The Mississippi Creole. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1841-1851, 1847-12-18
harvard. the selr-Taught Artlst.

following notice Of Barnard, the self-tOught in
artist, who has executed the gigantic work OF CO
a panoramic view Of the Mississippi on sheets tr'
Of canvass three miles in length: hi
There was a young lad Of fifteen, q father ar
less, moneyless youth, to whom there came a &c
very extraordinary idea, as he was floating for Sc
the first time down the Mississippi. He had g
read in some foreign journal that America
could boast the most picturesque and magnlh- i
cent scenery in the world, but that she had not d
+ yet produced an artist capable Of delineating b
it. On this thoughthe p%ohdered and pondered, :
till his brain began to whirl; and as he glided \
. along the shores Of the stupendous river, gaz-
ing around him with wonder and delight, the
; boy resolved within himself that he would take
/. away the reproach from his country-that he
8 would paint the beauties and sublimities Of his
0 native land.
II Some years passed away, and still John Ban
ward, for that was his name, dreamed Of being
q painter. What he was in his waking mo-
ments we do not know-probably a mechanlci
j but, at all events he found time to turn over
: and over again the great thought that haunted
. him, till at length, before he had yet attained
" his twenty-frst year, 1t assumed a distinct and
= tangible shape in his mind, and he devoted
:, himself to its realization. There mingled no
> idea of profit with his ambition, and, indeed,
strange to say, We can learn nothing of any
=. aspirations he may have felt after a%rtlstical ex-
-. c~ellence. His grand object, as he himself In
forms us, was to lalsiiy the assertion that Ame-
RIGA had mo artists commensurate with the
grandeur and extent Of her scenery and to
=. accomplish this by producing The largest paint
ing IN the world,
John Barnard was born in New York and
raised in Kentucky:' but he had no patrons
either among the rich merchants OF the one
y, or the wild enthusiasts of the other, whose
~ name has become q synonyme Tor all that Il
Us GOOD, bad, and ridiculous in the American cha
~racter.. He was self-taught and selfdcpendant
and when he determined to paint a picture o
""O the shores of the Mississippi which should BIZ
'""' os superior TO all others in point of size as tina
prodigious river is to the streamlets OF Europe
he was obliged to betake himself Tor somenm
ems to trading and boating upon the mighty stream
or- in order to raise funds for the purchase Of mi
IS u t%erials. But this was at length accomplish
gone and the work begun. His first task was
d TO- make the necessary drawings, and in executin
as''c this he spent four hundred days in the MANN
: ~ thus described by himself:
y u" sFor this purpose he had to travel thousand
by of I'LL aI1no - on oron shiF. crossing ii
rapid streams, in many places two miles
Jul breadth, to select proper points OF sight io
ce'e- which to take his sketch; his hands BEGAN
them hardened with constantly plying the oar, al
'e's"l his skin as tawny as an Indians, IRON exp
ng oil sure to the rays Of the sun and the v%icissltud
uu' Of the weather, He would be two weeks
lnu Us pether without speaking to a human beil
y WIS having no other company than his rifle, VIM
seen furnished him with his meat from the game
the woods or the fowls Of the river. VIII
urreu, the sun began to sink behind the lofty blu
lies OF and evening to approach, he would select So
every secluded sandy cove, overshadowed oy
nh'eu lofty cotton wood, draw out his skill from
me, to ,o,or and renair TO the woods to hunt his 81
per. Having killed his game, he would retu
dress, cook, and from some fallen log wo
'HO cat il with his biscuit, with no other bever
y ~ than the wholesome water of the noble RI
Pi that glided by him. Having finished his 10
u .usN " meal he would roll himself in his blanl
!. The y "''' 40 c..n .liF which he tur
over TO shield him from the night dews
J, bear with portfolios of drawings for his pillow
in VIC the sand of the bar for his bed, would 81
sword ,orrdlv ill the morning, when he would a
mented from bis lowlv couch, eat his breakfast be
Of each the rays of the rising sun had dispersed
tie devil humid mist from the surface Of the river,
alter then start fresh to his task again.
mother When the preparatory drawings were
The pleted, he erected a building at L%ouisVill
OF the Kentucky, where he at length commenced
in the ric,rre which was to be a panorama Of
e guard Mississippi, painted on canvass three macs
covered and it is noted with lustiiable pride, that
by the nroved to be a home production througl
follow the cotton being grown in one Of the sout
States. and the fabric spun and woven Q!
to factory girls Of Lowell, What the pictu
oh opin- as a work of art we shall probably nav
!. of the opportunity Of ascertaining personally, as
dur- ,,rdors,ood to be Mr., Banvard's lntenuo
/, during exhibit il in England, but in the mean'lm
nd Resa- must be satisfied to know '"u'
as. warmest eulogiums from the most disting
les & Co, cd Of his own coun'rymen' anu . 'es'l.uO
informed, favor Of its correctness from 'he PtinOiPo
ant piece tains and pilots Of inc mlsSlsslpp'' =
leir cele- ing in Boston IN APril lus' :
Governor Of Massachusetts,, who was
chair, talked of it with enthusiasm as "a
,n's nest derful and extraordinary production;' o.
Calhoun, president Of the Senate, mo
fucted as series of resolutions expressive Of their
sight admiration of the boldness and Orlgina
her pro- the conception, and Of the indeiatIgaole
lille, she verance Of the young and talented arts.