Alfred Thomas Agate

Place: Sparta

Born: 1812

Death: 1846

Biography:

Alfred Thomas Agate (February 14, 1812 – January 5, 1846) was a noted American painter and miniaturist. Agate lived in New York from 1831 to 1838. He studied with his brother, Frederick Styles Agate, a portrait and historical painter. He later went on to study with Thomas Seir Cummings. By the late 1830s, Agate established himself as a skilled painter in oils. He was elected into the National Academy of Design as an honorary member in 1840. Agate drew landscapes, portraits, and scientific illustrations. For much of his landscapes, Agate used a camera lucida, a device which projected the scene onto a piece of paper for purposes of tracing. Agate created many artworks during his service with the United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 under Charles Wilkes. He was especially good at botanical illustrations, and was the designated portrait and botanical artist of the expedition. Agate lived in Washington, D.C., from 1842 onward, but his health suffered severely from the expedition and he died four years later of consumption.