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General
Charles J. Paine
John Singer
Sargent
-- American painter
1904
Museum of
Fine Arts,
Boston
Oil on canvas
86.68 x
72.71 cm (34
1/8 x 28 5/8 in.)
Gift
of the heirs of Charles J. Paine 54.1410
Jpg: MFA
(See interactive zoom
at the MFA)
General Charles Paine, was a
three time
defender of the America's Cup races: 1885 with the yacht "Puritan"; '86
with "Mayflower" and finally in '87 with the boat "Volunteer" -- so
named
for Paine's division of black volunteers he commanded during the the
civil
war.
After graduating from
Harvard, with
the war underway, he joined the army and received a commission as
captain
in the Massachusetts Infantry. He rose rapidly, serving as colonel on
the
staff of General Benjamin F. Butler (who also loved sailing and later
owned
the schooner America) and played a key role in the capture of Port
Hudson.
As a brigadier general,
Paine commanded
a black volunteer division that boasted 14 medals of honor in the 1864
Richmond campaign and then capturing Fort Fisher.
He returned to Boston a
Major General.
Notes
Provenance:
The artist; to Charles
J. Paine, Weston, Mass., to 1916; to his heirs; to MFA, 1954, gift of
the heirs of Charles J. Paine.
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