American Furniture, Folk and Decorative Arts

Note

Othniel Spang, born in Oley Valley, Berks County, Pennsylvania, relocated to Norristown with his parents, Jacob and Mary (Sands) Spang. Originally trained as a stone cutter, he developed an appreciation for painting and was largely self-taught. He opened his own studio in 1854 and eventually taught painting at the Norristown public schools, as well as Oakland Female Institute and Treemount Seminary. Spang was called to engage in the Civil War, and he enlisted in the Pennsylvania Cavalry, Post No. 35. He fought at the notable battles Antietam, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga, among others, and survived to resume his painting profession and marry in 1871 to Mary B. Sutton. Othniel's great uncle fought in the Revolutionary War, and perhaps it was his family lineage and his own patriotism that inspired this painting. This scene was first painted by John Trumbull in 1786, part of his Revolutionary War series, and depicts the impending death of General Joseph Warren in the Battle at Bunker Hill, Boston, Massachussetts. Interestingly, Othniel's depiction bears the same date as the opening of his studio, revealing that it served as one of the first works of his professional career. For more information on Othniel Spang, see Wiley, Samuel T., editor, Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (Montgomery County: Biographical Publishing Company, 1895), pg. 78-79.