Benjamin Blyth

Nationally known, the pastel portraits of newly married John and Abigail Adams at the Massachusetts Historical Society are icons of early Federal history; yet accomplished and prolific as the artist was, Benjamin Blyth is largely unknown today, especially compared to his famous contemporary Gilbert Stuart. Other sitters painted or sketched by Blyth include the only known portraits of Dr. Ezekiel Hersey, whose bequest founded Harvard Medical School; Gen. Israel Putnam, hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill; and the family of Elias Hasket Derby, “America’s first millionaire.” Blyth is well represented in John Langdon Sibley’s multi-volume accounts of late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Harvard graduates, which include nine Blyth portraits of subjects for whom no other image exists. He was an important, if under-recognized, contributor to the visual iconography of the era.

Art historian Bettina A. Norton’s Benjamin Blyth: Salem’s 18th Century Limner in a Time of Radical Upheaval is a long overdue, definitive account of Blyth’s life and work. Included are 153 portraits (pastels, oils, miniatures and prints), more than twice the number previously known. A measure of Blyth’s talent is that a dozen had been attributed earlier to John Singleton Copley. Adding to the appeal of Benjamin Blyth, Norton’s astute assessments treat Blyth’s portraits as character studies rather than simple likenesses of the formidable figures who sat for him during this formative era of American history.

Bettina A. Norton's professional life has centered on American graphic arts and social history. Her interest in Benjamin Blyth developed when she was in charge of the print collection at the former Essex Institute, now incorporated into the Peabody Essex Museum. She is the author of Edwin Whitefield, Nineteenth Century North American Scenery (Barre Press, 1977) and numerous articles. A graduate of Wellesley College, she lives in Boston, in the house in which she grew up.