HDeading 1

Description:

 

These portraits of the Stetsons were painted by William W. Kennedy. Born in 1817 in New Hampshire, he 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.

​

Kennedy is part of a stylistically associated group of American Folk artists known as the Prior-Hamblin School. The PriorHamblin 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 circa1840–1850s). The group’s size increases if other family members who were artisan painters are included. The term "PriorHamblin 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. The Stetson portraits
have been attributed to William Kennedy by Emily Esser, the leading expert on the Prior-Hamblin School, who dates them to
1847.

​

The props that appear in American Folk Art portraiture are rarely accidental. A book might signify literacy, a rose virtue. As
seen in the painting on the left, Mr. Elisha Stetson holds a very specific historical document in his right hand: the Herald of
Freedom newspaper, Volume 10, No. 39, dated Friday, December 20, 1844, published in Concord, New Hampshire

​

This particular prop transforms the portrait from a simple likeness into declarations of moral conviction by 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.

​

Beyond marking a victory for American Folk Art scholarship, Emily Esser’s discovery makes 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 in New England, which was then a vibrant hub for Free Will Baptists and other northern
abolitionist efforts. Esser located an electronic copy of the paper online and the individuals mentioned in the issue were
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 fierce emancipation advocate, thus transforms the Elisha Stetson painting from a simple portrait
into a powerful visual symbol of the man’s moral conviction and the artist’s kindred spirit.

​

The Herald of Freedom ceased publication in 1846 following its publisher’s death. Kennedy’s decision to feature that
newspaper and that issue implies more than a passing reference; it may signify the sitter’s own involvement with abolitionist
efforts or serve as a tribute to the late publisher and those who worked on the paper.

The Stetson family was practically synonymous with the North River shipbuilding industry in Massachusetts, an economic
powerhouse from the 17th through 19th centuries. Our sitter, Elisha Stetson, was born in 1799. Based on Stetson's birth
year and the painting's execution year, Elisha Stetson was in his forties when he sat for the portrait. A Stetson Kindred of
America, Inc. publication displays a halftone image of Elisha Stetson that portrays him as an older man than the one in our
painting. Notably, in the painting, Stetson is wearing a small gold earring in his right ear, which signified
that he was a seaman. Indeed, the halftone image notes that Stetson was "an old time shipbuilder", one that constructed
numerous vessels from 1825 well into the mid-19th century in Medford, Massachusetts.

During the mid-19th century, Medford, Arlington (then West Cambridge), and the surrounding Middlesex County towns
were absolute hotbeds of the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad. Elisha was also a member of the Hiram
Lodge whose membership consisted of the civic, business, and military leaders of these communities. Many of its members
were heavily involved in the anti-slavery cause and the Union war effort.

George Luther Stearns (1809–1867), a wealthy businessman, played a key role in the industry because the maritime
networks of New England naturally provided physical escape routes for enslaved people who stowed away on coastal
vessels: Medford’s booming maritime economy was led by Stearns, who funded radical abolitionist action. One can project
Elisha’s sympathy with the cause as part of the anonymous efforts of many in the Underground Railroad.

Provenance: Sotheby Parke-Bernet, January 24-26,1974, as William Matthew Prior.

 

Reattributed in 2025 to William Kennedy by Emily Esser.

​​​

​