Welcome to the George Caleb Bingham Catalogue Raisonné, the public-access electronic catalogue of the complete paintings of George Caleb Bingham.  This is a free public resource in-progress and currently under construction.  Upon completion, the Bingham project will serve as the definitive reference for scholars, students, and the general public interested in studying the life and work of the renowned “Missouri artist,” George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879). Today, 140 years after his death, Bingham’s paintings grace the halls of American art history in our most important museums where they are acclaimed as national treasures. Equally important and especially relevant to the history of Missouri’s 19th century frontier, Bingham’s strong portraits of pioneering Missourians and his depictions of their everyday lives restore an otherwise lost history.

The primary goal of this project is to strengthen public and scholarly access to Bingham’s authenticated paintings and to ensure the lasting heritage of Missouri’s greatest 19th century artist, an artist who holds a high place among the pantheon of America’s enduring Old Masters. Each of Bingham’s nearly 600 paintings will be documented by a high-resolution color photograph, combined with each painting’s physical description, provenance, history of exhibitions, and full bibliography; and in the case of his many portraits, biographical and genealogical data will be included. Image-wise, this is a significant improvement in presentation over the predominantly black & white reproductions in the previously published 1986 edition.

This new online Catalogue Raisonné builds on and reproduces, and in some cases updates and revises, the masterful scholarship developed over four decades by Professor of Art History E. Maurice Bloch (1925-1989).  The Paintings of George Caleb Bingham: A Catalogue Raisonné, published in 1986 by University of Missouri Press.  Since 2005, under the direction of distinguished art historian and Bingham scholar, Fred R. Kline, and supported by an advisory board of scholars, some 30 previously unknown and unnoticed paintings have been added to Bingham’s works—including many new discoveries, notably his first river-themed painting from 1841, Baiting the Hook. As Bingham did not sign most of his paintings, it is expected that future works will rise to the surface and be identified and added to this catalogue.  

This project is undertaken by the Riverbank Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization created specifically to undertake the new Bingham Catalogue Raisonné and other future projects dealing with American art and art history.

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