A prolific portrait painter, he was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the son of a blacksmith. Although basically self taught, he was a student of John Wesley Jarvis, Gilbert Stuart, and Thomas... Read full biography
A prolific portrait painter, he was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the son of a blacksmith. Although basically self taught, he was a student of John Wesley Jarvis, Gilbert Stuart, and Thomas Sully. He was also apprenticed to a scythe maker, something that was common at that time among aspiring... Read full biography
A prolific portrait painter, he was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the son of a blacksmith. Although basically self taught, he was a student of John Wesley Jarvis, Gilbert Stuart, and Thomas Sully. He was also apprenticed to a scythe maker, something that was common at that time among aspiring painters who developed skills in crafts to earn a living. In the early 1800s, he worked in the studio of painter John Wesley Jarvis whose influence can be seen in many of Otis' works. In 1812, he... Read full biography
A prolific portrait painter, he was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the son of a blacksmith. Although basically self taught, he was a student of John Wesley Jarvis, Gilbert Stuart, and Thomas Sully. He was also apprenticed to a scythe maker, something that was common at that time among aspiring painters who developed skills in crafts to earn a living. In the early 1800s, he worked in the studio of painter John Wesley Jarvis whose influence can be seen in many of Otis' works. In 1812, he moved to Philadelphia and became an art teacher and one of America's most prolific portrait painters, doing over 200 subjects including portraits for a national biography series of the New York State Historical Association. Some of his subjects were... Read full biography
A prolific portrait painter, he was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, the son of a blacksmith. Although basically self taught, he was a student of John Wesley Jarvis, Gilbert Stuart, and Thomas Sully. He was also apprenticed to a scythe maker, something that was common at that time among aspiring painters who developed skills in crafts to earn a living. In the early 1800s, he worked in the studio of painter John Wesley Jarvis whose influence can be seen in many of Otis' works. In 1812, he moved to Philadelphia and became an art teacher and one of America's most prolific portrait painters, doing over 200 subjects including portraits for a national biography series of the New York State Historical Association. Some of his subjects were Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Thomas Paine and Gilbert Stuart. His portrait of Jefferson is considered the best of the series. Otis was... Read full biography
Bass Otis - Artist Info
About Bass Otis: Books
Books & Publications (49)
Publications based on askART research. List may not be comprehensive.
The Artists Bluebook 34,000 North American Artists to March 2005
2005
AskART.com Inc. - Dunbier, Lonnie Pierson (Editor)
479 pages
Davenport's Art Reference: The Gold Edition
2005
Davenport, Ray
2,421 pages
Who Was Who in American Art, 1564-1975: Three Volumes
1999
Falk, Peter Hastings (Editor)
3,724 pages
The Nineteenth Century: Rediscovering American Painters (Vose Galleries) (Exhibition catalog)
1999
Jarzombek, Nancy Allyn
40 pages (color)
A Nation's Pride Art in the White House
1992
Kloss, William (et al)
375 pages (color)
American Paintings An Illustrated Catalogue (Exhibition catalog)
1992
National Gallery of Art
545 pages
Neo-Classicism in America: Inspiration and Innovation. 1810-1840 (Exhibition catalog)
1991
Garrett, Wendell (essay); Stuart Feld (Intro)
136 pages (color)
Telling Tales 19th Century Narrative Painting (Exhibition catalog)
1991
Pennsylvania Academy
100 pages (color)
Art of the Golden West
1990
Axelrod, Alan
418 pages (color)
Art Across America: New England, New York, Mid-Atlantic (Volume One)
1990
Gerdts, William H
421 pages (color)
American Canvas The Art, Eye, and Spirit of Pioneer Artists
1990
Tyler, Ron
208 pages (color)
Annual Exhibition Record, 1876-1913, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Volume II (Exhibition catalog)
1989
Falk, Peter Hastings
612 pages
The American Paintings (in the) Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art
1989
Fresella-Lee, Nancy
222 pages (color)
Annual Exhibition Record, 1807-1870, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Exhibition catalog)
1988
Falk, Peter Hastings
472 pages
A Proud Heritage Two Centuries of American Art
1987
Neff, Terry (editor)
300 pages (color)
The Portrait in Britain and America with Biographical Dictionary of Portraitists 1680-1914
1987
Simon, Robin
255 pages (color)
Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers
1986
Opitz, Glenn B (editor)
1,081 pages
300 Years of American Art (two volumes)
1986
Zellman, Michael David
1,102 pages (color)
National Portrait Gallery Collection Illustrated Checklist
1985
Smithsonian Institution
461 pages
American Painting and Sculpture A Concise History
1984
Baigell, Mathew
420 pages
American Portrait Prints Tenth Annual American Print Conference
1984
Reaves, Wendy Wick
285 pages
Artists in Virginia Before 1900: An Annotated Checklist
1983
Wright, R Lewis
200 pages
Brooklyn Before the Bridge: American Paintings from the Long Island Historical Society
1982
Bastedo, Russell (Introduction); John A. Kouwenhoven, (Essay)
137 pages (color)
American Paintings at Yale University: An illustrated Checklist (Exhibition catalog)
1982
Stebbins, Theodore/G Gorokhoff
213 pages
American Realism and the Industrial Age (Exhibition catalog)
1980
Doezema, Marianne
147 pages (color)
The Boston Athenaeum Art Exhibition Index 1827-1874 (Exhibition catalog)
1980
Perkins, Robert/Wm J Gavin III
325 pages (color)
American Paintings/Brooklyn Museum Complete Illustrated Listing of Works
1979
Brooklyn Museum
133 pages (color)
Arts in America/A Bibliography Volume 2 (Painting and Graphics)
1979
Karpel, Bernard/Ruth Spiegel
736 pages
Art & Commerce American Prints of the Nineteenth Century (Exhibition catalog)
1978
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
179 pages (color)
Mirror to the American Past A Survey of American Genre Painting 1750-1900
1978
Williams, Herman Warner Jr
248 pages (color)
Bass Otis Painter, Portraitist and Engraver (Exhibition catalog)
1976
Woodward, Roland (others)
116 pages (color)
American Painting and Sculpture: Delaware Art Museum
1975
Hawkes, Elizabeth H (Curator and Essay)
182 pages (color)
The U S A A History in Art
1975
Smith, Bradley
296 pages (color)
Faces and Places Changing Images of 19th Century America (Exhibition catalog)
1972
Hirschl & Adler Galleries
72 pages (color)
The Vincent Price Treasury of American Art
1972
Price, Vincent
320 pages (color)
19th Century America Hundredth Anniversary/Metropolitan Museum (Exhibition catalog)
1970
Howat, John K (others)
220 pages (color)
Encyclopedia of Painting (Painters of the World...etc)
1970
Myers, Bernard S (editor)
511 pages (color)
American Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Two Volumes)
1969
Rathbone, Perry Townsend (Ed)
600 pages (color)
A Nineteenth Century Gallery of Distinguished Americans
1969
Stewart, Robert G
93 pages
The Adams Papers Portraits of John and Abigail Adams
1967
Oliver, Andrew
284 pages
Encyclopedia of Painting
1955
Myers, Bernard
511 pages (color)
American Painting History and Interpretation
1950
Barker, Virgil
715 pages
From Colony to Nation (Exhibition US works to War of 1812) (Exhibition catalog)
1949
Art Institute of Chicago
140 pages
American Portraits Catalogue of Portraits in Oil, Miniature, Sculptures
1941
New York Historical Society
367 pages
Mallet's Index of Artists: International-Biographical Two Volumes: Includes 1940 Index
1935
Mallett, Daniel Trowbridge
1,130 pages
A Critical Introduction to American Painting
1931
Barker, Virgil
52 pages
The History of American Painting (supplemental chapters by Royal Cortissoz)
1927
Isham, Samuel
608 pages
A History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the United States (Revised edition from 1834)