Beschreibung:

lot of approximately 100 items related to James A. Hope (1818-1892), a noted portrait, landscape, and historical genre painter, including 20+ photographs, 35+ letters, and several postcards, booklets, newspaper clippings, and other documents. The archive features a full plate ivorytype portrait of James A. Hope in full leather case; a cabinet card portrait of Hope; a cabinet card image of Hope's wife, Julia Marietta Smith Hope; a portrait of the Hope children, Helen and James; a group photograph of family and friends, taken by Hope; a cased ambrotype portrait of William Akester (1785-1859), an Englishman who immigrated to Canada in the early 19th century, possibly a friend of the Hope family, and a reproduction photo of the original image; a mounted photo of Robert Akester; a tintype photo of a woman amongst rock formations; and detail photos of a house, warehouse, and school damaged badly by fires. The gathering of letters date from ca. 1850 to ca. 1890, the bulk written between the 1860s and 1870s by James Hope while working in New York to his wife, Julia, who lived in Castleton, Vermont at the time. Although both James and Julia mainly discuss the weather, their health, their children, and other personal issues, James does go into some detail about his work and struggles as an artist. In one letter, dated February 18, 1860, Hope explains to his wife that he must become better known in order to sell more paintings; however, he also says ...a name don't do all, but a name together with a good picture, goes a ways towards getting a good price. In another letter, dated March 21, 1859, Hope discusses an Exhibition picture, that he has been working on for an upcoming show. He expresses his deep desire to produce the realistic effects of light and shade in his work, and he mentions plans to go and see paintings of a sunset by Church & a sunrise by Gifford so he could compare notes. The lot also includes some letters written by Hope from Watkins Glen, New York, the picturesque location where he built a studio and art gallery in the 1870s, as well as letters written by Hope's children. In addition, the lot includes the following items: two tickets and four pamphlets advertising Hope's Glen Art Gallery at Watkins Glen; various postcards, many featuring copies of Hope's paintings; two guide books for Watkins Glen, one compiled by Hope; a Catalogue of Eighty-Three Famous Canvases By the Late James Hope A.N.A.; two invitations for Hope; some newspaper clippings; and a Book of Psalms, a sketch, and other documents belonging to Hope's children. James A. Hope was born in Scotland, but moved to Canada following the death of his mother. He was orphaned at the age of 12, and soon became a wagon maker's apprentice in Vermont. Eventually, Hope saved enough money to attend the Castleton Vermont Seminary for a year, but he then took up portrait painting. He painted in Rutland, VT and Montreal during the early 1840s, but reestablished himself as a landscape painter in Castleton in the late 1840s. Hope married Julia in 1841, and together they had four children who survived into adulthood. Under the influence of the landscape artist, Frederic Church, Hope moved to New York City to further pursue his career as a painter. By the 1850s, Hope's work had been accepted by the American Art Union and the National Academy of Design. During the next 25 years, Hope's paintings were exhibited in Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis. Hope also served in the Civil War, participating in eleven battles, and he became a popular painter of battle scenes following the war. In 1872, Hope opened his studio and art gallery in Watkins Glen, NY, where he spent the remainder of his life. Condition: Some wear to cased images; letters have even toning and typical folds.