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Artist or Maker: Thomas Hewes Hinckley (American, 1813-1896)
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Provenance: Private Collection, Dedham, Massachusetts, since circa 1957.
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Exhibited: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1855.
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Notes: THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
Thomas Hewes Hinckley was born in Milton, Massachusetts in 1813. In 1829, he went to Philadelphia where he became a merchant's apprentice; while there, he also attended an evening class in drawing at the home of the artist, John Mason. In 1833, he returned to Milton, first finding employment as a sign painter and later as a portraitist. As an animal painter he excelled at illustrating the most characteristic traits of animated nature, nearly always making apparent their subtle relation to humanity. Hinckley's patrons were frequently wealthy local squires or gentleman farmers who commissioned portraits of favorite dogs or cattle, as well as landscapes highlighted by prized stock. The appeal of his works to hunters and gentleman farmers meant that they sold without the need to be exhibited. A few paintings were shown at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, The National Academy of Design, and the American Art-Union in New York. In 1851, he went to Europe to study the work of Sir Edwin Landseer and the Flemish masters. Two of his paintings depicting gun dogs were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1858. Upon returning home, Hinckley continued to exhibit at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the National Academy of Design. Several of his works were engraved, and he received a steady stream of commissions. He spent time on the island of Naushon, where he painted studies of deer. In 1870 he traveled to California, depicting deer and elk on the rocky coast. He also painted genre and street scenes. Hinckley's work is represented in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and Smith College Museum of Art.
