Francis Blackwell Mayer (1827-1899)
MSA SC 3520-13814
Born: December 27, 1827 in Baltimore, MD
Father: Charles Frederick Mayer (October 15,
1795-?), attorney
Mother: Eliza Blackwell Mayer (1803-1885),
daughter of Captain Francis Blackwell
Siblings:
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Half-Brother, Henry Christian Mayer (1821-1846)
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Brother, Alfred M. Mayer (November 13, 1836-1897)
Marriage: February 12, 1883, married Ellen
Benton Brewer, widow. (License issued February 10, 1883.)
Education:
Studied in Baltimore with Arthur J. Miller in the 1840s and under
Ernest Fischer, a German artist living in Baltimore in 1850. He also
studied in Paris with Charles Gleyre and Gustave Brion in Paris between
1864 and 1869
Profession: Artist/Architect
Memberships:
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Maryland Art Association
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Maryland Historical Society (1848-?)
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Vice President of the Anne Arundel County Historical Society
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The Allston Association (Board of Directors)
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The Charcoal Club
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Local Improvement Association of Annapolis (helped found in 1884)
Writings:
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“Aunt Eve Interviewed” Harpers New Monthly 46 (March, 1873)
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“Old Maryland Manners” Scribners 17 (January, 1879)
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Signs and Symbols” Scribners 17 (September, 1879)
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“Old Baltimore and Its Merchants” Harpers New Monthly (January,
1880)
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“The Western Shore of Maryland” Popular Monthly (April, 1884)
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Research for “Customs and Character of the Capital” in The Ancient City,
1649-1887 by Elihu S. Riley
Major Paintings:
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“Feast of Mondawmin” (1857)
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“Doing and Dreaming” (1858)
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“The Nineteenth Century” (1869)
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With Pen and Pencil on the Frontier (1872)
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“Annapolis in 1750” (1876)
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“Talking Business in 1750” (1879)
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Pen and Ink drawings depicting the Baltimore Centennial (1880)
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“Crowning a Troubadour” (1885)
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“Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, Minnesota” (1886)
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“The Planting of the Colony of Maryland” (1893)
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“The Burning of the Peggy Stewart” (1896)
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“Waiting Orders” (date unknown)
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“The Thunder Dance” (date unknown)
Died: July 28, 1899 in Annapolis, MD
Burial: Annapolis City Cemetery
Biography:
Francis (Frank) Blackwell Mayer was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December
27, 1827, the son of Charles Mayer (October 15, 1795-?) and Eliza Blackwell
Mayer (1803-1885).He was one of three sons, Henry Christian Mayer (1821-1846),
the son of his father with his first wife, and Alfred M. Mayer (1836-1897).
He studied art in Baltimore with Arthur Miller and Ernest Fischer in the
1840s and in Paris with Charles Gleyre and Gustave Brion between 1864 and
1869, specializing in oil paintings and crayon drawings. He
lived in Paris from 1862 to 1870, where his artwork was exhibited at annual
expositions in both London and Paris.
Frank B. Mayer began his work to form the Maryland
Art Association on March 14, 1847 and the association met in his studio
once a week.He went on to work as an engraver in Philadelphia in 1847 and
in 1848 served as the assistant librarian for the Gallery of Fine Arts
at the Maryland Historical Society, which his uncle, Brantz Mayer, was
heavily involved with, both in its founding and as president.He also made
illustrations for his uncle’s books on Mexico.Mayer went on to form
the Allston Association with friends for the appreciation of American Artists.
Its constitution outlined the usual club regulations and allowed ladies
as auxiliary members and outlined the plans for art exhibitions and for
assistance given to native artists.He also served on the club’s Board of
Directors. In May of 1851, Mayer travelled to Minnesota and observed
the signing of the Treaty of Traverse Des Sioux. He wrote extensive
journals and made pen and ink drawings of his experiences in the west.
This experience was the influence for one of his most famous paintings,
“Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, Minnesota” from 1886. Upon his return
to Maryland, ten of his watercolors were exhibited by the Artist’s Association
of Baltimore at the Maryland Historical Society in 1856.
After Mayer’s education in Europe, Mayer received
a medal and diploma from the Maryland Institute for his works “Continental”
and “Attic Philosopher”. Upon his return to the United States, he
settled in Annapolis, Maryland and resided on Market Street while keeping
a studio on Prince George Street. His work included historical paintings,
two of which were bought by the state of Maryland and hang in the State
House today, "The Burning of the Peggy Stewart," and the "Planting of the
First Colony in Maryland." Additional artwork by Mayer such as the
well-known "Annapolis in 1750" was done for the private individuals, the
Peabody Institute, and the U.S. government. .
In 1876, Mayer purchased a home in historic Annapolis
and took an active interest in the city’s improvement. In 1884, Mayer
helped found the Local Improvement Association of Annapolis. Mayer was
active in landscaping public areas of the city such as the circle around
Market Space. He was later a member of the building committee of
a new public school and was interested in architecture as well as the history
of Annapolis. He conducted research on the "customs and characters"
of Annapolis that later formed the basis for a chapter in Elihu S. Riley's
The AncientCity: A History of Annapolis, in Maryland 1649-1887
(Annapolis: Record Printing Office, 1887).
Mayer was also involved in improving the Annapolis State House and its
grounds. In 1882, he designed a number of changes to the fencing
and walkways that were made on the State House grounds. Evidence
suggests that Mayer may also have designed the porch for the State House
that was contracted in July 1882, since an unsuccessful bid for the construction
of the porch submitted by C.C. Woolley refers to Mayer's plan for the work
(Notes by E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist). In 1884, he wrote a six
page letter to the Senator from Charles County, Dr. F.W. Lancaster, the
chairman of the Committee for Public Buildings. In this letter, he requested
permission to submit a report to the Committee regarding potential improvements
or additions to the State House. He also argued that the original
design of the State House represented a pinnacle of architecture and that
style must be strictly adhered to in future improvements. “The restoration
of this room [the Senate Chamber] to its original appearance is an obligation
of duty we owe to ourselves and to the country. The mutilation of
this hall is looked upon by all visitors as an act of vandalism and tends
to bring our historical renown as one of the ‘original thirteen’ into contempt.
I would respectfully suggest the restoration of this room as nearly
as possible to its original appearance to be preserved in this condition.
. .” (Page, Jean Jepson, 228).
By the mid-1890s, the inside of the State House was also sorely in need
of restorative work. It had fallen into such disrepair that wooden
timbers were rotting, ceilings were sagging in places, and some of the
walls were plastered over. On February 2, 1894, the Maryland State
Senate requested that Mayer team up with Baltimore architect John
Appleton Wilson to conduct a study of the feasibility of restoring
the Old Senate Chamber to the condition it had been in when George Washington
resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in
1783. After six weeks of working without pay, Mayer and Wilson reported
back to the Senate on March 19, 1894. Their report listed items to
be repaired, replaced or reproduced and estimated the total cost to be
$6,150. They concluded their report with a recommendation that the
work be started immediately. It was not until about eleven years
later under Governor Edwin Warfield's leadership that Mayer and Wilson's
recommendations were carried out and the Old Senate Chamber was fully restored
to a satisfactory condition. Mayer expressed frustration over the legislature’s
inaction on the State House, saying in a letter to his agent, John G. Hopkins,
that “They went back on me Completely in the State House Annex affairs
and chose a very ordinary design in preference to a really beautiful and
artistic plan. . . Evidently it was all preordained and shameless.”(Mayer
to Hopkins, 20 July 1886).
Mayer did not take a wife until he was 55 years old, when on February
12, 1883 he married the 27-year-old widow Ellen (or Ella) Benton Brewer.
Mayer did not mention any children in his last will and testament of 1896,
nor were there any children living at the time of Mayer's death in Annapolis
on July 28, 1899. Mayer's body was interred at the Annapolis City
Cemetery.