August 7, 1871

German artist William Frye was committed to the Alabama Insane Hospital due to symptoms likely stemming from diabetes and heart disease. Best known for his depictions of life in the antebellum South, Frye earned American citizenship and lived much of his life in Huntsville. He painted many portraits in Alabama and several landscapes, particularly of the Black Belt region. His most acclaimed painting is an 1866 life-size portrait of Henry Clay that stays on permanent display in Kentucky’s Old State Capitol. Frye produced 140 known paintings throughout his career, 13 of which are kept at the Huntsville Museum of Art and displayed at various times.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

A William Frye portrait of statesman Henry Clay commissioned by the Kentucky Legislature in 1865 and displayed in the state capitol. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society)

A landscape painting by William Frye on display at the Weeden House Museum in Huntsville, Madison County. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of the Weeden House Museum)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.