Anyone that has seen a US One Dollar Bill is familiar with the works of Gilbert Stuart, one of America's most famous portrait painters. It is his unfinished portrait of George Washington that is depicted on the bill. The painter was born in the house you see here on December 3, 1755. He began painting at the age of 14, and over the course of his life he completed over 1000 works of art. His famous portraits include those of Presidents Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams. The home and workplace seen in today's photo is the first snuff mill in the Americas. It was built in 1750 and operated as a snuff mill until the family moved to Newport in 1761. Numerous other families lived here over the years until it was designated a museum and historic site in 1931.
Post processing started with a neutral density filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, protect highlights, boost black, boost white, and details. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
This is a wonderful composition, and so much like a painting! As always, I enjoy your narratives; today, I got a history lesson to boot! I know Gilbert Stuart's work and have appreciated seeing them at the Portrait Gallery in DC; nice to see his birthplace roots.
Beautiful photo, Ron. I love the mill, even though it was for snuff (bad memories from an elderly babysitter I used to have, but never mind). Before I retired, I taught high school U.S. History, and I did not know all of this, so I love learning. The only thing I can add is that John Quincy Adams was the first president who was photographed for a portrait.
nice comp