William Sidney Mount

William Sidney Mount (1807–1868) was a leading 19th-century American genre painter known for vividly portraying everyday rural life on Long Island. Based largely in Setauket and nearby Stony Brook, he painted portraits, landscapes, and especially scenes of daily life, becoming the first native-born American artist to specialize in genre painting and earning recognition in both the U.S. and Europe.

He was also deeply devoted to music—a fiddle player, composer, and song collector—and even designed and patented his own violin variations called the “Cradle of Harmony.” Music and community gatherings appear frequently in his work. The Long Island Museum holds the largest collection of his art and archival materials.