John Samuel Blunt (1798-1835)

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American, lived/active: Portsmouth, New Hampshire and Boston, Massachusetts.
Harbor scene with figures seated on the rocks.
Signed and dated (l.r.): J.S. Blunt, 1830. Oil on canvas. 33 ¼” x 41 ¼” with frame.
Over-all in fine condition, one patch on verso, some areas of craquelure. Appears to retain the original grain-painted frame.
Provenance: From the collection of Dr. Donald Moylan.
A very similar painting by Blunt is pictured in Deborah M. Child’s The Sketchbook of John Samuel Blunt (Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Portsmouth Athenaeum, 2007) page 73, figure 4-30..
John S. Blunt was primarily known as a portrait painter and in his earlier years, a miniaturist. His landscapes and marine art are scarce and rare to find, especially ones signed and dated, as seen here in this Harbor Scene. Born into a seafaring family, Blunt was considered an expert artist for his accurate rendering of ships, which was probably the most successful element of his work. He died at sea aboard the ship Ohio in 1835 at the age of 37.