Painting

Object Name:

Painting

Date:

1819

Material:

Paint
Wood

Dimensions:

H-1.3 W-4.75 D-0.25 inches

Description:

Unframed oil on panel. Portrait of Sarah Lavinia Brown (1812- c.1835), daughter of Lavinia Currier and Philip Brown; attributed to Zedekiah Belknap (unsigned). This is one of a set of three portraits of Brown family members; one of the portraits is signed on back bottom left in red paint, "Z. Belknap Pinxt. May 7,1819." Sitter is wearing a white dress with lace on collar and cuffs. She is sitting on a chair and holding a book.
Philip Brown (1789-1854) was born in Hopkinton, the son of farmer Abraham Brown and Sarah French. In 1811 he married Lavinia Currier (1787-1843) and in 1812 their daughter was born, Sarah Lavinia Brown. Following Philip Brown's winning of a $25,000 lottery prize in 1815 he became a very successful businessman. With the proceeds he built an elegant home at the corner of Hopkinton Road and Jewett Road in Hopkinton, where he and his wife and children lived until 1846 with the exception of one year, 1830, when Matthew Harvey, Governor of the state, occupied his house.

Provenance:

Donor is a descendant of Philip Brown.
Zedekiah Belknap was born in Massachusetts in 1781. After graduating from Dartingly College in 1807 he became an itinerant artist. His earliest known signed and dated work is from 1810. He worked throughout New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, primarily in oil on wood panel. Belknap's portraiture developed into a style which allowed him to work quickly: he used bright colors, concentrating on details of costume, and subjects are heavily outlined with large round eyes, full lips, ears flat and red. He disguised his shortcomings in areas of perspective and anatomy by adding decorative objects such as a book or flower. The majority of Belknap's sitters were middle-class residents of small New England Towns. He paid great attention to costume and hair styles, and his works document the fashion prevalent in these small towns during the first half of the 19th century. Belknap died in Weathersfield, Vermont, in 1858 at the age of 77.

Subjects:

Portrait paintings, Portraits, Oil paintings

People:

Brown, Sarah Lavinia, Allison, Mary Brown, Belknap, Zedekiah

Item Number:

1983.1099

Accession Number:

1983.1099

Type of Material:

Objects

Copyright Statement:

For information regarding copyright, permissions, and reproductions contact the Hopkinton Historical Society

Participating Organization:

Hopkinton Historical Society