Frances Anne Hopkins
Encyclopedia
Frederick William Beechey
Frederick William Beechey was an English naval officer and geographer. He was the son of Sir William Beechey, RA., and was born in London.-Career:...
was born in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and had a talent for painting. In 1858, she married a Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
official, Edward Hopkins, whose work took him to North America. She accompanied him and travelled extensively by canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
along some of the most important fur trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
routes. While traveling, she sketched extensively and thereby recorded an interesting aspect of Canadian history.
Her best-known works are several large paintings made from her sketches. They show voyageurs
Voyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
and their canoes with her husband and herself in with the paddlers.
Hopkins returned to England in 1870 where she lived until her death. She was a member of the North British Academy of Arts
North British Academy of Arts
The North British Academy of Arts was an art institution of Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England.-Overview:The Academy, sometimes known as the North British Academy of Arts, Science, Literature, and Music, was located in the Claremount Buildings on the western side of Barras Bridge on the...
. Many of her paintings are part of the collection of the National Library and Archives of Canada. In 1988, a stamp was issued featuring one of her paintings and an inset sepia photograph of the artist.
Thomas Schultze has written an extensively annotated book of Hopkins's work, which was published by Penumbra Press in spring 2008.