Thomas Kelah Wharton

Thomas Kelah Wharton (April 17, 1814 – May 24, 1862) was an English landscape painter, draftsman, lithographer, and drawing teacher.

Early life and education Thomas Kelah Wharton was born on April 17, 1814, in Hull, England.

His father, a general merchant and ship owner who encountered business setbacks, relocated to the United States in 1829. He purchased a 180-acre farm near the southern border of Piqua, Ohio, then arranged for his family to join him. Thomas K. Wharton, along with his mother and six siblings, reached New York Harbor on June 3, 1830, ready to join their father, who had started farming in Ohio.

Among his many interests, Wharton stood out as a prolific diarist. His writings span May 1832 to October 1834 and from June 25 to December 6, 1853. He was also a skilled pen and ink artist. Of the two sketches, one offers the earliest known view of Columbus, later reproduced on a Staffordshire Liberty Blue turkey platter.

Career In May 1832, he left Ohio for New York City to apprentice under noted architect Martin E. Thompson.

While at the estate, Wharton met Sylvanus Thayer of West Point and Gouverneur Kemble of the West Point Foundry in Cold Spring, New York. Thayer cautioned him about the cholera in New York and invited him to stay at West Point. During the fall of 1832, captivated by the Hudson Highlands, he explored in search of views to sketch. Superintendent Thayer joined him on river outings and had cadets assist by carrying his drawing board and clearing brush. He worked as an architect, designing Christ Church in 1847 and Steel Chapel on Felicity Road in 1850.

Personal life Wharton lost his first wife, Maria Huling, in 1848 and married again three years later. His second marriage was to Emily J. (née Ladd) Wharton in New Orleans. The 1830–34 diary was acquired by the New York Public Library in 1919 from Mrs. Wharton, who had settled in New York after her husband's passing.

His pen-and-ink drawings of the David Hosack estate are part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection.

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