Artist

Benjamin Trott

born Boston, MA ca. 1770-died Washington, DC 1843
Born
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Active in
  • New York, New York, United States
  • Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Biography

Benjamin Trott, thought to have been born in Boston, ranks with Edward Greene Malbone and Charles Fraser as one of America's best miniaturists. During a long career that spanned from 1791 to 1841, Trott worked along the eastern seaboard from Boston to Charleston. In 1793 he settled in Philadelphia to make watercolor miniatures on ivory of Gilbert Stuart's portraits. Trott reached the height of his career, from 1806 to 1819, in Philadelphia, where he shared a studio with Thomas Sully for a time. He exhibited several miniatures at the Pennsylvania Academy in 1811 and 1812.

Though his miniatures varied widely in both conception and technique, Trott won high praise for his likenesses. His acclaim as a miniaturist stems from his skillful handling of color—he habitually incorporated the bare ivory into the color scheme—and his ability to render the sitter, typically male, with an economy of effort. For these reasons, Stuart favored Trott's copies of his portraits.

National Museum of American Art (CD-ROM) (New York and Washington D.C.: MacMillan Digital in cooperation with the National Museum of American Art, 1996)

Works by this artist (6 items)

Benjamin Trott, Anne Hume Shippen, ca. 1796, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Natalie Brooks Sears Shippen and William Brush Shippen, 1999.87.1
Anne Hume Shippen
Dateca. 1796
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Benjamin Trott, Miriam Etting Myers, ca. 1805, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1959.5.1
Miriam Etting Myers
Dateca. 1805
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Benjamin Trott, John Cleves Short, 19th century, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Mary Elizabeth Spencer, 1999.27.48
John Cleves Short
Date19th century
watercolor on ivory
Not on view
Benjamin Trott, Jane Stone, ca. 1805, watercolor on ivory, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 1934.11.1
Jane Stone
Dateca. 1805
watercolor on ivory
Not on view