BIOGRAPHY
An American painter of Irish birth, Thomas Hovenden was orphaned when he was six and apprenticed to a frame carver and gilder at fourteen. In 1863, Hovenden immigrated to New York and supported himself by coloring photographs and making frames. He attended night classes at the National Academy of Design, but was attracted to Paris in 1874, where he immersed himself in the academic style there, joining an artists’ colony at Pont-Aven. He returned to New York in 1880 with his new wife, the painter Helen Corson, and the following year they settled near Philadelphia.
Hovenden’s favorite subjects were always interiors; he is best remembered for Breaking Home Ties, which was voted the most popular picture at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. It depicts a young man leaving his rural home to make his fame and fortune in the city. The painting conveys a powerful and genuine sentimentality, as well as a solid compositional structure, derived from Hovenden's French training. The explicit sentimentality suggests a psychological tension reflecting an emerging attribute of modern life, the rise of industry and the transition from rural to urban living.
An American painter of Irish birth, Thomas Hovenden was orphaned when he was six and apprenticed to a frame carver and gilder at fourteen. In 1863, Hovenden immigrated to New York and supported himself by coloring photographs and making frames. He attended night classes at the National Academy of Design, but was attracted to Paris in 1874, where he immersed himself in the academic style there, joining an artists’ colony at Pont-Aven. He returned to New York in 1880 with his new wife, the painter Helen Corson, and the following year they settled near Philadelphia.
Hovenden’s favorite subjects were always interiors; he is best remembered for Breaking Home Ties, which was voted the most popular picture at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. It depicts a young man leaving his rural home to make his fame and fortune in the city. The painting conveys a powerful and genuine sentimentality, as well as a solid compositional structure, derived from Hovenden's French training. The explicit sentimentality suggests a psychological tension reflecting an emerging attribute of modern life, the rise of industry and the transition from rural to urban living.
RESOURCES
1. Hovenden's illustration of a Celia Thaxter poem
2. Hovenden's painting of abolitionist John Brown's final moments, and related poetry
3. Works of art by Hovenden in the Crystal Bridges Museum main collection:
Study for "In the Hands of the Enemy"
1. Hovenden's illustration of a Celia Thaxter poem
2. Hovenden's painting of abolitionist John Brown's final moments, and related poetry
3. Works of art by Hovenden in the Crystal Bridges Museum main collection:
Study for "In the Hands of the Enemy"
REFERENCES
Biography adapted from B. Clark, H. Nichols "Hovenden, Thomas." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web.<http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T039110>
Artwork behind title: Hovenden's The Discussion (detail)
Artwork behind title: Hovenden's The Discussion (detail)
