Samuel F. DuBois

Born into a prominent religious family in Doylestown in 1808, Samuel DuBois was the son of the Reverend Uriah DuBois, the founding minister of the Doylestown Presbyterian Church. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Thomas Sully. Sully painted in the British style of peaches and cream complexions and lyrical, fanciful backgrounds. While DuBois's paintings reflect this teaching, he was also influenced by the more traditional, primitive style of the limners. Thus, he tended to depict his subjects more severely than was the current Academy style. As his reputation spread, his work was included in exhibitions at the Pennsylvania Academy and he completed a well-known series of portraits for the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.

DuBois spent the better part of his life in Doylestown but also lived and worked for a number of years in Wilkes-Barre. He was an early pioneer in photography. DuBois opened a daguerreotype studio in Doylestown by 1847 and closely followed the advances and innovations in the art of photography. DuBois spent most of his life in Doylestown and, in addition to the visual arts, was an accomplished musician who played the violin and sang with a local quartet.

Education and Training
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Teachers and Influences
Thomas Sully, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Connection to Bucks County
Samuel DuBois was born in Doylestown in 1808. His father Uriah DuBois (1767-1821) was the first minister of the Doylestown Presbyterian Church. Reverend DuBois came to Doylestown in 1804 to found a private school, the Union Academy, at Court and Broad Streets. Samuel DuBois painted numerous portraits in and around Doylestown. His small brick home and daguerreotype studio at 19 South Pine Street still stands.

Major Group Exhibitions
Artist's Fund Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1836, 1837
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1855, 1856
William Beck Exhibition, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1856
Bicentennial Art Exhibit, Bucks County Historical Society, Mercer Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1976
Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1996
Art In History: Paintings from the Mercer Collection, The Byers Annual Bucks Fever Art Exhibition, Mercer Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1999

Major Collections
Bucks County Historical Society, Doylestown, Pennsylvania
United States Mint, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Commissions
Several private commissions of portraits for Bucks County families