11 Facts About Henry Sargent

Henry Sargent, American painter and military man, was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Henry Sargent was one of seven children born to Daniel Sargent Sr.

Henry Sargent was the brother of author Lucius Manlius Sargent, and Daniel Sargent merchant and a cousin of American Revolutionary War soldier Paul Dudley Sargent, and a great-grandson of William Sargent, who received a grant of land at Gloucester in 1678.

In 1793, Henry Sargent went to London, where he studied with Benjamin West and had courteous treatment from John Singleton Copley.

Henry Sargent returned to Boston in 1799, still strongly conscious of "the apathy then existing towards the arts".

Records of the adjutant-general's office in the Massachusetts State House show that Henry Sargent became first lieutenant of this company on October 1,1804, and captain on March 31,1807.

Henry Sargent developed a plan for an elevated railway, but his inventions gained him no particular fame.

Henry Sargent's painting was that of a diligent and gifted artist whose talent fell short of genius.

Henry Sargent's portraits were less masterful than those of his fellow townsman, Gilbert Stuart, with whom he was personally intimate.

Henry Sargent had a capacity for doing canvases that required sustained effort.

An altar painting, The Christ Crucified, which Henry Sargent made for the Holy Cross Church, Boston, won contemporary favor.