Portrait of Martha Hunt Henshaw (1755-1842)
Image ID: ART041
An oil painting of a portrait of Martha Hunt Henshaw wearing lace cap and black dress with lace at neck.
oil unsigned and undated
Chester Harding
Prominent portrait painted Chester Harding (1792-1866) was born in Conway, Mass. Entirely self-taught, he began his career first as a pedlar in New York State, then as a sign painted in Pennsylvania. But before long, he was to be found in London, there doing portraits of several members of the Royal Family. Back in the United States, he painted such dignitaries as Daniel Webster portrait at the New York Bar Association), and several others in the National Gallery of Art. He was elected an Honorary Member of the National Academy in 1828. It is not determined when or where Harding painted the four Forbes portraits. From their ages, perhaps the 1820's is a reasonable guess, when Bates was elected to Congress.
The four Henshaw/Bates family portraits were given to Forbes Library in 1915 by Mrs. Frances Sarah Bates of Boston. Mrs. Bates was the widow of I.C. Bates, born in Northampton in 1817, the son of Senator and Mrs. Isaac C. Bates. In 1915, Mrs. Bates also gave Forbes several other paintings, and a collection of Holland House miniature portraits, which she had bought in Rome in 1880. The Harding paintings all were restored 1941.
At the time the portrait was painted, Martha Hunt Henshaw (1755-1842) was the window of the late Judge Samuel Henshaw. She was also the mother of Martha Bates, and it appeared that Chester Harding (painter) must have spent several months in Northampton, painting them all. As the portraits show, Mrs. Henshaw, clad in a stiff organdy collar and bonnet, and her daughter, Mrs. Bates, also with head capped, look very much alike.
oil unsigned and undated
Chester Harding
Prominent portrait painted Chester Harding (1792-1866) was born in Conway, Mass. Entirely self-taught, he began his career first as a pedlar in New York State, then as a sign painted in Pennsylvania. But before long, he was to be found in London, there doing portraits of several members of the Royal Family. Back in the United States, he painted such dignitaries as Daniel Webster portrait at the New York Bar Association), and several others in the National Gallery of Art. He was elected an Honorary Member of the National Academy in 1828. It is not determined when or where Harding painted the four Forbes portraits. From their ages, perhaps the 1820's is a reasonable guess, when Bates was elected to Congress.
The four Henshaw/Bates family portraits were given to Forbes Library in 1915 by Mrs. Frances Sarah Bates of Boston. Mrs. Bates was the widow of I.C. Bates, born in Northampton in 1817, the son of Senator and Mrs. Isaac C. Bates. In 1915, Mrs. Bates also gave Forbes several other paintings, and a collection of Holland House miniature portraits, which she had bought in Rome in 1880. The Harding paintings all were restored 1941.
At the time the portrait was painted, Martha Hunt Henshaw (1755-1842) was the window of the late Judge Samuel Henshaw. She was also the mother of Martha Bates, and it appeared that Chester Harding (painter) must have spent several months in Northampton, painting them all. As the portraits show, Mrs. Henshaw, clad in a stiff organdy collar and bonnet, and her daughter, Mrs. Bates, also with head capped, look very much alike.
Image Details
| Dublin Core | |
|---|---|
| Title |
Portrait of Martha Hunt Henshaw (1755-1842)
|
| Subject |
Chester Harding
Martha Hunt Henshaw
Portrait paintings
Oil paintings
|
| Description |
An oil painting of a portrait of Martha Hunt Henshaw wearing lace cap and black dress with lace at neck.
oil unsigned and undated Chester Harding Prominent portrait painted Chester Harding (1792-1866) was born in Conway, Mass. Entirely self-taught, he began his career first as a pedlar in New York State, then as a sign painted in Pennsylvania. But before long, he was to be found in London, there doing portraits of several members of the Royal Family. Back in the United States, he painted such dignitaries as Daniel Webster portrait at the New York Bar Association), and several others in the National Gallery of Art. He was elected an Honorary Member of the National Academy in 1828. It is not determined when or where Harding painted the four Forbes portraits. From their ages, perhaps the 1820's is a reasonable guess, when Bates was elected to Congress. The four Henshaw/Bates family portraits were given to Forbes Library in 1915 by Mrs. Frances Sarah Bates of Boston. Mrs. Bates was the widow of I.C. Bates, born in Northampton in 1817, the son of Senator and Mrs. Isaac C. Bates. In 1915, Mrs. Bates also gave Forbes several other paintings, and a collection of Holland House miniature portraits, which she had bought in Rome in 1880. The Harding paintings all were restored 1941. At the time the portrait was painted, Martha Hunt Henshaw (1755-1842) was the window of the late Judge Samuel Henshaw. She was also the mother of Martha Bates, and it appeared that Chester Harding (painter) must have spent several months in Northampton, painting them all. As the portraits show, Mrs. Henshaw, clad in a stiff organdy collar and bonnet, and her daughter, Mrs. Bates, also with head capped, look very much alike. |
| Creator |
Chester Harding
|
| Format |
Oil
|
| Identifier |
ART041
|
| Coverage |
Reading room
|
| Still Image Item Type Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Physical Dimensions |
27" x 22.5"
|
Citation
Chester Harding, “Portrait of Martha Hunt Henshaw (1755-1842),” Forbes Library Images from the Archives (Legacy site: Pre-2022), accessed May 18, 2024, https://images.forbeslibrary.org/items/show/783.