Morse, Samuel F. B. American (1791-1872) PORTRAIT OF ARTIST'S DAUGHTER SUSAN WALKER MORSE oil on copper unsigned H 18in W 15.5in *Provenance: This painted catalogued by the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Record # 9C880062. Purchased from these rooms, April 20, 1996, lot #235 Two notes on verso state: This painting on copper, was initially owned by Reverend Tilley Morse At his death it was purchased by Mrs. Clark Walling of Boston, Massachusetts, (a collector of American paintings); the information, given Mrs. Walling was that this portrait had come down through various members of the Morse family and had always been known as a portrait of Susan Morse, daughter of Samuel F. B. Morse and his first wife, Lucretia Pickering Walker Morse. In the family the portrait was said to have been painted by Susan's father, S.F.B. Morse., the other note states: Susan Walker Morse, daughter of Samuel Finley Breese Morse the great painter who founded the American Academy (National Academy of Design in 1925) and was the first president; and who invented the telegraph and the Morse code. In addition to some of his accomplishments listed, S.F.B. Morse is said to have been one of the nation's best early portrait painters, especially known for his depictions of National Government figures. In 1815, Morse returned from his studies at art school in England, and went on to complete panoramic interiors including THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES with its eighty-six portraits of delegates. Morse is also credited with introducing America to photography by bringing in the first daguerreotype camera to the United states.