About
Washington Allston (1779-1843) was an American painter and poet, regarded as the first major American Romantic painter. Born in South Carolina, he studied at Harvard and then at the Royal Academy in London under Benjamin West. He traveled in Europe, befriended Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and taught Samuel F. B. Morse. Settling permanently in the United States in 1818, he exhibited in Boston and created works such as 'Moonlit Landscape' and the unfinished 'Belshazzar's Feast'. He also published poetry and a Gothic novel, 'Monaldi'.
* 1779-11-05 — † 1843-07-09
Major works
- The Deluge (1804)painting
- Elijah in the Desert (1818)painting
- Moonlit Landscape (1819)painting
- The Spanish Girl in Reverie (1831)painting
- Monaldi (1841)novel
Key milestones
- 1800Graduated from Harvard College.
- 1818Settled permanently in the United States.
- 1827Held his first American exhibition at the Boston Athenæum.
Themes
RomanticismLandscapeSublimeLiterature and artSpirituality
Sources: britannica.com · americanart.si.edu