Samuel Bell Waugh

A portrait painter of Philadelphia and was also famous for his Italian panoramas. Among his portrait subjects were Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.

Waugh became one of the most famous portrait painters of Philadelphia. He was also known for his Italian panoramas, most of which he created during an eight-year stay in Italy.

A native of Mercer, Pennsylvania, Samuel Waugh was living in Toronto, Canada, as early as 1833. There with his brother John, a sign painter, operated the Theatre Royal, featuring panoramas, dances, recitations and other forms of entertainment. In 1834 he exhibited portraits and copies of landscapes of the first and only exhibition of the Society of Artists and Amateurs of Toronto. Although he was probably self-taught, his early skills as a portraitist were recognized. Waugh moved on to Montreal, where he was active as a portraitist until the end of 1835. He painted in Italy late 1836 until 1842. Back to Philadelphia he was known as a painter of portraits and landscapes. Waugh spent the major portion of his career in Philadelphia. However he did spend time in New York City for a period within 1844 to 1845 and passed several summers in Bordentown, New Jersey. His had affiliation with the Toronto Society of Arts (1847-48), where he was an Honorary Member. Samuel Waugh died in Janesville, Wisconsin on the 28th of September 1885, while visiting his sister.