THE FIRST AMERICAN MODERN: THOMAS CHAMBERS (1808 - 1869)

Fire at the Theatre, Skate Lane, 1823 by George Chambers Senior

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In Whitby museum is a striking painting of a fire that broke out on the night of July 25th, 1823 at Whitby's theatre. The building was at the junction of Newton Street and Skate Lane which is these days called Brunswick Street. Aged only 20, a young local artist named George Chambers (1803 - 1840) captured the scene on canvas. He would later go on to become a renowned and much admired marine painter. The life of his brother Thomas was however far more obscure and unusual.

The brothers were born into poverty in Whitby, their father was a merchant seaman and their mother a laundress. George, being recognized as a talented artist, was released from his maritime apprenticeship to take up painting as full time employment. Thomas undoubtedly learned skills and techniques from his older sibling, although his style was much less conventional.

In 1832, at around the time George gained the patronage of King William IV, Thomas emigrated to New Orleans where he filed his intent to become a naturalized citizen. His employment was listed as a painter and restorer. He frequently moved around the states from New York to Baltimore, Boston and Albany before returning to New York and finally back to England. His paintings were never exhibited during his lifetime. 

They were often of marine subjects, as were his brother George's, no doubt influenced by early experiences working in the port of Whitby. He often drew inspiration from popular engravings of the time of naval battles and suchlike. Thomas also painted numerous landscapes with a particular penchant for the Connecticut and Hudson River Valleys. It's worth noting that there was at the time a movement called the Hudson River School of Painting, but he remained outside the orbit of those artists.

He sometimes signed the work of which he was presumably most proud with 'T. Chambers', although many pieces went unattributed and it seemed his art was destined to be forgotten, languishing in barns and attics across America, unseen and consigned to oblivion.

The Constitution and the Guerriére Thomas Chambers c.1840-50.

In 1942 collectors discovered a signed painting of a battle at sea, The Constitution and the Guerriére (1840-1850). This allowed other works to be definitely attributed to Chambers and collected together. That same year an exhibition was held at the Macbeth Gallery in New York which in its title heralded the arrival of "T. Chambers, First American Modern." 

Lake George and the village of Caldwell

The Connecticut Valley

Packet Ship passing Castle William, New York harbour

To me the shapes Chambers uses to depict hills, trees, ships and buildings seem solid and bold. His clouds look physically present and not at all ephemeral. It's not dissimilar to a cartoon representation of the world, each object having absolute boundaries. Often described as a naive, primitive style and said to be in the zone between folk art and fine art, his use of rhythm and interacting, simplified forms makes his work seem undeniably modern, especially as these paintings are products of the mid nineteenth century.

In 2008 Kathleen A. Foster, the American art historian, critic, and curator published the book Thomas Chambers: American Marine and Landscape Painter, 1808-1869. It is a painstaking piece of critical research examining Chambers' creative style, the environment in which he produced his art and an outline of his journey through life. It is available in full as a free PDF and includes many vivid images (see links).

Around 1866 Thomas returned to England penniless and in ill health. He died in the poorhouse in Whitby, the official registration of his death on November 24, 1869 was filed in London. The cause of death was given as “softening of the brain” and “paralysis.” Thomas Chambers, son of Whitby, was buried in Larpool Cemetery. So far I have been unable to locate his grave.

LINKS

Katherine A. Foster: Thomas Chambers

The National Gallery of Art