Alfred Thomas Agate (February 14, 1812 – January 5, 1846) was an American painter and miniaturist.
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Alfred Thomas Agate |
---|
Self-portrait |
Born | (1812-02-14)February 14, 1812
|
---|
Died | January 5, 1846(1846-01-05) (aged 33)
Washington, D.C. |
---|
Nationality | American |
---|
Known for | Painting, Miniature |
---|
Close
Agate's portrait of
Biraban, from L. E. Threlkeld's book
A Key to the Structure of the Aboriginal Language, published in 1850
Agate lived in New York from 1831 to 1838. He studied with his brother, Frederick Styles Agate, a portrait and historical painter. He later went on to study with Thomas Seir Cummings.[citation needed] By the late 1830s, Agate was exhibiting his work at the National Academy of Design in New York, and established himself as a skilled painter in oils. He was elected into the National Academy of Design as an honorary member in 1840.
Agate drew landscapes, portraits, and scientific illustrations. For much of his landscapes,[citation needed] Agate used a camera lucida, a device which projected the scene onto a piece of paper for purposes of tracing.
Agate lived in Washington, D.C., from 1842 onward, but his health suffered severely from the expedition and he died four years later of consumption.
On Agate's death in 1846, the drawings passed to his widow, Elizabeth Hill Kennedy Agate, who later married Dr. William J. C. Du Hamel of Washington, D.C. In 1926, one of her daughters from this marriage, Elizabeth A. Du Hamel, sold them to the Naval Historical Foundation. The Naval Historical Foundation donated Agate's artwork to the Navy Art Collection in 1998.
"Andes near Alparmarca, Peru: Sketched from an Elevation of 16,000 Feet", illustration from the South American portion of the
United States Exploring Expedition, digitally restored
A man from the
Nukufetau atoll, Ellice Islands (now
Tuvalu) 1841
Portrait of a native of the
Gilbert Islands (then called the Kingsmill Islands), 1841
Illustration of a
Ficus in Samoa
Tyler, David B. – 1968 The Wilkes Expedition. The First United States Exploring Expedition (1838–42). Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society