BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Annapolis -- US Naval Academy -- Museum -- Exhibit: Art from Commodore's House

MD -- Annapolis -- US Naval Academy -- Museum -- Exhibit: Art from Commodore's House:

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Description of Pictures: Art Shown in Buchanan House:
Buchanan House is the official residence of the Superintendent of the US Naval Academy. The Superintendent is the equivalent of a college President. Buchanan House, named in 1976 for the first Superintendent, Commander Franklin Buchanan, was designed by the Beaux Arts architect Ernest Flagg and completed in 1906. It contains thirty-four rooms and, at times in its history, has annually entertained numbers second only to the White House as an official government residence. It has occasionally been used as a Department of State guest house for visiting foreign dignitaries who need to rest a night or two before making formal visits to Washington. On November 27, 2007, the house was used by President George W. Bush to welcome some of the delegates to the Annapolis Conference on the Middle East. Often after formal dress parades, the Superintendent and his wife host a reception in the house for the dignitaries that have reviewed the parade. During Commissioning Week, it has long been part of graduation tradition that all the graduates and their parents attend receptions, mostly in the formal gardens, at Buchanan House.
Over the years, the house has been given a number of pieces of historic furnishings and provisioned with some of the finest art from the US Naval Academy Museum collection. Since the house is currently undergoing renovation, it is thought opportune to show some of the paintings that have graced the walls of this important residence and that have been admired by Presidents, Kings and Queens, and many high-ranking visitors to the Naval Academy.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. NAMUAR_110130_014.JPG: Admiral Thomas C. Hart, USN (1877-1971) by Albert K. Murray Among the guest bedrooms in Buchanan House is the Hart Room, named for the 29th Superintendent, Admiral Thomas C. Hart, NA Class of 1897. The portrait was painted by one of the original World War II Navy Combat Artists. Hart served on USS Vixen in the Battle of Santiago in the Spanish-American War. During World War I, he commanded the submarine base at New London, the cruiser Chicago (CA 14), and Submarine Divisions Four and Five, operating against German U-boats in the Atlantic between Ireland and the Azores before reporting for duty as Director of Submarines in the Navy Department in July 1918. When World War II began, he was Commander-in-Chief Asiatic Fleet; and, after being evacuated from the Philippines in a submarine he became the allied naval commander in the Far East for a few months. Although retired for age, he continued to serve on the Board of Awards and the General Board. He was appointed as a US Senator from Connecticut in February 1945, filling for two years an unexpired vacant term. He was married to Caroline Brownson, the only woman who was both the daughter and the wife of Naval Academy Superintendents.
2. NAMUAR_110130_021.JPG: Captain Stephen Decatur, USN (1779-1820) By John Wesley Jarvis This image of Decatur has often graced a wall in the main drawing room of Buchanan House. As a young lieutenant, he volunteered at Tripoli to lead a party under the cover of darkness to destroy the captured frigate Philadelphia in February 1804. So successful was he that Admiral Lord Nelson called it "the boldest deed of the age" and Congress presented him a special sword and promoted him to Captain, US Navy, at age 25. He visited Annapolis in 1809, shortly after taking command of the US Frigate United States. With this ship he would add to his glory during the War of 1812 in the defeat and capture of HMS Macedonian on October 25, 1812. For this victory, he was voted a gold medal by the Congress. Using sea power, Decatur brought the Barbary pirates of Algiers quickly to terms in 1815. Afterward, he served on the Board of Navy Commissioners until being mortally wounded in a duel with fellow naval officer Commodore James Barron.
3. NAMUAR_110130_025.JPG: Action between the United States and Macedonian (October 25, 1812) by Thomas Whitcombe With superior marksmanship, Captain Stephen Decatur's crew destroyed the rigging, dismasted, and captured HMS Macedonian in an action fought in the Atlantic south of the Azores. Macedonian was towed back to New York and eventually overhauled and taken into the US Navy, serving until 1828. The captured British red ensign from this battle hangs in Mahan Hall; and Macedonian's figurehead, Alexander the Great, sits atop a pedestal at the Maryland Avenue end of Stribling Walk. This painting has been seen by many guests in the large formal dining room of Buchanan House.
4. NAMUAR_110130_033.JPG: USS New York Presentation Silver Sterling by Whiting Company, 1896 In 1945, the 112 piece silver service of USS New York (BB 34) was transferred to the Superintendent's house for use in official entertaining. The service had been begun by subscribers to the New York Herald Tribune in the 1890s for the armored cruiser, USS New York (ACR 2), that would serve as Rear Admiral William T. Sampson's flagship in the Spanish-American War. These more ornate pieces are part of the original service.
5. NAMUAR_110130_040.JPG: USS United States: Commodore Stephen Decatur, 1812 by W. Nowland Van Powell A retired Memphis architect, artist Nowland Van Powell researched and painted many works of the naval forces and battles of the American Revolution. The US Naval Academy Museum had a major showing of his paintings in 1970, for which he attended the opening reception. As a thank you, he donated this portrait of Decatur's famous command during the War of 1812, and the frigate aboard which he visited Annapolis in 1809.
6. NAMUAR_110130_050.JPG: Valparaiso, Chile by unknown artist, c. 1840 A very rare set of paintings show the principal seaport of Chile about 1840. Founded by the Spanish in 1536, Valparaiso was an important port on the west coast of South America for the US Navy in the 19th century. Captain David Porter's USS Essex used it as a base of operations during the War of 1812 until being captured nearby by HMS Phoebe and HMS Cherub. The US Pacific Squadron used it as a base of operations from 1821 to 1907.
7. NAMUAR_110130_057.JPG: Lieutenant John Percival, USN (1779-1862) by Ethan Allen Greenwood, 1817 Among the most colorful and admired figures of the old Navy, Percival went to sea in merchant ships at age 14 and was impressed into the British Navy where he served in Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory. He escaped to an American naval vessel at Madeira and had service briefly during the Quasi War with France before being discharged as a midshipman in 1801. Rejoining the merchant trade he earned the nickname "Mad Jack" before re-entering the Navy in 1809. During the 1812 War, he served on USS Peacock during its battle with HMS Epervier; and he was awarded a special presentation sword by the Congress of which he was most proud. Not long after this portrait was recorded, he commanded USS Dolphin, Pacific Squadron, and made a notable visit to the Sandwich Islands (later Hawaii). In the 1840s and in command of the famous US Frigate Constitution, he circumnavigated the world protecting and promoting American interests in many ports.
8. NAMUAR_110130_063.JPG: Projected New Buildings of the US Naval Academy, 1899 by Hughson Hawley Two preliminary drawings of the "New Naval Academy," designed by the architect Ernest Flagg (1857-1947). Some of the features in these drawings were changed before construction began, but an entirely new Naval Academy was built between 1899 and 1908. These, along with other watercolors by Hawley, were published by GP Putnam in Park Benjamin's history of the school in 1900.
9. NAMUAR_110130_073.JPG: USS Jamestown (1847-1892) by unknown artist In 1847, Congress authorized the Secretary of the Navy to place the sloop of war Jamestown at the disposal of Boston merchant Robert Bennett Forbes for the purpose of carrying food to Ireland for those starving in the potato famine. Afterward, Forbes commissioned this portrait of the ship and gave it to the Boston Naval Library and Institute. It was selected for a wall in Buchanan House's music room by a Superintendent of Irish descent.
10. NAMUAR_110130_082.JPG: General of Marine David Porter, Mexican Navy (1826-1829) by unknown artist The patriarch of the Porter naval family served as a midshipman aboard USS Constellation in its action with L'Insurgente during the Quasi War with France and was aboard the ill-fated frigate Philadelphia when it was captured off Tripoli in 1803. During the War of 1812, he distinguished himself in command of USS Essex, operating in the Atlantic and South Pacific. In 1823, he resigned from the Board of Navy Commissioners to take command of the West Indies Squadron and got in trouble for seizing a fort in Puerto Rico without authorization. He resigned and went to Mexico where he became Commander-in-Chief of the Mexican Navy. Note the belt buckle [in] the portrait. It is in his Mexican uniform that the artist shows him. He did not remain long in Mexico; and, from 1830 until his death, he served as the first United States ambassador to Turkey. He was hung over the mantel in the "music room" of Buchanan House.
11. NAMUAR_110130_086.JPG: Commodore David Porter, USN (1780-1843) by unknown artist An earlier version of David Porter that has graced the walls of the house in the past shows us a likeness of him immediately after the War of 1812. His son, David Dixon Porter, became the sixth Superintendent of the US Naval Academy; and, his grandson, Commodore Theodoric Porter, graduated from the Academy in 1870. He has also adopted a young lad named Glasgow Farragut, who added David to his name in honor of the Commodore. David Glasgow Farragut and David Dixon Porter became the first two gentlemen to advance through the ranks of Admiral in the US Navy.
12. NAMUAR_110130_093.JPG: Chinese Export Plates A large collection of these Celedon plates was given in memory of Rear Admiral Augustus Ludlow Case (1813-1893) and Mrs. Anna Rodgers Case. The china was most likely acquired by the admiral during a tour of duty in the East Indies Squadron in the 1840s. Admiral and Mrs. Case had two sons who graduated from the Naval Academy, Augustus L. Case, Jr., NA1873 and David Rodgers Case, NA 1876. The dishes have been shown in the Buchanan House library inside a secretary-desk, also from the Case family.
13. NAMUAR_110130_098.JPG: Diplomatic Plate The staffs and students of all the world's naval academies visit one another from time to time and present such gifts as this plate to commemorate the occasion. The Buchanan House dining room at one time sported four such silver trays mounted on the wall.
14. NAMUAR_110130_103.JPG: A French Port by Claude Joseph Vernet, 1758 Through the patronage of a brother of Madame de Pompadour, a favorite of Louis XV, the French King commissioned Vernet to paint scenes showing the ports of France. The official set of port scenes is today in the Musee de la Marine in Paris; but, so popular were the works that Vernet continued to paint similar pictures that can be found in many major collections with the largest number being in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. This one was given in memory of the Naval Academy Class of 1897 and usually hangs over the mantel in Buchanan House's formal dining room.
15. NAMUAR_110130_109.JPG: Lieutenant Franklin Buchanan, USN (1800-1874) by Marie Hildreth Meier, after Rembrandt Peale, 1919 Hung in the upper entrance foyer, this is a portrait of the first Superintendent of the Naval School in Annapolis, the namesake for the house. A native of Baltimore, Franklin Buchanan entered the Navy at 15. He later married Anne Catherine Lloyd, daughter of a governor of Maryland, and had a home across the street from the current main Chapel. On October 10, 1845, with a faculty and staff of seven and about fifty midshipmen, he formally opened the new school in Fort Severn, less than a block from his Annapolis home. In 1847, he was reassigned to help fight the Mexican War. He served in Perry's Expedition to Japan; and he was commanding the Washington Navy Yard when the Civil War began. Captain Buchanan resigned his commission, went to Richmond, and joined the Confederate States Navy. He was the first commander of CSS Virginia ex-USS Merrimack, the first ironclad ship, and he commanded the Confederate naval forces in the Battle of Mobile Bay. He was twice wounded. After the war he served as a President of the University of Maryland. The portrait, originally painted for the wardroom of USS Buchanan (DD 131) in 1919, was removed and transferred to the Naval Academy when the ship went into reserve in 1922.
16. NAMUAR_110130_115.JPG: Buchanan Row, US Naval Academy, 1848 by Charles Burton Originally it was an extension of Governor's Street inside the gate of Fort Severn. On the left is the house built about 1750 for the family of Water Dulany that became the Commandant's quarters for the Fort in 1808; and, after 1845, it served as the Superintendent's quarters for the Naval School. It was the home of the first twelve Superintendents. The town houses in the center were built by the War Department in 1835 to house officers assigned to the Fort. The Navy added an upper story and used them to house some of the original faculty. The structure at the end served as the Quartermaster's office and quarters of Fort Severn; and then, it was renovated for the Chaplain, George Jones, who was the first English and Ethics professor as well as the Curator of the Lyceum (museum) and the Chaplain.
17. NAMUAR_110130_121.JPG: Midshipman Stephen B. Luce, USN (1827-1917) by Alexander James Among the first midshipmen to come to the new naval school at Annapolis, Luce graduated in 1847. The portrait was painted by the son of the famous philosopher William James and was based on an early photograph. Luce later taught seamanship at his alma mater, wrote the text book on the subject used at the school for generations, and served as Commandant of Midshipmen, 1865-68. Rear Admiral Luce founded the Naval War College at Newport, RI, in 1884. Luce Hall here at the Naval Academy is named for him.
18. NAMUAR_110130_126.JPG: USS Constellation at Newport, 1900 by Reynolds Beal From the library of Buchanan House, the sloop of war Constellation portrait shows the longest service practice ship, some twenty-two years, of the US Naval Academy. From 1871 to 1893, every summer it arrived to carry third and first classmen off to sea for training. Today, Constellation is tied up in Baltimore's inner harbor as a floating museum. The artist Reynolds Beal painted many circus scenes. Maybe he had a fascination with the canvas in the sails and in the big-top tents -- or was it an interest in midshipmen and clowns?
19. NAMUAR_110130_141.JPG: Commodore Oliver H. Perry, USN (1785-1819) by Joseph Wood A companion on the wall in the carriage entrance has been this likeness of Matthew's older brother and the naval leader and hero of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812, Oliver Hazard Perry. It is probably among the earliest works of art actually commissioned by the Department of the Navy. Note how the subject floats in space. The profile image was made as a study of the subject for the use by a die sinker at the United States Mint, Philadelphia. It played a crucial role in the production of the gold medal voted by the United States Congress to honor Perry for winning the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. This image appears on the obverse or front of the medal.
20. NAMUAR_110130_148.JPG: Commodore Matthew C. Perry, USN (1794-1858) by John Beaufain Irving, Jr., 1868 This portrait of Matthew C. Perry is based on a daguerreotype photograph and shows hjim more advanced in years. The painting was done after his death. Both the Mount and Irving portraits have hung at different times in the carriage entrance to the Superintendent's quarters.
21. NAMUAR_110130_158.JPG: Fair American, 14/16 Guns, American Privateer Brig, 1778 For sixty years, scholars have debated the origin and identify of this model. At present, it is believed to be a contemporary replica of an American vessel based in Charleston, South Carolina, during the American Revolution. Note the "studding sails" rigged outside the principal sails on the model's starboard side. These were usually deployed in light, steady breezes.
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2011 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used the Fuji S100fs camera as well as two Nikon models -- the D90 and the new D7000. Mostly a toy, I also purchased a Fuji Real 3-D W3 camera, to try out 3-D photographs. I found it interesting although I don't see any real use for 3-D stills now. Given that many of the photos from the 1860s were in 3-D (including some of the more famous Civil War shots), it's odd to see it coming back. Trips this year: Civil War Trust conferences (Savannah, GA, Chattanooga, TN), New Jersey over Memorial Day for my birthday (people never seem to visit New Jersey -- it's always just a pit stop on the way to New York. I thought I might as well spend a few days there. Despite some nice places, it still ended up a pit stop for me -- New York City was infinitely more interesting), my 6th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Francisco). Ego strokes: Author photos that I took were used on two book jackets this year: Jason Emerson's book "The Dark Days of Abraham Lincoln's Widow As Revealed by Her Own Letters" and Dennis L. Noble's "The U.S. Coast Guard's War on Human Smuggling." I also had a photo of Jason Stelter published in the Washington Examiner and a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. Number of photos taken this year: just over 390,000.
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