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William Matthews Boyce, by Bass Otis, c. 1825. Oil on canvas. 20 5/64 x 15 7/64 in. (51.0 x 38.4 cm.). Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1976-5-1.
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John Smith Warner, by Bass Otis, c. 1830?. Oil on board. Maryland Historical Society, Accession: 1963-73-1.
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Medium/Discipline: Painting, Works on Paper
Birthplace: Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Place of Death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Maryland Affiliation: Active while in residence
Prominent Theme: Portraits
Active Dates and Place: 1839-40 Wilmington, DE area; 1845-50 New York City; 1850-58 Boston area, with some time in Providence, Rhode Island; 1858-61 Returned to Philadelphia and resided there until his death
Places of Residence: Wilmington, New York City, Boston, Providence, Baltimore, Philadelphia
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: Bass Otis, the great painter and inventor, was truly a Renaissance man. He was fascinated by all aspects of painting and science, and moved in the highest intellectual circles of the early United States. Otis spent most of his early career in New York City completing his apprenticeship as a scythe-maker and working for the famous American artist John Wesley Jarvis. He moved to Philadelphia in 1812 and set up a studio at the corner of 3rd and Chestnut. It was here that he conceived his most famous invention, the "Perspective Protractor." Contemporary artist Rembrandt Peale called this device "an invaluable assistant to the artist." Otis, who advertised his services as "artist and inventor" in the Baltimore City Directory of 1815, described the instrument as a tool "by which the outline of any object may be correctly delineated and transferred to any size on paper, walls, or any other substance of such like description, and which may be performed by any person who can draw alone, or has the least idea of holding a pencil." Peale wrote in the American & Commercial Daily Advertiser of Baltimore that the Perspective Protractor was "the most convenient instrument for drawing that has ever been invented - by which the most accomplished is assisted and the most ignorant instructed quicker than by any other means." Otis also designed flags, made transparencies, engraved handbills, decorated coaches, produced signs for commercial enterprises, made copies of famous paintings by other artists and even dabbled in lithography, making him the first American lithographer.
All these technological and commercial successes have overshadowed acknowledgment of Otis's mastery of portraiture. Some of Otis's most famous sitters include, Thomas Jefferson, the Monroe family, Dolly Madison, Charles Fremont, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Henry Harrison, but the majority of his sitters were prominent local middle-class merchants, doctors, lawyers, and artists. Otis was also an important cultural figure of his time. He was a member of a painters club along with John Sartan, engraver, John Neagle, portraitist, Thomas Birch, marine landscapist and portraitist, in addition to being a member of the Franklin Institute of Science. In 1824 he was elected "Academician" of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Over 300 extant works have been discovered, evidencing his successful career. After moving up and down the east coast throughout his career, Otis settled in Philadelphia in 1858 and remained there until his death.
Art-related Employment: painter; printmaker; inventor
Selected References: The J. Hall Pleasants Files at The Maryland Historical Society
Maryland Institutions Holding Artworks: Maryland Historical Society
Multiple-Artist Exhibitions: July 1812 Annual Exhibition of the PA Academy of the Fine Arts, Otis portraits praised
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