Daniel Huntington (October 4, 1816 – April 19, 1906) was an American artist who belonged to the art movement known as the Hudson River School and later became a prominent portrait painter.
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Early life
Huntington was born in New York City, New York on October 4, 1816. He was the son of Benjamin Huntington, Jr. and Faith (née Trumbull) Huntington. His paternal grandfather was Benjamin Huntington, delegate at the Second Continental Congress and first U.S. Representative from Connecticut. His brother Jedediah Vincent Huntington was a clergyman and novelist. His maternal grandfather was Jedediah Huntington (1743–1818) of Norwich, Connecticut, who served as a General in the American Revolutionary War.
He studied at Yale with Samuel F.B. Morse, and later with Henry Inman. From 1833 to 1835, he transferred to Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, where he met Charles Loring Elliott, who encouraged him to become an artist.
Career
Huntington first exhibited his work at the National Academy of Design in 1836. Subsequently, he painted some landscapes in the tradition of the Hudson River School. Huntington made several trips to Europe, the first in 1839 traveling to England, Rome, Florence and Paris with his friend and pupil Henry Peters Gray. On his return to America in 1840, he painted his allegorical painting "Mercy's Dream", which brought him fame and confirmed his interest in inspirational subjects. He also painted portraits and began the illustration of The Pilgrim's Progress. In 1844, he went back to Rome.