Oil on panel, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2”
Inscribed on verso

Louisa W. B. Hughes

Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872)

He had already painted miniatures while at Yale, but the future inventor of the telegraph polished his elegant style under Washington Allston in this country and in England. Morse yearned to produce monumental allegories and history paintings that would elevate public taste, but the America of his day did not regard painting and sculpture as necessities of life. Furthermore, the new Hudson River School landscapes made history painting seem old-fashioned. Morse worked at portraits in New Haven, Hartford, and New York City for a number of years but gave it up in mid-life, saying that art had given him a cruel jilt.