Thomas Hovenden
Encyclopedia
Thomas Hovenden was an Irish
-American
artist
and teacher. He painted realistic quiet family scenes, narrative subjects and often depicted African Americans.
Hovenden was born in Dunmanway, Co. Cork, Ireland
. His parents died at the time of the potato famine
and he was placed in an orphanage at the age of six. Apprenticed to a carver and gilder, he studied at the Cork School of Design.
In 1863, he immigrated to the United States. He studied at the National Academy of Design
in New York City
. He moved to Baltimore in 1868 and then left for Paris
in 1874. He studied at the École des Beaux Arts under Cabanel
, but spent most of his time with the American art colony
at Pont-Aven
in Brittany
led by Robert Wylie
, where he painted many pictures of the peasantry.
Returning to America in 1880, he became a member of the Society of American Artists
and an Associate member of the National Academy of Design
(elected Academician in 1882). He married Helen Corson in 1881, an artist he had met in Pont-Aven, and settled at her father's homestead in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
, outside of Philadelphia. She came from a family of abolitionists and her home was a stop on the underground railroad
. Their barn, later used as Hovenden's studio, was known as "Abolition Hall" due to its use for anti-slavery meetings.
He was commissioned to paint a historical picture of the abolitionist leader John Brown
. He finished "The Last Moments of John Brown" (now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
) in 1884. His "Breaking Home Ties", a picture of American farm life, was engraved with considerable popular success.
In 1886, he was appointed Professor of Painting and Drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
, replacing Thomas Eakins
who was dismissed due to his use of nude models. Among Hovenden's students were the sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder
and the leader of the Ashcan School
, Robert Henri
.
Hovenden was killed at the age of 54, along with a ten-year old girl, by a railroad locomotive at a crossing near his home in Plymouth Meeting. Newspaper accounts reported that his death was the result of a heroic effort to save the girl, while a coroner's inquest determined his death was an accident.
A Pennsylvania state historical marker in Plymouth Meeting interprets Abolition Hall and Hovenden.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and teacher. He painted realistic quiet family scenes, narrative subjects and often depicted African Americans.
Hovenden was born in Dunmanway, Co. Cork, Ireland
Dunmanway
Dunmanway is a town in County Cork, in the southwest of Ireland. It is the geographical centre of the region known as West Cork. It is probably best known as the birthplace of Sam Maguire, an Irish Protestant republican, for whom the trophy of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is...
. His parents died at the time of the potato famine
Potato famine
Potato famine may refer to:* Great Famine , the famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852* Highland Potato Famine, a major agrarian crisis in the Scottish Highlands from 1846 to 1857...
and he was placed in an orphanage at the age of six. Apprenticed to a carver and gilder, he studied at the Cork School of Design.
In 1863, he immigrated to the United States. He studied at the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He moved to Baltimore in 1868 and then left for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1874. He studied at the École des Beaux Arts under Cabanel
Alexandre Cabanel
Alexandre Cabanel was a French painter.- Biography :Cabanel was born in Montpellier, Hérault. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter...
, but spent most of his time with the American art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
at Pont-Aven
Pont-Aven
Pont-Aven is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Pont-Aven are called in French Pontavenistes.-History:...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
led by Robert Wylie
Robert Wylie
Robert Wylie , American artist, was born in the Isle of Man and relocated with his parents to the United States as a child....
, where he painted many pictures of the peasantry.
Returning to America in 1880, he became a member of the Society of American Artists
Society of American Artists
The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative....
and an Associate member of the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
(elected Academician in 1882). He married Helen Corson in 1881, an artist he had met in Pont-Aven, and settled at her father's homestead in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting is a census-designated place in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the northern terminus of the "Blue Route" and the southern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension . The population was 6,177 at the 2010 census...
, outside of Philadelphia. She came from a family of abolitionists and her home was a stop on the underground railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. Their barn, later used as Hovenden's studio, was known as "Abolition Hall" due to its use for anti-slavery meetings.
He was commissioned to paint a historical picture of the abolitionist leader John Brown
John Brown (abolitionist)
John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
. He finished "The Last Moments of John Brown" (now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
) in 1884. His "Breaking Home Ties", a picture of American farm life, was engraved with considerable popular success.
In 1886, he was appointed Professor of Painting and Drawing at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
, replacing Thomas Eakins
Thomas Eakins
Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator...
who was dismissed due to his use of nude models. Among Hovenden's students were the sculptor Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder
Alexander Stirling Calder was an American sculptor and teacher; son of the sculptor Alexander Milne Calder, and father of the sculptor Alexander Calder...
and the leader of the Ashcan School
Ashcan School
The Ashcan School, also called the Ash Can School, is defined as a realist artistic movement that came into prominence in the United States during the early twentieth century, best known for works portraying scenes of daily life in New York's poorer neighborhoods. The movement grew out of a group...
, Robert Henri
Robert Henri
Robert Henri was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art.- Early life :...
.
Hovenden was killed at the age of 54, along with a ten-year old girl, by a railroad locomotive at a crossing near his home in Plymouth Meeting. Newspaper accounts reported that his death was the result of a heroic effort to save the girl, while a coroner's inquest determined his death was an accident.
A Pennsylvania state historical marker in Plymouth Meeting interprets Abolition Hall and Hovenden.
Selected works
- Self-Portrait of the Artist in His Studio, 1875, Yale University Art Gallery
- Image Seller, 1876, Metropolitan Museum of Art
- News from the Conscript, 1877
- Loyalist Peasant Soldier of La Vendée, 1877
- A Breton Interior, 1793, 1878, Metropolitan Museum of Art
- In Hoc Signo Vinces, 1880, Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan
- The Old Version, 1881, San Francisco Museum of Fine Art
- Sunday Morning, 1881, San Francisco Museum of Fine Art
- The Last Moments of John Brown, 1882-4, Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Taking His Ease, 1885, San Francisco Museum of Fine Art
- Breaking Home Ties, 1890, Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Jerusalem the Golden, 1894, Metropolitan Museum of Art