Erastus Salisbury FieldErastus Salisbury Field was born in Leverett, Massachusetts, in 1805. He and his twin sister, Salome, were named after their parents. Field early demonstrated an artistic talent, and in 1824, at the age of nineteen, he apprenticed in the New York City studio of Samuel F. B. Morse until the sudden death of Morse's young wife in 1825, only three months after Field's arrival. Field returned to Leverett, starting a pattern of patronship among relatives and friends that was to spread throughout western Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. In 1831 he married Phebe Gilmur in Ware, Massachusetts—where he later painted Joseph Moore and his family—and a year later their daughter, Henrietta, was born. He continued traveling, as far south as Hartford, New Haven, and New Canaan, Connecticut. Field is considered to have been at the height of his artistic abilities during this period in the 1830s, when his paintings are characterized by quick brushstrokes, a halo effect around the sitter, and modeling achieved through dabs of color. Although he relied on conventions that allowed his to work quickly, the portraits are personal and incisive studies. In 1841 he returned to New York, accompanied by his family. They resided in Greenwich Village, first on Carmine Street and later on Bank Street, and Field is listed in the city directories as a portrait painter until 1843, when he is listed simply as an artist. About the same time, he introduced landscape painting into his repertoire. Field may also have learned the new art of taking daguerreotypes during his second New York sojourn. After his return to New England in 1849, he began using daguerreotypes as the basis for painted portraits, sometimes composite compositions from several photographic sources. Phebe died in 1859, and Field and his daughter moved to Plumtrees, near Leverett. It was here that he built a painting studio and started the series of religious and historical paintings that were to be his major occupation for his remaining years. A staunch abolitionist, Field painted biblical scenes of the Hebrews fleeing slavery in Egypt that were undoubtedly intended to convey his objection to slavery in the United States. In 1888 Field completed "The Historical Monument to the American Republic," a monumental allegorical representation of major chapters and figures in American history, with an emphasis on the Civil War. Shortly before his death in 1900 at the age of ninety-five, Field was remembered as the oldest citizen of Franklin County and an "all-around painter of the old school....His likenesses of people of past generations are nearly correct as can well be made in oil." Stacy C. Hollander, "Erastus Salisbury Field (1805–1900)," in American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001), 398.https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/4779/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/373/rdfSamuel Folwellhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1272/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/153/rdfSamuel Gottschallhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/3920/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/1822/rdfSamuel C. Musselmanhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/3229/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/154/rdfSamuel Packardhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/26988/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/2614/rdfSamuel Anderson Robbhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/4735/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/1045/rdfSimon RodiaWorking over three decades, Simon Rodia made what is considered to be the largest structure erected by a single person. The work is now known as the Watts Towers for its placement in the Watts neighborhood in southern Los Angeles. The complex features seventeen main interconnected structures, including three central soaring spires that stand around a hundred feet tall, as well as gardens, a gazebo, benches, and birdbaths. Rodia labored alone for the years he spent on the project, using no scaffolding, armature, bolts, or rivets. Instead, he bent steel beams into the desired shapes, then wrapped them with wire and mesh that was covered with mortar. While it was still wet, he adorned the material with a mosaic of glass bottles, shells, shards of crockery, broken mirrors, and other objects he could salvage from the city streets. He also made impressions in the mortar with objects such as corn cobs, stalks of wheat, car parts, and his own simple work tools. Much is murky about Rodia’s biography. His first name appears as Sabato, Sabatino, Sam, and Samuel, and his last name as Rodilla. He was born in the Campania region of Italy, with his year of birth cited around 1880, although the exact date is in dispute. He immigrated to the United States as a teenager and worked in construction and as a tile setter. In 1921, he began his monumental undertaking on a triangular lot that included his home. He would claim as inspiration great Italian visionaries such as Galileo, although he was mostly taciturn about what compelled him, giving different answers and conflicting information in interviews. Amidst the modest homes in the surrounding community, his gargantuan assemblage stood out as it rose higher and became more elaborate, and the diminutive figure of Rodia could be seen climbing its lattices of mortar and metal, carrying a trowel and bucket as he worked into the night. In 1954, Rodia deeded the property to a neighbor and left the site for good, never returning before his death in 1965 in Martinez, California. The Watts Towers were nearly lost when the city condemned them in the mid-1950s; artists and advocates rallied to save them from destruction. The site is now on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark preserved as part of Simon Rodia State Historic Park. Allison C. Meier, 2025 Text written as part of “Rethinking Biography,” an initiative supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). https://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/21422/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/1077/rdfRuth W. Shutehttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1267/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/1024/rdfSamuel A. Shutehttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/4581/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/2049/rdfSamuel Steinbergerhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/2109/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/1049/rdfSamuel Smith Toothakerhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/24513/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/1041/rdfHarry Wasshttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/internal/media/dispatcher/25025/fullhttps://collection.folkartmuseum.org/people/469/rdf