![]() ![]() He is now regarded as the founder of the first history museum in the United States." Other events First American museum of natural history But the history was never written he died destitute, and his collections were sold to pay his debts. In a measure he realized his vision briefly in his 'American Museum,' located in a house in Arch Street above 4th, which he advertised as early as September 1782. In his efforts to achieve his objectives, he fought a constant battle with poverty and with the lack of interest of persons who might have helped him gather materials. "His great personal vision embraced the founding of an American museum and the compiling of a history of the Colonies. He seized every opportunity to sketch from life the notables, both American and British, who came to Philadelphia and more often than not his sketches went into his own collection. He did pencil, chalk, and water-color portraits for a fee - though he seems not to have worked in oil. He drew maps, frontispieces, and technical illustrations for publications. He drew designs for a variety of state, local, and institutional seals. "All the while he continued to practice his profession of artist and painter, from which he earned a precarious living. In 1781 the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) granted him an honorary degree of Master of Arts. Perhaps oddly for a collector, he was generous in lending books and other materials from his collections. He strove to record the history of the Colonies, including their differences with England and their eventual struggle for independence. He accumulated pamphlets, newspapers, handbills, and every other kind of political publication. He collected books in English and other languages and was a bibliographer of skill and breadth. "His early interest in natural history had expanded to embrace geography, geology, mineralogy, archeology, numismatics, and every aspect of American history, including aboriginal, general, local, political, social, and cultural history. Thomas Jefferson's daughter Martha took drawing lessons with du Simitiere.ĭu Simitiere was the translator into French for the Letters to the inhabitants of Canada from the Continental Congress designed to draw the new British subjects of Quebec into the American Revolutionary War. In 1781, he was conferred an honorary degree from Princeton University (which was still called College of New Jersey until 1896). In 1779, du Simitiere painted the first known portrait of George Washington, later used for the 1791 one-cent coin. He also designed the Seal of New Jersey, of Delaware, and of Georgia. motto E pluribus unum ("Out of Many, One"). Moreover, he suggested the adoption of the U.S. Elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1768, he further became one of its curators (1777–1781).ĭu Simitiere served as the artistic consultant for the committees that designed the Great Seal of the United States, and in 1776 he submitted the first proposed design to include the Eye of Providence, which element was eventually adopted. He spelled his name Pierre-Eugène du Simitière, Pierre Eugene du Simitiere or du Symitiere after settling in Philadelphia. After leaving the Republic of Geneva, he spent more than a decade in the West Indies before moving to New York and then Philadelphia. motto E pluribus unum ("Out of Many, One").īorn in Geneva, du Simitiere's original name was Pierre-Eugène Ducimetière or Pierre-Eugène du Cimetière. Pierre Eugene du Simitiere (born Pierre-Eugène Ducimetière, French: 18 September 1737, Geneva – October 1784, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a Genevan American member of the American Philosophical Society, naturalist, American patriot, and portrait painter.ĭu Simitiere served as the artistic consultant for the committees that designed the Great Seal of the United States, and submitted the first proposed design to include the Eye of Providence and suggested the adoption of the U.S. Raising the Liberty Pole in New York City, 1770 pen and ink drawing by Simitiere depicting one of six liberty poles to be alternately raised and later removed over ten years in confrontations among the Sons of Liberty and British troops stationed in the city prior to the American Revolutionary War. ![]()
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