Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor. Morse contributed to the design of a single-wire telegraph system based on European telegraphs, after establishing his reputation as a portrait painter. He co-developed Morse code and helped develop commercial telegraphy use.
Samuel F. B. Morse and his wife Elizabeth Ann Finley Breese (1766–1828) were born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the first child of Pastor Jedidiah Morse (1761–1826).
His father was a prominent Calvinist preacher and American Federalist party supporter. He considered it important to retain Puritan traditions (strict observance of Sabbath, among other things) and believed in the Federalist support of an alliance with Britain and a strong central government.
In a Federalist framework, Morse greatly believed in education with instilling Calvinist ideals, morals, and prayers for his first son. His first American ancestor, Samuel Morse, immigrated in 1635 to Dedham, Massachusetts.
After attending Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, Samuel Morse attended to Yale College to study religious philosophy, mathematics, and horses science.
While at Yale, Benjamin Silliman and Jeremiah Day attended electricity lectures and was a member of the Unity Brothers Society.
He supported painting himself. He graduated from Yale with Phi Beta Kappa in 1810.
Morse married Lucretia Pickering Walker in Concord, New Hampshire, September 29, 1818. She died of a heart attack shortly after her third child's birth on February 7, 1825. (Susan b. 1819, Charles b. 1823, James b. 1825).
He married his second wife, Sarah Elizabeth Griswold, on 10 August 1848 in Utica, New York (Samuel b. 1849, Cornelia b. 1851, William b. 1853, Edward b. 1857).
Morse expressed some of his Calvinist beliefs in his painting, Landing of the Pilgrims, through the depiction of simple clothing as well as the people's austere facial features.
His image captured the psychology of the Federalists; Calvinists from England brought to North America ideas of religion and government, thus linking the two countries.
This work attracted the attention of the notable artist, Washington Allston. Allston wanted Morse to accompany him to England to meet the artist Benjamin West.
Allston arranged—with Morse's father—a three-year stay for painting study in England. The two men set sail aboard the Libya on July 15, 1811.
In England, Morse perfected his painting techniques under Allston's watchful eye; by the end of 1811, he gained admittance to the Royal Academy.
At the Academy, he was moved by the art of the Renaissance and paid close attention to the works of Michelangelo and Raphael.
After observing and practising life drawing and absorbing its anatomical demands, the young artist produced his masterpiece, the Dying Hercules. (He first made a sculpture for painting.)
Hercules, Morse's early masterpiece
For some, the Dying Hercules seemed to represent a political statement against both British and American federalists.
The muscles symbolised the strength of the young, vibrant US versus British and British-American supporters.
During Morse's British time, Americans and British were engaged in the War of 1812. Both civilizations disputed loyalties.
Anti-Federalist Americans sided with French, abhorred British, and believed a powerful central government was fundamentally detrimental to democracy.
As the war proceeded, Morse's letters to his parents increasingly more tone anti-Federalist. In this letter, Morse wrote:
I claim... that the Northern Federalists have done more harm to their country by their violent resistance actions than a French coalition could.
Their proceedings are copied into the English press, read before Parliament, and circulated across their country, and what do they say about them... they name them cowards [federalists], a base set, they say they are traitors to their country and should be hanged like traitors.
Morse's Jonas Platt, New York politician. Canvas oil, 1828, Brooklyn Museum.
Although Jedidiah Morse had not altered Samuel's political views, he persisted as an influence. Critics feel that the Calvinist principles of Elder Morse are crucial to Jupiter's Judgment of Morse, another important work in England. Jupiter is represented in a cloud, escorted by his eagle, spreading his hand over the parties, and pronouncing judgement. Marpessa, expressing compunction and shame, throws herself into her husband's arms. Idas, who loved Marpessa lovingly, rushes to receive her while Apollo observes with surprise.
Critics said that Jupiter depicts God's omnipotence—watching every move made. Some call portrait Morse's moral teaching on infidelity.
Although Marpessa fell victim, she realised that her eternal salvation was crucial and abandoned her immoral ways. Apollo expresses no remorse but stands with a perplexed gaze.
Many American paintings throughout the early 19th century included religious themes, and Morse was an early example. Jupiter's judgement permitted Morse to express his anti-Federalism stance while keeping strong spiritual values.
Benjamin West tried to display the Jupiter in another Royal Academy show, but Morse's time had run out. On August 21, 1815, he left England for the United States and began his full-time profession as a painter.
The decade 1815–25 witnessed great progress in Morse's art, seeking to represent the spirit of American culture and existence.
Former Federalist President John Adams (1816). Federalists and anti-federalists challenged Dartmouth College. Morse produced portraits of Francis Brown—the head of the college—and Judge Woodward (1817), involved in taking the Dartmouth issue to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Morse kept a short-term studio at 94 Tradd St., Charleston, South Carolina.
Morse sought commissions among Charleston's aristocracy, South Carolina. Morse's 1818 picture of Emma Quash typified Charleston's affluence.
The young artist did himself wonderfully. Between 1819 and 1821, Morse underwent major life changes, including a fall in commissions due to the 1819 panic.
Morse was commissioned to paint James Monroe in 1820. He epitomised Jeffersonian democracy by favouring the aristocrat's common man.
Morse moved to New Haven. His commissions for The House of Representatives (1821) and Marquis de Lafayette's portrait (1825) aroused his feeling of democratic nationalism.
The House of Representatives was designed to capitalise on the success of Rome's The Capuchin Chapel by François Marius Granet, which toured the United States extensively throughout the 1820s, attracting audiences willing to pay the 25-cent admission fee.
Subiaco's Virgin Chapel, 1830
Similarly, the artist chose to portray the House of Representatives with meticulous attention to architecture and dramatic lighting.
He also wanted a unique American topic to bring glory to the young nation. His subject did this, showcasing American democracy in action.
He travelled to Washington D.C. to draw the new Capitol's architecture, placing eighty people in the painting.
He chose to portray a night scene, balancing Rotunda's architecture with figures, and using lamplight to highlight the work. People's pairs, those who stood alone, individuals bent over their desks, were painted with character faces.
Morse chose nighttime to convey the day-transcended dedication of Congress to democratic principles.
In New York City in 1823, the House of Representatives failed to gather a crowd. By contrast, a few years earlier, John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence won popular acclaim.
Viewers may have believed that The House of Representatives' architecture overshadows individuals, making it difficult to understand what was happening.
Marquis de Lafayette's portrait
Lafayette's portrait
Morse was privileged to paint America's top French backer, the Marquis de Lafayette. He felt impelled to create the man's majestic image, which helped construct a free and independent America. He features Lafayette against a sunset.
He has placed Lafayette on the right of three pedestals: one bears Benjamin Franklin's bust, another George Washington's, and the third seems destined for Lafayette.
A serene woodland environment below him mirrored American tranquillity and prosperity as it approached 50. Developing friendship between Morse and Lafayette and their Revolutionary War discussions affected the artist after returning to New York City.
In 1826, he helped found New York City's National Academy of Design. He served as president of the Academy from 1826-1845 and again from 1861-1862.
Morse travelled and studied in Europe from 1830 to 1832 to develop his painting skills, visiting Italy, Switzerland and France.
While in Paris, he developed a connection with the writer James Fenimore Cooper..As a project, he created tiny versions of 38 of Louvre's great paintings on a single canvas (6 ft. × 9 ft.) entitled The Louvre Gallery. He completed the work on returning to the U.S.
After visiting Paris in 1839, Morse met Louis Daguerre. He grew interested in the latter daguerreotype—the first practical photography means.
Morse wrote a letter to the The York Observer outlining the innovation, which was widely published in the American press, providing broad awareness of new technology.
Mathew Brady, one of America's early photographers, famous for his Civil War portrayals, first trained under Morse and then made images of him.
Some of Morse's paintings are on exhibit at his Locust Grove residence in Poughkeepsie, New York.
