American Art Collaborative

Alexander Hamilton Vinton (1807-1881) was a prominent Episcopalian minister. He entered the ministry in 1828 after receiving his master’s in divinity from Yale. In 1877, after a long and influential career, Vinton left Emmanuel Church in Boston to retire to Connecticut with his wife. Four years later the parish commissioned Augustus Saint-Gaudens to create this commemorative portrait. In earlier versions, the sculptor represented Vinton at the pulpit with his arm raised in speech. The final version, however, does not present the rector as an orator, but as a scholarly theologian clasping a Bible to his chest, his fingers marking various pages
“[Dr. Hamilton] had all the qualities of a great orator . . . extensive knowledge, and the logical force and imaginative glow which make a strong man under excitement absolutely irresistible.” New York Times, April 28, 188