Joseph Badger

American, 1708 - 1755

(not assigned)Boston, Massachusettes

SchoolEarly American Portraiture

Biography(b Charlestown, MA, 14 March 1708; d Boston, MA, 11 May 1755).
American painter. He was part of a small, active group of portrait painters who worked in Boston in the mid-18th century. Although he was well known in his own time, his work was rediscovered only in the early 20th century. Badger appears to have been a competent artisan with some artistic talent. The few documents that deal with his early life refer to him as a 'painter' and 'glazier', indicating that his primary profession was house and ship painting. He is described as a 'limner' and 'faice painter' only towards the end of his life. Badger moved to Boston around 1733 and began painting portraits about ten years later. He became Boston's principal portrait painter after the death of John Smibert in 1751, but his career was eclipsed shortly thereafter by the more accomplished and stylish portraits of John Singleton Copley. Unlike other Colonial artists, Badger was not an itinerant painter: most of his subjects lived in Boston, and many were related or attended the same church. He painted likenesses of three of his children and one grandchild (James Badger, 1760; New York, Met.)
Badger's oeuvre appears to be substantial: more than 150 unsigned portraits have been attributed to him. The documented portraits of Timothy Orne, his wife, Rebecca Orne (both priv. col., see Dresser, pp. 2-3), two of their children, Rebecca and Lois Orne (all 1756; Worcester, MA, A. Mus.), and the portrait of Rev. Ellis Gray (c. 1750; Boston, MA Hist. Soc.) express the basic characteristics of Badger's style and his approach to portrait painting. The poses rely heavily on published English mezzotints. The portrait of Ellis Gray, for example, follows the convention of depicting a minister dressed in his robes, in a bust-length format. Badger painted Timothy Orne standing, three-quarter length, with one hand resting on his hip and the other holding letters indicating his occupation as a merchant. The pendant portrait of Rebecca Orne shows her seated, holding a rose in one hand. She wears a white cap and a simple, solid colour dress. Unlike Copley and Robert Feke, Badger paid little attention to the rich patterns and textures of cloth. The Orne children are charmingly painted as miniature adults, holding objects associated with childhood; the smaller child grasps a rattle, while her older sister pets a squirrel. These portraits illustrate a characteristic aspect of Badger's work: nearly one third of the attributed works are portraits of children.
In contrast to the sparse backgrounds and plain clothing, Badger gave character to his sitters' faces, defining their features with strong lines. Almond-shaped eyes invariably focus on the viewer, and a heavy shadow is cast by the nose. A thin red line separates the tightly closed lips of most subjects. In many pictures the minimal facial modelling has been removed by cleaning: most of Badger's work has suffered from over-cleaning. This has resulted in a poor impression of his artistic ability and the attribution to him of portraits by less competent painters. (Source: RICHARD C. NYLANDER, "Joseph Badger," The Grove Dictionary of Art Online (Oxford University Press) Accessed April 8, 2004) http://www.groveart.com

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