeth Anne Cureton Rives) Heath

Mrs. Hartwell Peebles (Elizabeth Anne Cureton Rives) Heath

John Francis Heath

Jesse Hartwell Heath

Anna Rives Heath

15 March – son Horace born

April – August – paints portraits in Petersburg, Virginia

September – visits family home in Virginia, now known as Port Republic, Virginia

October – returns to Washington, DC

1842

Throughout year – GCB paints portraits in Washington, DC.

Mrs. George Caleb (Sarah Elizabeth Hutchinson) Bingham

Mrs. George Caleb (Sarah Elizabeth Hutchinson) and son Newton Bingham

Mrs. John (Jane Hood) Shaw and Miss Lizza Robison

James H. Cravens

Going to Market

Judge Benjamin Tompkins

November – Elizabeth and Horace visit Boonville

1843

January – May – paints portraits in Washington, DC; Elizabeth and Horace return in March

The Dull Story

The Sleeping Child (Horace Bingham)

David Rice Atchison

Charles Anderson Wickliffe

George William Summers

Mrs. George William (Amacetta Laidely) Summers

Heber Summers

June – visits Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts exhibition

July – December – paints portraits in Washington, DC

1844

January – May – in Washington, DC

John Quincy Adams

Daniel Webster

Robert Tyler

Henry Alexander Wise

The Mill Boy: The Boonville Juvenile Clay Club

Howard County Banner

Robert Harris Stone

Mrs. Robert Harris (Elizabeth or Eliza Rodes) Stone

John Cummings Edwards

General Bela M. Hughes

Emigrant Encampment on the Frontier

Family Life on the Frontier

September – Bingham family resides in Boonville, Missouri

October – GCB attends state Whig convention in Boonville

November & December – in Jefferson City painting political portraits

1845

January – paints in St. Louis and in central Missouri

Cottage Scenery

Fur Traders Descending the Missouri

The Concealed Enemy

Landscape

Landscape: Rural Scenery

Erasmus Darwin Sappington

Mrs. Erasmus Darwin (Penelope Breathitt) Sappington

William Breathitt Sappington

Mrs. William Breathitt (Mary Mildred Breathitt) Sappington

Dr. John Sappington Sappington

Mrs. John Sappington (Jane Breathitt) Sappington

Dr. John Sappington Sappington

Mrs. John Sappington (Jane Breathitt) Sappington

Dr. William Price

Mrs. William (Mary Ellen Sappington) Price

John A. Trigg

Judge William Barclay Napton

Mrs. William Barclay (Melinda Williams) Napton

Judge Charles Harper Smith

Mrs.  Charles Harper (Rebekah Hood) Smith

William Joseph Eddins, Jr.

Thomas Withers Nelson

Mrs. Thomas Withers (Mary Gay Wyan) Nelson

Jonathan P. Martin

John Glanville

Major James Sidney Rolliins

14 March – daughter Clara born

4 June – exhibits paintings in St. Louis

Sells home in Arrow Rock, convinced that though he loves the region, he can not support his family there.  Returns to St. Louis

1846

June – Whig party nominates as candidate for state legislator from Saline County

James Lawrence Minor

Mrs. James Lawrence (Louisa Maria [Goode] Smith) Minor

Peter Gallatin Minor

Boatmen on the Missouri

Landscape with Cattle (1)

Landscape with Cattle (2)

The Jolly Flatboatmen

Lighter Relieving a Steamboat Aground

August 14 – wins popular vote by three ballots defeated

20 November – Electoral opponent Erasmus Sappington contests vote in the legislature

12 December – through Democratic party chicanery, seat given to Sappington

1847

Works in Arrow Rock and St. Louis

Raftsmen Playing Cards

Stump Orator

1848

14 April – participates in Whig convention in Boonville

Captured by Indians

Dr. Oscar Fitzland Potter

Colonel Granville Craddock Medley

April – son Joseph Hutchison born

July – accepts nomination to run for state legislature

11 August – wins election to state legislature

24 November  – wife Elizabeth dies of consumption; GCB considers resigning seat, but J.S. Rollins convinces him to serve

December – son Joseph dies; late December; Legislature appoints GCB to Committee on Federal Relations

1849

January/ February in Jefferson City

Country Politician

St. Louis Wharf

Wood Yard on the Missouri

Raftsmen on the Ohio

Watching the Cargo

Scene on the Ohio River near Cincinnati

A Boatman

Landscape Composition

Landscape with Cattle (3)

Feeding Time

Cock and Hen

The Drovers

Dr. William Jewell

Colonel William Franklin Switzler

Mrs. William Franklin (Mary Jane Royall) Switzler

Mary Elizabeth Rollins

Mrs. James H. (Eliza Rollins) Bennett

Spring – opens a studio at the Western Art Union in Cincinnati

July – August – paints in New York City and travels to Philadelphia

Autumn travels to Philadelphia, then returns to Missouri

2 December 1849 – marries Elizabeth Thomas in Columbia, Missouri

1850

For much of year, working in Columbia and St. Louis

Miss Vestine Porter

The Checker Players

The Squatters

Landscape

Landscape with Cattle

Landscape: Lake in the Mountains

Mississippi Boatman 

Mississippi Fisherman

Mountain Landscape with Deer

Mountain Landscape with Fisherman

Shooting for the Beef

Cattle Piece (1-3)

John Quincy Adams

The Wood-Boat

General Alexander William Doniphan

Mrs. Alexander William (Elizabeth Jane Thornton) Doniphan

Mrs. Jacob Fortney (Nancy Shanks) Wyan

Miss Sarah Ann Hickman

Captain Sinclair Kirtley

Brigadier General Robert Wilson

Portrait of a Young Woman

Judge John Ryland

Mrs. James Wyatt (Eleanor Evelyn Frye) McGee

Frye P. McGee

15 September – in Columbia with Thomas family

Captain Willam Johnston

The Reverend Dr. Robert Stewart Thomas

Mrs. Robert Stewart (Elvira Johnston) Thomas

Miss Sarah Thomas

Self-Portrait of the Artist

Mrs. George Caleb (Eliza K. Thomas) Bingham

Dr. William Pendleton Thomas

1850

21 November – in Arrow Rock with Eliza, Clara, Horace, mother Mary, and sister Amanda and her husband and children

John Locke Hardeman

After 21 November – travels to New York to submit paintings to the American Art-Union

 51

January – April -  paints in New York

Daybreak in a Stable

Fishing on the Missisppi

John Hiram Lathrop

Mrs. Samuel J. (Louisa) Platt

Portrati of an Elderly Woman

Portrait of a Woman

Mrs. Anhony Wayne (Sarah Harris Rodes} Rollins (1 & 2)

Thomas Hart Benton

The Emigration of Daniel Boone

Fishing on the Mississippi

Trappers’ Return

In a Quandry

Early May – returns to Arrow Rock

May – mother, Mary Amend Bingham, dies in Arrow Rock

June – November – paints at a studio in Columbia, Missouri

November – travels to St. Louis

1852

January – April – paints in St. Louis, Columbia, and Jefferson City, Missouri

Belated Wayfarers

Canvassing for a Vote

The County Election

The County Election (2)

Mrs. Almerin (Martha Moore) Hotchkiss

Adam Lee Mills

Dr. James Bennett Thomas

Robert Eaton Acock

19 April – attends state Whig convention in St. Louis

May – in Boonville and Columbia, Missouri

The Reverend Tyre Crawford Harris

James Leachman Stephens

Mrs. James Leachman (Amelia Hockaday) Stephens

3 June – serves as delegate to the Whig national convention in Baltimore; travels to Philadelphia and New York

Miss Sally Cochran McGraw

27 June – arrives in Philadelphia to arrange for John Sartain to engrave The County Electing

28 October – returns to Columbia

November and December -  in Glasgow and St. Louis

1853

January and February – in St. Louis

Deer in Stormy Landscape

The Storm

Landscape with Waterwheel and Boy Fishing

10 March – travels to New Orleans and Kentucky to exhibit and sell subscriptions to prints of The County Election

15 September – travels to New York and then Philadelphia to direct John Sartain’s engraving of The County Election

30 September, travels to New York, views the Crystal Palace exhibit; then travels to Philadelphia where he stays through the winter to work with Sartain on the engraving of The County Election

October – December – in Philadelphia

1854

January – August – in Philadelphia

Landscape with Indian Encampment

View of a Lake in the Mountains

Stump Speaking

Watching the Cargo by Night

Western Boatmen Ashore by Night

September – December – in Missouri

1855

Late January – returns to Philadelphia

The Verdict of the People

The Verdict of the People (2)

Late in June – returns to Missouri, paints portraits in the Independence/ Liberty /Kansas City region

JohnCampbell

William Campbell

Col. Edward Cresap McCarty

Mrs. Edward Cresap (Mary Elizabeth Brown) McCarty

Dr. Johnston Lykins

Mid-September – works in Columbia, Missouri

Mrs. Elijah S. Stephens (Patsy Renfro)Stephens

Elijah S. Stephens

Captain. David McClanahan Hickman

Mrs. David McClanahan (Cornelia Ann Bryan) Hickman

Major James Sidney Rollins

14 November – in Jefferson City painting and involved with Whig politics

1 December – speaks before the Missouri legislature

1856

January – May – in Columbia

Thomas Jefferson

George Washington (1 – 4)

Mrs. George (Martha Dandridge Custis) Washington (1 – 2)

Jonathan Dickinson Sergeant

Frederick Moss Prewitt

Mrs. Frederick Moss (Nancy Johnston) Prewitt

The First Lesson in Music

6 May – arrives in St. Louis

William Hamilton Letcher

Old Field Horse

Landscape: Morning

Landscape: Noon

2 June – in Louisville, Kentucky

Summer – Boston and Philadelphia preparing historic portraits for Missouri capitol

14 August – travels with family to France

1 November – arrives in Düsseldorf

1857

Paints in Düsseldorf

Jolly Flatboatmen in Port

1858

Paints in Düsseldorf

1859

12-14 January – attends the National Art Association meeting in Washington, DC

Late January – Jefferson City. 

George Washington

Thomas Jefferson

February – April – travels to St. Louis, Columbia, and Jefferson City, Columbia, Kansas City, Brunswick, and St. Louis

Joseph Tabor Keyte

John Ballantine

Mrs. John (Lucy Ann Collum) Ballantine

Joseph Baldwin Howard

Mrs. Joseph Baldwin (Sarah Cunningham) Howard

Mrs. Isaac Hockaday (Susan C. Howard) Hockaday

Dr. Pleasant Meredith Cox

Dr. Benoist Troost

Mrs. Benoist (Mary Ann Gilliss Kennedy) Troost

Miss Annie Allen

Judge James Turner Vance Thompson

Mrs. James Turner Vance (Emily Warner Drew) Thompson

Samuel Ritchey, Sr.

Early June – sails for Europe

Moonlight Scene: Castle on the Rhine

12 June 1859 – Robert Stewart Thomas dies in Kansas City

September – Bingham family has returned to the United States

December – Baptist Female College appoints Eliza Bingham chair the music department

1860

12-13 January, attends National Art Association meeting in Washington, D.C.

Andrew Jackson

Henry Clay

Washington McLean

Early March – returns to Columbia, Missouri

Mrs. Robert Levi (Sallie Hall) and daughter Matilda Tete Todd

Brigadier General Odon Guitar

Dr. Archibald Logan Young

Late April – St. Louis

Mrs. John King (Vestine Porter) Stark

Dr. Archibald Logan Young

James Madison Gordon

John S. Campbell

John Campbell

William Campbell

Baron Friedrich Heinrich Alexander

Mid-September – in Independence, Missouri

1861

7 January – in Jefferson City to set up portraits of Clay and Jackson in the House of Representatives

12 January – older brother Matthias Amend Bingham dies near Houston, Texas

6 March – travels to Harris County, Texas, to settle Matthias’s estate

Mid-May – returns to Kansas City

29 June – volunteers with the U.S. Volunteer Reserve Corps, Van Horn’s Battalion; given rank of captain

21 September – son James Rollins Bingham born

1862

4 January – Governor Hamilton Gamble appoints Bingham state treasurer; family moves to Jefferson City

Robert Beverly Price

Mrs. Robert Beverly (Emma Prewitt) Price

Mrs. Robert Beverly (Evaline Hockaday) Price

Dr. Edwin Price

Thread of Life

1863

Works as State Treasurer of Missouri

Miss Mattie Melton

Landscape

Landscape – Mountain Vies

1864

10 June – daughter Clara marries Thomas Benton King

August – purchases home in Independence

1865

Completes term of office as state treasurer; moves to Independence, Missouri

General Nathaniel Lyon

General Nathaniel Lyon and General Preston Blair Starting from the Arsenal Gate in St. Louis to Capture Camp Jackson

1866

1 June – announces candidacy for Congress from Sixth District

William Joel Stone

Major Dean in Jail

John Bristow Wornall

Mrs. John Bristow (Roma Johnson) Wornall

6 October – loses congressional bid at nominating convention

1867

In Independence, completesequestrian portrait of General Lyon, late March

1868

28 May – serves as elector at Democratic sate convention

Martial Law or Order No.11

1869

March – in Columbia

William Joel Stone

Mrs. James (Agnes Nelson) Day

October 1 – Independence voters elect as school board director

Son Horace leaves for California and never seen again

1870

April – sells home in Independence, Missouri

6 May – moves to Kansas City and opens studio over Shannon Dry Goods Store at 3rd and Main

James Rollins Bingham

James Thomas Birch

Mrs. James Thomas (Margaret Eliza Nelson) Birch

Mrs. James(Agnes Nelson) Day

Miss Nadine Nelson

John Martin Samuel

Mrs. John Martin (Ellenora Bettie Van Horn) Samuel

Mrs. George (Laura Ellen Ware Neill) Koontz

Henry Vest Bingham, Jr.

Hugh Campbell Ward

Miss Mary Frances Ward

Martial Law or Order No.11 (2)

14 July – lives in Kansas City with wife Eliza, son Horace, son James Rollins, mother-in-law Elvira, brother-in-law, John P. Thomas, and a domestic servant

1871

January – February – Jefferson City

Washington Crossing the Delaware

March – August – in Kansas City

Thomas Hoyle Mastin

John Jerome, Jr. Mastin

September – November – Columbia

Judge Ephaim Allison

Mrs. Ephraim (Ruth McCarty) Allison

Tom Edward Allison Major James Sidney Rollins

Mrs. James Sidney (Mary Elizabeth Hickman) Rollins

Dr. Anthony Wayne Rollins

General Francis Preston Blair, Jr.

General Francis Preston Blair, Jr. (2)

General Francis Preston Blair, Jr. (3)

November – Kansas City

William Miles Chick

Mrs. William Miles (Ann Eliza Smith) Chick

Henry Watkins Ewing

Late December – Philadelphia with John Sartain about the engraving of Order No. 11

1872

Late January – Philadelphia supervising John Sartain’s engraving of Order No. 11

Judge Edward Bates

View of Pikes Peak (1)

View of Pikes Peak (2)

Colorado Mountain Landscape

Mountains Near Colorado

10 May – in Kansas City selling prints of Order No. 11

July – in Baltimore

August – October – vacationing in Colorado with Eliza

20 November – in Kansas City at work on portraits

1873

April – Houston and Austin, Texas, completing settlement of brother Matthias’ estate

Miss Sallie Rodes Rollins

Miss Mary Belle Lusk

May – Kansas City; July -Marshall and Arrow Rock; August – Kansas City; Columbia – 3 September

September – Louisville, Kentucky – exhibits Order No. 11 and Washington Crossing the Delaware at Louisville Industrial Exposition

October – Kansas City painting portraits, with so much work that he cancel  a planned trip to New York

1874

11 May – state authorities appoint as president of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners

Captain Joseph Kinney

Mrs. Joseph (Matilda Clarke) Kinney

Mrs. Boone Webster (Mary Jane Kinney) Clarke and Brother [Joseph Beeler Kinney]

The Puzzled Witness

31 July – accepts Democratic candidacy for Congress from 8th District

24 August – withdraws name from congressional race

September – attends Democratic convention in Kansas City

December – in St. Louis exhibiting The Puzzled Witness

1875

January – Governor  Charles H. Hardin appoints GCB Adjutant-General of Missouri

John R. Griffin

Mrs. John R. (Eliza Haven Carpenter) Griffin

19 January – in Jefferson City

Albert Phillips

Colonel James Harvey Birch

February – - in Clay County, Missouri – investigates the Pinkerton attack in on the Samuels family, mother, stepfather, and half-brother of Frank and Jesse James

James M. Piper

Mrs. James M. (Mary Thomas) Piper

James Madison Redheffer

March – April – in Stone County, Missouri enforcing judicial order in an area overtaken by the Ku Klux Klan.  After his visit, vigilantism ended

1876

23 February – April – in Washington, DC  to present war claims for state

Miss Judith Ann Coleman

Miss Vinnie Ream (1)

Miss Vinnie Ream (2)

May and June  – in Jefferson City

Dr. Alexander M.  Davison

October 24 – resigns position of Adjutant-General due to ill health

3 November – Eliza Thomas Bingham dies at Fulton State Mental Hospital

1877

19 January – University of Missouri board of curators appoints GCB professor of art

Mrs. James Thomas (Margaret Eliza Nelson) Birch

The Nelson Homestead Forest Hill

Portrait of a Young Woman Portrait of a Young Woman

March – Missouri state legislature commissions painting of Andrew  Jackson before the Civil Court of Louisiana

June – Professor of art at the newly established School of Art

Self-Portrait of the Artist

July – September – in Boonville and Columbia painting portraits

Colonel Joseph Lafayette Stephens

November – Kansas City

1878

January – St. Louis and Kansas City

Judge John W.  Henry

Mrs. John W. Henry (Maria Williams) Henry

Miss Eulalie (Little Red Riding Hood) Hockaday

A Child of Mrs. John Henry Overall

William Broadwell

Mrs. William Broadwell

Dr. Samuel Spahr Laws

Mrs. Samuel Spahr(Ann Marie Broadwell Doubleday) Laws

Judge Francis Marion Black

Judge Washington Adams

Captain Henry Hickman Rollins

Mrs. James Hickman (Eulalie Bowman) Rollins

Guarding Their Master’s Hat

The Jolly Flatboatmen (2)

Palm Leaf Shade

February and March – in Washington, D.C.

May -  visits daughter Clara (Mrs. Thomas Benton King) and her family in Stephensville, Texas

18 June – Kansas City – marries Mrs. Martha Livingston Lykins (third wife)

Summer – Honeymoons in Colorado

November 8 – Kansas City – Robert E. Lee Monument Association appoints GCB a commissioner

21 November – arrives in Richmond, Virginia for Lee Monument meeting

6 December – in Columbia and Kansas City

1879

28 February – ill with pneumonia and unable to give promised lecture on art at University of Missouri.  J

A Child of Judge Waldo of New Mexico

George Bingham Rollins

1 March – J. S. Rollins reads promised speech

7 July – George Caleb Bingham dies of cholera morbus in Kansas City