Junius Brutus Stearns

Junius Brutus Stearns was born in Arlington, Vermont, and moved to New York at the age of 17. Initially he worked as a portrait painter, but as the demand for portraits took a downturn owing to the invention of the daguerreotype, Stearns began to take a stronger interest in history painting. He lived his whole life in the East except for a three-year stint in Europe starting in 1847, when he traveled to London, Paris, and Rome to study the work of the Old Masters. Stearns is probably best known for his five-part series depicting the life of George Washington, which he began in the late 1840s. He was also very active in the National Academy of Design in New York City, gaining admittance in 1849 and later serving as recording secretary. Stearns focused on scenes of daily life later in his career until his death from injuries suffered in a carriage accident near his home in Brooklyn in 1885.