The Life of
Introduction • Life • Art • Gallery • Learn More • Acknowledgments
1813
Born May 10 in Boston to Reuben W. and Catharine (Lombard) Gerry
1833
Exhibited an unidentified landscape at the Boston Athenaeum Gallery
1834-39
Ran a Boston sign and ornamental painting business in partnership with artist James Burt
circa 1835
First traveled to the White Mountains, where he would visit and work extensively for the rest of his life
1836
Married Martha Caroline Jewett in Boston
Painted earliest recorded and dated White Mountain scene—of Jackson, New Hampshire
1837
Exhibited with Burt a still life at the first annual fair of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association; at the same event Gerry received an award for "Four Miniatures"
1838-39
Welcomed the first of five children
Held three joint auctions with Burt, in which they sold paintings, including White Mountain scenes
1840
Advertised alone as a "Sign, Ornamental, and Military Standard Painter"
1848
First exhibited at the American Art-Union in New York City, showing two paintings which included View of Centre Harbor, New Hampshire
1849-51
Traveled to Europe
1853
Spent time during the summer in West Campton, New Hampshire, which frequently served as his summer base over the next several decades
1853-56
Owned a home in the Lakes Region
1854
Became one of the founders of the Boston Art Club
First adverstised for pupils, both in Boston and in Center Harbor
1858
Unanimously elected president of the Boston Art Club
Attended the Convention of the National Art Association, Washington, D.C.
Painted in the Catskills
Exhibited May’s Pond at three venues: the Boston Athenaeum, the New Bedford Art Exhibition, and the National Academy of Design in New York City
1858-60
Exhibited at the National Academy of Design
1859
Traveled again to Europe
1860
First attended the National Academy of Design exhibition in New York City
Commissioned by the Rev. Elias Magoon to paint a White Mountain scene for his growing collection of American art in New York
1862
Opened a studio in Boston's new Tremont Street Studio Building
1863
Participated in the first of many open-studio receptions at the Studio Building
1866
Took “another studio, adjoining his own, for the use of his many pupils”
Spent time sketching near Stowe, Vermont
1868
Exhibited Artist Brook in Autumn at the National Academy of Design in New York City
1869
Sent the Land of Beulah to New York for exhibition
1870
Spent the summer at the Glen House in Pinkham Notch
1873
Donated paintings to the May Day Fair on behalf of the Roxbury Children’s Home and Home for Aged Females
1873-74
Traveled to Europe
1874
Boston’s Central Club organized a raffle to purchase Gerry’s highly acclaimed painting, The Pasture Gate
1875
Painted during the summer with S. W. Griggs in the Berkshires and at West Campton, where an artists’ reception was held at Sanborn’s Hotel
1876
Moved his studio, as of May 1, to his residence on Monroe Street in Roxbury, where he had built a “painting room”
Sent American Tourists Passing the Col de Balme, Switzerland to Philadelphia for the U.S. Centennial Exhibition of 1876
1878
Worked on an ideal picture, which he titled The Artist's Dream
1879-81
Spent a portion of each summer sketching near the Profile House, which is likely when he met hotelier Charles Henry Greenleaf and was commissioned to paint the Flume and the Old Man of the Mountain
1879
Spent the summer at the Profile House in Franconia Notch
Exhibited four paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
1880
Wrote “Boston Artists,” the first of at least fourteen articles he published in the Boston Evening Transcript between 1880 and 1891 on art, artists, and art criticism
Spoke on “Art and Criticism” at the Melrose Art Club and Gannett Institute for Young Ladies, Boston, the first of several public lectures he gave during the 1880s
1883
Spent much time working in monochrome charcoal and began teaching in this medium
1885
Wrote his memoirs concerning the Boston Art Club and its artist members
1886
Painted the Old Man of the Mountains on commission for Charles Henry Greenleaf for display in the Vendome, Boston’s premier luxury hotel
1888
His poem “The Revolving Light” was published in The Wild Artist in Boston: A Story of Love in the Actual, by J. B. Wiggin
Advertised a special exhibition in December to promote artwork for Christmas gifts
1889
Stayed in West Campton in late summer, his final season there
1890
Exhibited at the Unity Art Club, Boston
Stayed at Breezy Point, Mount Moosilauke in later summer
1891
Published his article “Old Masters of Boston” in February in the New England Magazine
Died on April 26, at his home in Roxbury, age 77 years, 11 months, 16 days
Final article published posthumously in the New England Magazine in July
