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Stephen Salisbury II
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STEPHEN SALISBURY II (1798-1884), 1878
Daniel Huntington (1816-1906)
oil on canvas
36 1/4 x 29 1/8 (92.08 x 73.98)
signed l.r.: 'D. Huntington/N. York 1878'
Commissioned by the American Antiquarian Society, 1878
Weis #100
Hewes #101
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Stephen Salisbury II, one of the wealthiest men of his era in
central
Massachusetts, was elected to membership in the American
Antiquarian Society
in 1840. Three years later he was elected a Councillor. In 1854,
after
a year of service as vice president, Salisbury became president of
the
Society, a position he retained for thirty years. During his
presidency,
the Society slowly expanded its collection of books and artifacts
and
enlarged its mission as a research institution by publishing the
papers
of antiquarians and archaeologists, and encouraging the use of the
library
by scholars and historians. In 1852 Salisbury donated property and
funds
for the construction of the Society's second library building,
located
in Lincoln Square, and paid for its expansion in 1878. A fellow
member
noted, 'We express but a small part of our indebtedness to him
when we
say that his munificence has been not contributory, but essential,
to
our fair show and exterior prosperity.'(1)
Salisbury graduated from Harvard College in 1817 and briefly
practiced
law in Worcester. His business skills soon made him one of the
city's
most influential merchants. He was president of the Worcester Bank
from
1845 until his death, treasurer of the Blackstone Canal Company,
and director
of the Worcester & Nashua Railroad. Salisbury was elected to
the Massachusetts
House of Representatives in 1838 and nearly ten years later served
a term
in the state Senate. A Worcester resident recalled, 'The growth
and prosperity
of his native town he has kept constantly in view. He has
contributed
largely to the development of its resources, has made the
improvements
of his own property subsidiary to the public welfare, and has
given his
liberal aid and his often more valuable personal service to every
institution
and enterprise promotive of the general good.'(2) Salisbury
supported
dozens of nonprofit enterprises. He was president of the Worcester
Free
Public Library and a benefactor of Worcester's Mechanics Hall,
which opened
in 1857. He was one of the financiers behind the Worcester
Polytechnic
Institute and served as the college's first president. He indulged
his
interest in archeology by serving as treasurer at the Peabody
Museum at
Harvard University, where he was an overseer.
Salisbury was also an amateur historian, often publishing the
results
of his research in the proceedings of the various institutions
with which
he was affiliated. His 'Memorial of Governor John Endecott'
(1873,) and
'Reception of Governor John Winthrop' (1878), were both printed in
the
Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, along with dozens
of
obituaries and reports written in his capacity as president.
Copies of
his publications are also preserved in the Society's book
collection.
Salisbury's personal papers, including his business and personal
correspondence,
account books, and diaries from 1857 through 1884 are part of the
Society's
manuscript collection.(3)
In October of 1877, the Society Council approved a motion
requesting
Salisbury, the seventy-nine-year-old president, to sit for his
portrait.
The Society arranged for the New York artist Daniel Huntington to
paint
the portrait.(4) Huntington, who had studied painting with Samuel
F. B.
Morse (1781-1872) and Henry Inman (1801-46), was one of the most
successful
portrait painters of the post-Civil War era. He produced over
1,200 works,
mainly portraits of New York's elite, but also painted landscapes
in the
style of the Hudson River School. He was an important member of
the art
establishment, a conservative man who ran organizations well and
preserved
traditional academic styles.(5) When he painted Salisbury in 1878,
Huntington
was the president of the National Academy of Design, the vice
president
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a founding member of The
Century
Association.
There were several sittings at Huntington's studio in New York in
September
1878.(6) The elderly Salisbury was accompanied to the city by his
son,
who reported back on the first day's session, 'We made a good
beginning
today and besides the commencement of a Sketch, Mr. Huntington had
some
photographs of positions taken. My father sits tomorrow, again
Saturday
and then Monday.'(7) There were, in all, seven sittings, which
lasted
from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. On September 25th, Salisbury wrote in
his
diary, 'AM Bright, and day warm. Mr. H[untington] said this fine
weather
enables him to do the work of weeks in days.... Mr. H. said if I
would
give him a sitting Friday it would then be finished as to
sittings.'(8)
Accordingly, the following day, Salisbury went to the studio for
his final
session with the artist. 'With Mr. Huntington 10 to 1, when he
said he
would do no more to the picture but shade the figure, etc. I saw
it for
the first time and thought it as good as circumstances allow.'(9)
Huntington
asked Salisbury to invite two of his friends to examine the
portrait in
order to confirm the likeness. One of them wrote to Salisbury
after viewing
the canvas, 'I have seen Mr. Huntington's picture and I am very
glad to
be able to tell you that I think it a success. The pose is
dignified,
and the head is well-modeled and strong in expression with
excellent coloring.'(10)
The portrait was delivered to the American Antiquarian Society in
time
for the annual meeting in October where it was received with great
fanfare.(11)
Several members made speeches honoring Salisbury. The portrait was
hailed
as a 'speaking likeness' and an 'animated canvas.' One member
said, 'So
long as the picture shall hang above us it will remind us of the
care
and generosity united which shall have done so much to place the
Society
in the honorable position which it occupies.'(12)
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1) Andrew P. Peabody, 'Memorial,' Proceedings of the
American Antiquarian
Society 3 (October 1884): 238.
2) Peabody, 'Memorial,' 234.
3) Salisbury Family Papers 1674-1906, American Antiquarian
Society Manuscript
Collection.
4) William Morris Hunt to Samuel Foster Haven, July
29,1878, American Antiquarian
Society Archives.
5) For more on Huntington, see Samuel Greene Wheeler
Benjamin, 'Daniel Huntington,
President of the National Academy of Design,' American Art Review
2 (1881):
223-28, and Nancy Rash, 'History and Family: Daniel Huntington and
the
Patronage of Thomas Davis Day,' Archives of American Art Journal
34 (1994):
2-15.
6) Daniel Huntington to Samuel Foster Haven, August 19,
1878, American Antiquarian
Society Archives. Huntington sent the Society an explanation of
his price
structure: 'The head and bust, 25 x 30 inches - $750; The head and
bust
with one hand, 27 x 34 inches - $1,000; Kit-Kat, 29 x 36 in. -
$1,250;
Half length according to position, 33 x 44 or 40 x 50 in. -
$1,500; Full
length, according to size and accessories - $3,000 to $3,500.'
7) Stephen Salisbury III to Samuel Foster Haven, September
18, 1878, American
Antiquarian Society Archives.
8) Stephen Salisbury II Diary, September 25, 1878,
Salisbury Family Papers.
9) Stephen Salisbury II Diary, September 26, 1878. See also
entries for September
18-19, 21, 23-26.
10) Lucius Tuckerman to Stephen Salisbury II, September 25,
1878, Salisbury
Family Papers.
11) Both Huntington's October 21, 1878 receipt for $1,000,
and the list of
the eighteen subscribers from the Society, including Isaac Davis,
Samuel
Foster Haven, and George Frisbie Hoar, who paid the bill, are
preserved
in the American Antiquarian Society's Archives (see 'Documents
1870-1879').
12) Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society,
(October 1878): 16.
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Last updated December 10, 2004
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