{"product_id":"the-last-amateur-the-life-of-william-j-stillman-9781438452616","title":"The Last Amateur: The Life of William J. Stillman","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe authoritative biography of a nineteenth-century polymath.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the 2014 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeWord\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e IndieFab Book of the Year Award in the Biography Category \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis fascinating biography tells the story of William J. Stillman (1828-1901), a nineteenth-century polymath. Born and raised in Schenectady, New York, Stillman attended Union College and began his career as a Hudson River School painter after an apprenticeship with Frederic Edwin Church. In the 1850s, he was editor of \u003ci\u003eThe Crayon\u003c\/i\u003e, the most important journal of art criticism in antebellum America. Later, after a stint as an explorer-promoter of the Adirondacks, he became the American consul in Rome during the Civil War. When his diplomatic career brought him to Crete, he developed an interest in archaeology and later produced photographs of the Acropolis, for which he is best known today. In yet another career switch, Stillman became a journalist, serving as a correspondent for \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e of London in Rome and the Balkans. In 1871, he married his second wife, Marie Spartali, a Pre-Raphaelite painter, and continued to write about history and art until his death. One of the later products of the American Enlightenment, he lived a life that intersected with many strands of American and European culture. Stillman can indeed be called \"the last amateur.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Excelsior Editions\/State University of New Yo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781438452616\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 390\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.30h x 6.50w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eForeword\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/26\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/01\/2015 pg. 788\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Stephen L. Dyson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45187017801909,"sku":"9781438452616","price":25.46,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_63ca4303-2648-42be-9fff-005495e1e687.jpg?v=1742271079","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-last-amateur-the-life-of-william-j-stillman-9781438452616","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}