HDeading 1

Description:

 

William W. Kennedy was born in 1817 in New Hampshire and worked as a portrait painter in New Bedford, Massachusetts; Ledyard, Connecticut; and Berwick, Maine from 1845 through 1847. He moved to Maryland in 1849 or 1850, lived at various locations in Baltimore with his wife and three children until 1869, and died in 1871.[i]

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William W. Kennedy is part of a stylistically associated group of American folk artists known as the Prior-Hamblin School. The Prior-Hamblin School consisted of five main artists: William Matthew Prior (1806–1873), his brother-in-law Sturtevant J. Hamblin (1817–1884), William W. Kennedy (1817– 1871), George G. Hartwell (1815–1901), and E.W. Blake (active circa 1840–1850s). The group’s size increases if other family members who were artisan painters are included. The term "Prior-Hamblin School” was not used in these artists’ lifetimes: It emerged among art scholars, collectors, and dealers in the 1950s, following the foundational research of renowned American Folk Art scholar Nina Fletcher Little, to describe the stylistic similarities – remarkably close at times – between the works of Prior, Hamblin, and other artists.

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This pair of Stetson portraits was recently re-attributed from William M. Prior to William W. Kennedy by Emily Esser, an American Folk Art specialist who focuses on Kennedy and the Prior-Hamblin School. Esser and her colleagues have taken a deep dive into the biographies and stylistic elements attributable to each artist, advancing scholarship while adding nuance to previous interpretations.

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In American Folk Art portraiture, the props that appear in paintings are rarely accidental. A book might signify literacy, a rose virtue. As seen In Figure 1, Mr. Elijah Stetson holds a very specific historical document in his right hand: the newspaper Herald of Freedom, Volume 10, No. 39, dated Friday, December 20, 1844, and published in Concord, New Hampshire.
This particular prop transforms the portrait from a simple likeness into a declaration of moral conviction of both the sitter and the artist, because the Herald of Freedom was a radical abolitionist newspaper edited by Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, a tireless advocate for enslaved peoples’ immediate emancipation, women’s rights, animal rights, and temperance.

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Beyond marking a victory for American Folk Art scholarship, Esser’s discovery made a significant contribution to our understanding of the importance of the abolitionist movement in the artist’s and his sitters’ eyes. Kennedy painted the striking, minimalist portraits around 1847, likely in Great Falls, New Hampshire, which was then a vibrant hub for Free Will Baptists and northern abolitionist efforts. In his portrait, Mr. Elijah Stetson holds a December 20, 1844, issue of The Herald of Freedom, the newspaper of the New Hampshire Anti-Slavery Society. Esser located an electronic copy of the paper and saw that Society members mentioned in the issue were all dedicated abolitionists. The issue’s masthead declares the paper's aggressive stance: "I enter into no compromise with slavery. I am for Justice, in the name of Humanity, and according to the Law of the Living God". The presence of a radical newspaper, one edited by the fierce emancipation advocate Nathaniel Peabody Rogers, thus transforms the Elijah Stetson portrait from a simple likeness into a powerful visual symbol of the man’s moral conviction and the artist’s kindred spirit.

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Overview of Potential Stetson Sitters

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Following are the possible and sometimes promising Stetson-sitter candidates that we have found so far. We would be grateful for any further documentation or family lore that could link one of these or another Stetson, or the ones mentioned below.  Recently, we were sent another 19th century  possible likeness to  Elisha Stetson, born 1799 in South Scituat MA, a shipbuilder who is mentioned below. The facial images are tantalizingly similar.

 

 Another clue to the male sitter’s identity comes in the form of the single gold earring worn by Elijah Stetson: it is a traditional symbol of a sailor. This vital maritime clue has guided Esser's genealogical research into the Stetson family's deep roots in New England's shipbuilding and seafaring industries. I

•    Elisha Stetson, born 1778 and died 1876, and son, Elisha A. Stetson: The Elisha Stetson born in 1778 was a seaman. His son, Elisha A. Stetson, is of the correct generation to match the apparent age of the man in the Kennedy portrait. Elisha Stetson, b. Nov 17, 1778, at Scituate MA; d. Jan 26, 1876, at Auburn ME. Source: The Descendents of Cornet Robert Stetson, V3/134-5, publ. 1956.

•    Elisha C. Stetson, born May 3, 1797 (Wednesday) Hanover, Plymouth Co. MA. Deceased January 21, 1845 (Tuesday) Hanover, Plymouth Co., MA, aged 47 years old. Occupation unknown. He had two sons, both named Elisha, who would be too young to be the sitter. Source: https://gw.geneanet.org/stetson1a?lang=en&p=elisha+c.&n=stetson

•    Elisha Stetson, born 1799 in South Scituat MA, a shipbuilder. This Elisha was active well into the mid-19th century. He built numerous vessels and famously modeled the 770-ton clipper ship Ocean Pearl in 1853. Source: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KHPV-R3G/elisha-stetson-1799-1869

•    "Captain Stetson": Records indicate that Captain Stetson, whose first name and exact origin remain uncertain, stopped by the port in Manchester NH in mid-1847. In addition, the shipping news from July 1847 shows a Stetson arriving near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the Brig J.C. Dow. (A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. In the early 19th century, the brig was a standard cargo ship.) Source: Figure 2.

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Figure 2. Portsmouth NH shipping news from July 1847.

 

•    Harriet Stetson: The 1848 city directory for Manchester, New Hampshire, lists a Harriet Stetson. Confirming the presence of a Mrs. Stetson in the area may be significant, as the couple would likely need to reside together to have their portraits painted as a pair.  Source: Figure 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 3. 1848 Manchester NH City Directory extract

By following common or intertwined threads through the archives, and asking for readers’ help, we hope to find correspondence or records that link a specific Stetson—perhaps Elisha Stetson, the shipbuilder who modeled the Ocean Pearl, or the mysterious Captain Stetson who arrived in Portsmouth in 1847, or the two sons, or Harriet Stetson who presents a time and place match.  —to the Free Will Baptists of Great Falls or the New Hampshire Anti-Slavery Society.
 

 

[i] Excerpted from Paul S. D'Ambrosio and Charlotte Emans, Folk Art's Many Faces: Portraits in the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, 1987, pp. 107; and Beatrix T. Rumford, ed., American Folk Portraits: Paintings and Drawings from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Boston, 1981, pp. 138-139.

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