Milton William Hopkins

Lot 298 Milton W. Hopkins (American, 1789-1844) Portrait of a Young Woman Wearing a Fancy Pink-Ribboned LaceBonnet. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, c. 1835, 28 x 22 1/2 in., in a period molded giltwood frame.Condition: Retouch to background of shoulder areas. Estimate $2,000-3,000 The retouch was possibly done by the artist, Theremay have been a different chair previously.

Lot 745 Milton W. Hopkins (American, 1789-1844) Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Fancy Yellow-Ribboned LaceBonnet. Unsigned. Oil on canvas, c. 1835, 28 x 22 1/2 in., in amolded giltwood frame. Condition: Scattered retouch to figure andbackground. Estimate $2,500-3,500 745- The canvas has probably been cleaned. It has not beenrelined, and is on the original stretcher . Retouch to spots andlines in hair, forehead, angled line on rt. side of forehead, rt.side of nose, left facing eyebrow redone, lines on lips, scatteredspots on bonnet, and belt, background next to head, and severalareas around perimeter of the figure and canvas.

PROVENANCE Descended in the family of Virginia Ada Wright Oliver's Americana Auctions, November 18, 1990, Lot 1 EXHIBITED A Loving Likeness: American Folk Portraits of the Nineteenth Cent ury, The Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, New Jersey, 1992 LITERATURE Jacquelyn Oak, Face to Face: M. W. Hopkins and Noah North , Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, Massachusetts, 1989, p. 113, illustrated Marna Anderson, A Loving Likeness: American Folk Portraits of the Nineteenth Century , Princeton, New Jersey, 1992, illustrated in color, pp. 25-27 CATALOGUE NOTE Virginia Ada Wright was born in 1835 in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Smithson and Matilda Wright. The Wrights were a prominent family in Columbus - Smithson was the county auditor, mayor and clerk of the Ohio House of Representatives. Milton W. Hopkins was born in Harwinton, Connecticut. In 1802 he moved with his family to Pompey Hill, New York. After the death of his first wife, Hopkins remarried in 1817 and shortly thereafter relocated to Evans Mills, New York. He painted in the Watertown, New York area and in the Erie Canal towns of western New York State in the 1820s, moving with his family to one of these towns, Albion, in 1823. Hopkins? advertisements indicate that he worked as an ornamental painter, portraitist, and art instructor. He is believed to have taught portrait painting to the folk painter Noah North (1809-1880). In the late 1830s, Hopkins and North moved west to Ohio City (Cleveland), Columbus, and Cincinnati, Ohio, perhaps seeking portrait commissions from sitters who shared Hopkins? progressive views on temperance, abolition, and anti-Masonry. Hopkins' studio was located on High Street in Columbus, across from the Ohio State House; he died of pneumonia in Williamsburg, Ohio in 1844. This canvas bears distinct similarity to a seated portrait of Martha Ellen Connell, also done by Hopkins, which he painted in Lancaster, Ohio in 1838. Both exhibit assurance in the composition and modeling, and were done in a style which makes it clear that Hopkins had knowledge of the work of his more famous contemporary Ammi Phillips. Hopkins? portrait style relates closely to that of Phillips (1788-1865), with whom he may have been acquainted early in his career. Phillips and Hopkins, born one year apart, came from adjacent towns in Litchfield, Connecticut; their respective parents were born in Colebrook, Connecticut. They both worked in the nearby towns of upstate New York, and thus it is indeed conceivable that they knew one another. Hopkins frequently painted his subjects with clearly defined facial features, prominent ears, highlighted pupils and square, blunt fingernails, against a muted brown background. Both Hopkins and North excelled at painting full-length likenesses of children. Excerpted and condensed from Jacquelyn Oak, et. al., Face to Face: M.W. Hopkins and Noah North , Museum of Our National Heritage, Lexington, Mass., 1988, pp. 39-55, 11; Paul S. D?Ambrosio and Charlotte Emans, Folk Art?s Many Faces: Portraits in the New York State Historical Association , Cooperstown, 1987, pp. 99-102.

YOUNG GIRL AFTER MILTON HOPKINS (AMERICAN, 1789-1844). Oil on board, unsigned, early 20th century. Full-length portrait of a child in a red dress, holding basket of flowers, spotted dog at her feet. 14"h. 11"w., in a frame, 16"h. 12 1/2"w. See Sotheby's New York sale, January 16, 2004, lot 32 of Virginia Ada Wright. Estimate $ 200-400 The board has minor warping. There is no loss to paint or any in-painting. The frame is not original. We provide condition information when it is requested by a potential bidder, as a part of our dedication to excellent customer service. However, the absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections, repairs, restorations or the effects of aging. Garth's Auctions shall have no responsibility for any error or omission regarding an item's condition. We encourage you to call or email with any questions. We also encourage you to come see us and preview the auction in-person. Thank you for your business.

Attributed to Milton Hopkins, (New York& Ohio, 1789-1844 ) Portrait of a Woman Wearing a Bonnet and Spectacles. Unsigned. Charcoal on paper, 10 1/2 x 9 in. (sight), in agrain-painted wood frame. with gilt liner. Condition: Minor toning,light stain u.l. Ex collection of Jim Dawson Corbin, Kentucky, sold at Garth's,October 22-23, 2004, retaining auction lot labels. Estimate $400-600