Name/Title
Daniel Pierce Thompson and Eunice Wright Robinson ThompsonEntry/Object ID
1957.40.1Description
Portrait showing a man and woman. The man is wearing a black suit jacket and a white shirt with a pleated cravat. He is holding up a small open book. The woman is wearing a white dress with large, transparent sleeves. Her hair is parted down the center and held in two bow shapes on either side of the part. She is looking at the viewer, and her hand is indicating a passage from the book. The pair is seated in an interior with red drapery behind. The man's arm is around the woman at her shoulder.Type of Painting
EaselArtwork Details
Medium
OilSubject Person
Thompson, Daniel Pierce (1795–1868), Thompson, Eunice Wright Robinson (1814-1894)Context
The portrait shows Daniel Pierce Thompson, the famous Vermont author and one of the founders of the Vermont Historical Society, and Eunice Wright Robinson Thompson. It was painted shortly after their marriage in Montpelier by the itinerant portrait painter, Benjamin Franklin Mason.
Benjamin Franklin Mason was born in Pomfret, Vermont into a large farming family. At the age of nine he suffered paralysis of the lower portion of one of his legs from which he never recovered. The disability prevented him from pursuing farming or other physical professions. Instead he discovered and aptitude for art and became an itinerant portrait painter.
It's probable that he studied with Abraham Tuthill, an urban-trained painter who regularly visited family in Pomfret. He later spent time in Boston where he likely studied with other portrait painters of the day.
Mason spent significant time in Middlebury, Vergennes, Montpelier, and, at the end of his life, Woodstock, Vermont. He travelled widely at the invitation of clients with roots in Vermont. He is known to have painted in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Buffalo, New York.
Hi painted portraits of Vermonters are quite numerous with many in public and private collections throughout the state.Acquisition
Accession
1957.40Source or Donor
State Historical Society of WisconsinAcquisition Method
TransferMade/Created
Artist
Mason, Benjamin Franklin (1804-1871)Date made
circa 1831Place
City
MontpelierCounty
Washington CountyState/Province
VermontCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
PaintingNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Dimension Description
UnframedHeight
28 inWidth
24 inDimension Description
FramedHeight
36-1/2 inWidth
32-1/2 inDepth
3 in