James Brade Sword

James Brade Sword (American, 1839-1915)

James Brade Sword was a landscape, portrait and genre painter who traveled widely in the United States, but lived and worked in Philadelphia once he became a painter. His paintings were well composed and often have touches of quiet sentiment. Many of his genre canvases involve children and sportsmen in the field. Views of the shore and of the sea were also recurring themes in his work.

Sword was born in Philadelphia in 1839, but spent his boyhood with his family in Macao, China. He was back in Philadelphia for high school, however, and immediately afterward went to work for a civil engineer.

He was involved with the enlargement of the Union Canal from Lebanon to Reading, Pennsylvania; the federal government’s survey of Atchafalaya Bay in Louisiana; and the construction of a railroad tunnel through Broad Mountain in Mahoney Valley in upstate Pennsylvania.

While working on these projects, Sword tried his hand at sketching the surroundings. He enjoyed it, and in 1861 began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1863 he turned to painting seriously, and studied for a time with landscape painter George W. Nicholson.

Sword painted in the Adirondacks; around Newport, Rhode Island; along the New Jersey shore; and in many parts of Eastern Pennsylvania. His paintings reflected popular tastes and were frequently exhibited in Philadelphia and New York City. In 1911, he was commissioned by Congress to paint a portrait of former Speaker of the House J. W. Jones, which hangs in the Capitol in Washington.

Sword was one of the founders of the Art Club of Philadelphia, and was active in art circles in the city until his death in 1915. He was also a member of the Artists’ Fund Society and the Philadelphia Society of Artists. Examples of his are in the collection of the United States Capitol and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

[Taken from the internet web site of Comenos Fine Arts, Boston, www.comenosfinearts.com, 2/7/2000 --jag]