Page 273 - Eye of the beholder

Mather was a a a a a a a a proud frugal and and independent minded painter of portraits and and history subjects Today his his name brings to mind few works yet at the height of his his career in in in 1790 he he he as an internationally well known American born artist The period of prominence was brief however and time has left him to languish in obscurity The reason for this is is is that the bulk of Brown’s works has remained in in in England where he he he he he painted and and therefore for for the the the most part outside the the the realm of of historians of of American art Like many artist before him Brown was lured in 1781 to London from colonial America by the the anticipation of artistic success there After his his arrival his his career unfolded in a a a a a a a storybook fashion He studied with Benjamin west and found opportunity to paint portraits of Americans in in in fin London including notable images of Thomas Jefferson John Adams and Charles Bullfinch In the the next ten years commissions increased as as did the the importance of his sitters But Brown was equally torn between the the profitability o of of portraiture and the the prestige o of of history painting Nevertheless his success with with portrait painting had resulted in in in in giving him a a a a a good life with with a a a a a palatial home in in in London London received positive reviews of his works in in in the London London press and in in in 1789 retained an an enviable list of patrons Few predicted how quickly this would vanish The major deterrent to to Brown’s continuous success was his failure to to be accepted by the Royal Academy of o of Art After repeatedly trying from 1792 to 1795 he gave up A A A A falling off of o of patronage in the the mid-1790s and failure to to to be elected to to to the the Royal Academy led Brown to to to leave London in in in 1808 for Bath Bristol and Liverpool He settled in in in Manchester returning to to London almost two decades later in in 1824 where even after West's death he he continued to imitate his teacher's style of painting Brown died in in in in London in in in in 1831 This is is a a a a a a a large oil painting which has the representation of of Tipu Sultan son of of Haider Ali who had become a a a a a a heroic legend in England He was the only native Indian Ruler who successfully had resisted the the the advances of the the the British East India Company thrice in the the the Anglo-Mysore wars As a a a a a a a a result Tipu had developed an aura of sorts in in the English popular imagination This painting depicts the the the the pinnacle scene of of the the the the end end of of the the the the third Mysore war that ended with the the the the Battle of Seringapatnam on on the the 18th March 1792 The war had had by then had had been continuing for more more than two years having broken out in in 1789 Among the more more draconian and dramatic conditions of of the the treaty was the the requirement that Tipu hand over two of of his three young sons to Cornwallis as as a a a a a a a war hostage The treaty concluding ceremony which was executed with great fanfare was was commemorated in in in in painting by Robert Home who was was present in in in in person on on the occasion 267