Artist George Fuller (1822-1884) from Deerfield, Massachusetts, spent his twenties and thirties studying art while often maintaining studios in Boston and New York City. In the 1850s, Fuller spent three winters in Georgia and Alabama working as an itinerant painter. Upon returning to Deerfield from his final trip, Fuller reported to his brother that his portraiture business in the South had slowed by 1858. This was due, in part, to an economic depression in the years just prior to the Civil War. He mentioned that in his extra time he had been making sketches of enslaved people and intended to spend the upcoming summer painting them. Other segments of his letter report his father’s poor health. His father died the following year, after which George toured Europe for six months, before returning to Deerfield to marry and take over the family farm. He spent the remainder of his life farming and painting in his home studio, while also maintaining a studio in Boston.
Fuller, George. Letter to Augustus Fuller from brother George regarding African American painting. May 16, 1858. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l05-121/. Accessed on December 22, 2024.
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