Ezra Ames
Ezra Ames ( * 1768 in Framingham, Massachusetts, † 1836 in Albany, New York ) was an American portrait painter of the late 18th and early 19th century.
Life and work
Ames was born as the son of Jesse and Bette Bent Ames in Framingham, Massachusetts. His mother died when he was seven years old, his father married again. Together with his family he moved to Staatsburg, New York. Around 1790 Ezra Ames worked as a furniture painter in Worcester, Massachusetts, and began with portraiture, specializing in miniatures. 1794 Ames married Zipporah Wood of Upton, Massachusetts, with which he got in 1795 a first child. He and his family moved to Albany, New York, where he set up his practice as a shield, furniture and portrait painter and settled. He remained in Albany until his death in 1836, where he was one of the most famous portrait painters of his time, he also was a director and elected after 1834 president of Mechanics and Farmers Bank and Officer of the Albany Masonic Lodge. After his death he was buried in the Albany Rural Cemetery.
He became famous for a portrait of the governor and Vice President George Clinton in 1812, which was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In the following years he worked in Albany and west of the State of New York, where he portrayed numerous politicians and other prominent individuals from New York and Albany. In total, more than 500 portraits are attributed to them.
Portrait of Gideon Granger
Portrait of Solomon Townsend
Portrait of Alexander Hamilton
Portrait of Benjamin Tallmadge