James Sharples (portrait painter)

James Sharples (1751 or 1752, in Lancashire – 26 February 1811, in New York City[1]) was an English portrait painter and pastelist, who moved to the United States in 1794.

[4] Before marrying Ellen Wallace, James had been active in Bristol, Liverpool, and Bath, where he taught drawing.

After James Sharples's death of heart trouble during an extremely cold winter in 1811, the family returned to England.

Letters, legal papers, bank and account books relating to James and Ellen Sharples and their family are held at Bristol Archives (Ref.

James Sharples established his career in America in 1794 by offering to make profiles of local and national politicians.

During this time, copies of portraits of famous people were popular, though the competition among artists was intense, and many had to travel in order to find customers.

At the beginning of the process of comparing the portrait to the catalogue, Meschutt identified the figure as General William Hull.

[13] From the listing in a book of The Royal Academy Exhibitors one can see that James Sharples exhibited his works before he moved to America.

George Washington depicted on a postage stamp in 1895, based on an engraving taken from Sharples' 1741 portrait
A portrait of Rufus Putnam painted in 1796 and 1777 and now in the collection of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia [ 2 ]
Carlos Martínez de Irujo y Tacón, Pastel attributed to James Sharples, Sr.
Portraits of a man and a woman, by James Sharples
A man with white hair, wearing a blue jacket with gold lapels, buttons, and epaulets, a white shirt, and a black tie
"Mad" Anthony Wayne , commander of the Legion of the United States by Sharples
William Hull by Sharples about 1800