Art of Sala Bosworth: Windows to 19th Century Southeast Ohio

Sala Bosworth (1805-1890) was a prolific artist who depicted people and places in southeastern Ohio in the 19th century. Trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Bosworth began his career as an itinerant painter in Ohio in 1827, travelling in Marietta and the surrounding area. Bosworth’s portraits, for which he is known, and also his many landscape paintings provide a window into the life and surroundings of 19th century southeastern Ohioans.

Wealthy settlers in Southeast Ohio boasted their social status and influence through portraiture. To have a portrait painted by a respected artist was a signifier of wealth, and high society settlers chose to wear fashionable clothing in their portraits to emphasize their affluence. Jonathan Sprague Jr. donned a shirt with a fashionable high collar and pleated cravat under a fine jacket for his portrait.

This piece is a pair with the portrait of Mrs. Sprague’s husband, Jonathan Sprague Jr. These portraits reflect Marietta’s history and social structure during the 19th century. Several white families rose to prominence in Marietta as the founding families of the city, and Bosworth was one artist employed to capture their likeness through portraits.

Reverend Cyrus Byington was a Christian missionary who spent many years working with in Mississippi and what is now Oklahoma. Although not from Ohio, Byington married Sophia Nye, a daughter of the successful Nye family of Marietta.

Sophia Nye Byington’s portrait was created along with that of her husband, Cyrus Byington. Sophia’s paternal family was one of the first non-native families to settle in Marietta in the late 1700s. Sala Bosworth had a high demand in his early career as an artist to paint portraits of members of prosperous families, like the Nyes, across southeastern Ohio.

Sala Bosworth painted this portrait of his mother after he had given up his career as a professional painter. He began working civil servant positions beginning in 1846 because the invention of photography in 1839 caused his portrait commissions to decline, and he could no longer support himself as a painter.

Charles “Henry” Bosworth was about 2 years old when this portrait was painted by his father. Once Sala Bosworth turned to civil work to earn a living, he painted portraits less frequently. The focus of his art shifted as he no longer relied on the income that portraiture provided.

This mill scene is one of Bosworth’s earlier recorded landscape paintings. The large hills in the background of this view may not look like many people’s idea of Ohio’s natural landscape. However, southeastern Ohio is full of the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountain range. Bosworth likely saw many hills such as these while living and traveling in southeastern Ohio.

This landscape view looks over the Muskingum River from Harmar Hill in Marietta. Figures in the foreground of the painting suggest that this was a popular spot for an afternoon stroll in the early days of Marietta’s settlement. Today, the Harmar area is a historic district where visitors can learn about Marietta’s early history.

Bosworth’s landscape scenes are heavily inspired by the natural landscape in southeastern Ohio. This forest scene not only captures Ohio’s natural beauty, but also gives us a glimpse into the lives of Ohioans during Bosworth’s lifetime. Two figures can be seen in the foreground enjoying nature while taking a break from hunting in Ohio’s wilderness.

Many of Bosworth’s landscape paintings, like this one, feature rivers and other water features. Marietta was settled near where the Muskingum River and the Ohio River meet, so it is not surprising that Bosworth often found beautiful river vistas to depict in his art. Take note of how many of the landscapes in this exhibit feature water in some way!

Water mills were found in many parts of Ohio in the 19th century, but they were especially significant near Marietta. Ohio’s milling industry began near Marietta in the late 18th century because the rivers that provided Bosworth with artistic inspiration also provided the area’s settlers with an opportunity for economic success by powering mills like this one.

Bosworth began painting with watercolors late in his life. His watercolor paintings were landscape scenes similar to the ones he had painted since his career shift in the 1840s. Bosworth continued to draw inspiration from Ohio’s landscape and history even though he no longer relied on art for an income. He continued to create art that portrayed Ohio well into his retirement.

You can now see Sala Bosworth’s work in person! For more information, please see here.

The Dawes Arboretum
History Center
7770 Jacksontown Rd.
Newark, OH 43056