Artist Milton William Hopkins (1789 - 1844)

Unidentified Man

Date1833

DimensionsSight: 29 1/4 × 25 3/16 in. (74.3 × 64 cm)

Object numberN0021.1971

Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Nina Fletcher Little

Photograph by Richard Walker

Label TextThis likeness, with the extensive documentation linking it to Milton Hopkins, prompted the re-evaluation of the body of work once ascribed to Noah North. Now one of seven known portraits signed by Hopkins, it exhibits many stylistic traits linking Hopkins' work so closely to that of North, his student. The subject is seated on a hitchcock-type stenciled chair with one arm draped over the top rail, a pose frequently employed by both artists in their portraits of adult male sitters. The inclusion of the chair recalls that both Hopkins and North were active in ornamental painting, and that Hopkins was also a chair maker and gilder. The clearly defined facial features, prominent ear with a D-shaped inner area, highlighted pupils, square, blunt fingernails and the muted brown background are stylistic features in the work of both painters. However, this sitter's well modeled face gives him a more three-dimensional, naturalistic quality than is evident in North's portraits. As research progresses, this characteristic may prove vital in attributing more unsigned portraits to Milton W. Hopkins.
Exhibition History"Face to Face," Museum of National Heritage, Lexington, MA, July 22, 1988 - January 20, 1989; The Strong Museum, Rochester, NY, February 24, 1989 - April 10, 1989, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, May 1, 1989 - December 31, 1989.
BibliographyPaul S. D'Ambrosio and Charlotte M. Emans, "Folk Art's Many Faces: Portraits in the New York State Historical Association," Cooperstown, NYSHA, 1987, pp.100-102, illus. as no. 57 on p. 101.

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