Portraits: Canada, 1835-1838

b. 1799/1800 - d. August, 1878; nee Russell; married in 1828 to James Hunter Samson (d. 1836) and in 1838 to lawyer and speculator Charles Otis Benson (1811-1854); lived many years in Belleville, Ontario, died a widow in Aylmer, PQ; niece and ward of Sir John Harvey (1778-1852), Lt Col in the British Army, saw action in War of 1812, negotiator in the Maine boundary dispute, Gov of Newfoundland, Lt Gov of PEI, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Portrait inscribed on verso: Painted by N. Cook/A.D 1835 (incomplete).

  b. 1800, London - d. 25 Jun 1881 at Torquay, Devon, England; son of Joseph and Cordelia Anne Harris; educated at Cambridge, receiving BA in 1822 and MA in 1825; awarded a Lambeth DD in 1829, elected a deacon in Church of England in 1829, and became of priest of the Church in 1830; served as the first Principal of Upper Canada College (1829-38) in Toronto; an 1893 school history notes the difficulties faced by UCC (cholera epidemics, crude infrastructure, etc.), praising Harris for his "arduous service," implementation of a traditional curriculum, and tolerance toward Catholic students, but apparently not linking him to financial laxity which marred the school's early years. (Today, UCC is a college prep school of some 1000 students.) First wife, Charlotte Ann Collyer, died in 1834 and in 1837 married Jane Yonge. After UCC, Harris went on to Tormorham/Torquay, Devon, on the SW coast of England, where he became curate of several united parishes; he is author of several works on theology. This portrait appears in the 1848 Exhibition Catalogue of the Toronto Society of Arts (item 382), available through the Art Gallery of Ontario; at the time of the exhibit, the painting was listed as belonging to F.W. Barron, Esq., then Principal of Upper Canada College, where the portrait still resides.

 b. 31 Oct 1786 in Paisley, Scotland - d. 29 Jun 1858 in Montreal; second child of wealthy Alexander Morris and Janet Lang; originally went to Upper Canada (Ontario) with family in 1801, returned to Scotland in 1802 with mother and siblings, and then permanently immigrated to Canada in 1806 following his father's failed Canadian business venture; married Elizabeth Cochran (1784-1857) in Aug 1823 and had seven children, including Alexander Morris (1826-1889), who was the second Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba from 1872-1877; opened a store in Elizabethtown with brother Alexander and served as middlemen between Montreal merchants and First Nations & loggers in the wilderness; commissioned as an ensign in the War of 1812 and fought in support of Britain; returned to business after the conflict and opened a second store in Perth, Upper Canada, in 1816 as part of the Perth Military Settlement, which he played a key role in developing, and by the 1830s was a very wealthy merchant with large land holdings throughout Upper Canada; in 1818 appointed Justice of the Peace in Perth and in 1820 elected overwhelmingly to the House of Assembly; in 1822 named lieutenant-colonel in local militia where he served for over 20 years, including action helping to put down the Rebellion of 1837; in the Assembly worked closely with Sir John Beverly Robinson to expel American Barnabas Bidwell from the Canadian House in 1822, but soon after began challenging Sir Robinson's assertion that the Church of Scotland should be excluded from the widespread Clergy Reserve lands, which would give the Church of England full control; starting in 1823 and for the next 17 years successfully championed the cause of the Church of Scotland and Scottish nationalism in Canada, an issue which was at odds with the thinking of Sir Robinson and Upper Canada Lieutenant Governor Sir Francis Bond Head, both of whom supported strict English sovereignty; in 1836 appointed to the Legislative Council and in 1844 to the Executive Council where he served as Receiver-General (Treasurer) (1844-1846) and Council President (1846-1848); in 1840/1841 led the establishment of Queen's College (now Queen's University) in Kingston, which was modeled after the major universities in Scotland, and served as the first chairman of the board of trustees before resigning in 1842 when the school's ideologies clashed with his own; suffered a stroke in 1853 and died in 1858. 

  b. 20 Feb 1766 in Boston, MA - d. 12 Aug 1846 in Toronto, Canada; fifth son of John Coffin and Isabella Child; crown-friendly family fled to Quebec in 1775 as the American Revolution was taking root; served in the British army 1783 to ca. 1790, including time in England; appointed a surveyor in 1890 and worked several years throughout the Province of Quebec; from 1795 to 1802 surveyed land around Missisquoi Bay, on the border of Quebec and Vermont, where he encouraged the Canadian government to expedite land-ownership applications, and during this time served in the Quebec House of Assembly from 1796-1800; Montreal Justice of the Peace 1796-1810; fought in War of 1812 as a lieutenant-colonel and aide-de-camp to brother-in-law Major General Roger Sheaffe, who captured Winfield Scott at the Battle of Queenston Heights, the first major battle of the war – Sheaffe was said to have saved then-US Colonel Winfield Scott from lethal violence at the hands of a Mohawk by putting a pistol to the attacker's head; named Deputy Adjutant General (1814), Adjutant General (1815), and full Colonel (1820).  After the war Coffin fell out of favor with the House of Assembly, which was engaged in many reform-oriented interests, and he was even briefly jailed for contempt in 1828 by House members investigating a government land dispute when Coffin’s superior forbade him to attend the hearing. As Coffin’s star continued to fade, Sir Francis Bond Head replaced him as Adjutant General just as the Rebellion of 1837 was breaking out. Coffin fell into relative obscurity until his 1846 death. The portrait was done for Mrs. William Coffin of Hamilton, Canada West. Although Nathaniel had a younger brother named William, it is unclear if “Mrs. William Coffin” was Nathaniel’s sister-in-law.

Despite the date range offered, it should be mentioned that Cook was in Canada at least until 1839. Noted by Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS). [See Millard Powers Fillmore].

b. 14 Nov 1792 at Ernestown, Lennox and Addington County, Upper Canada [Ontario] - d. 24 Aug 1851, Saratoga Springs, NY; buried at Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada; son of Robert Perry and Jemima Gary Washburn Perry, who were both born in Massachusetts and who remained loyal to the throne during the American Revolution before fleeing to Canada in 1779 m. Mary (Polly) Ham 19 Jun 1814 in Lennox and Addington Co. and had nine children; participated in a protest to retain Marshall Spring Bidwell's name on a special-election ballot in 1823 and one year later both men were elected to the Upper Canada Parliament where they remained until 1836; following his 1836 defeat as a reformer, he settled in Whitby, Ontario, where he set up one of two general stores, the other was on Lake Scugog at Port Perry, which was named in his honor; in 1849 became the first person ever elected to Parliament as part of the tenacious, liberal, and reform-oriented Clear Grit Party, however he soon fell ill and only served sporadically; died in Saratoga Springs in 1851 following a NYC visit with his good friend and political ally, Marshall Spring Bidwell. Since 1955 the town of Whitby has honored its outstanding citizen with the annual Peter Perry Award.

b. 6 Nov 1795 at Ernestown, Lennox and Addington County, Upper Canada [Ontario] - d. 15/16 Nov 1881 at Whitby, Ontario, Canada; buried at Union Cemetery, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada; m. Peter Perry 19 Jun 1814 in Lennox and Addington County, Ontario and had nine children.

b. Nov 1806 at Township of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - d. 1847 in Richmond, Indiana; buried Earlham Cemetery, Richmond, IN; eldest child of John Burnham and Annatje [Dutch for Hannah] Harris; on 15 May 1828 in Stamford, Ontario, Canada on the Niagara Peninsula married Clarissa Jane Bastedo, who was a fifth-generation descendent of OTS-Toch, a Schenectady, NY Mohawk “princess”;  two children – Hannah (1832) and Erastus (1835); family was originally from Massachusetts, but immigrated to Canada following the American Revolution in all likelihood because they were British Loyalists, and no doubt Clarissa’s family did the same in part since the Mohawks had supported the Crown during the Revolution; at various times from the mid-1830s to 1843 engaged in an assortment of Toronto business enterprises – importer, wholesale/retail general store merchant, and perhaps even a beer brewer; a September 1834 fire destroyed Silas’s “extensive premises,” including his King Street house and shop; according to a front-page story in the 30 May 1843 NY Herald newspaper, Silas had recently fled Toronto when accused of money fraud with a number of financial institutions in the form of forged bank loans totaling at least several thousand pounds; eventually resurfaced in Cincinnati, OH as a cotton broker with his son Erastus until Silas’s 1847 death at the age of only 41.  Silas’s wonderful portrait is inscribed on the back in the artist’s hand: “Painted by N. Cook. 1836”.  The painting has all the earmarks of Cook’s early career in Canada: a bit stylistically primitive and stiff, yet showing signs of more animated facial features that would later characterize the artist’s work. As an early pre-curser to many of his eventual New York state sitters’ red chairs, Cook has employed a red-streaked drapery background reminiscent of Peter Perry’s portrait, which also was painted in 1836.

b. 1 Jan 1793 at Higham, England - d. 20 Jul 1875 at Croydon, England; parents were James Roper Mendes Head and Frances Anne Burgess; married Julia Valenza Somerville in 1816 and they produced 4 children; soldier with Britain's Royal Engineers, 1811-1825, including service at Waterloo; author and adventurer, who soon after leaving the army began to write and unsuccessfully attempted to set up a gold and silver mining company in Argentina; earned the nickname "Galloping Head" for his two rides across the Andes from Buenos Aires; his demonstration of the military uses of the lasso resulted in an 1831 knighthood from King William IV; nickname also suited him well during his subsequent days as the ill-prepared and controversial Lt. Governor of Upper Canada (Ontario), 1835-38; although named a Baronet during the first year of his short term, forced to quell the rebellion of 1837 [see Robert McVicar], which arose largely due to Head's inexperience and lack of diplomacy; dismissed as Lt. Governor by Queen Victoria in 1838 at which time he left Canada in disgrace and disguised as a confidant's servant, and returned to England where he became a reputable author of books and essays. A citizens committee in Canada sent this oil portrait to England to be made into a mezzotint [see below]; however, Queen Victoria refused to accept the proposed dedication of the print to her as she was upset at the way Head, whom some called "reactionary," had handled the 1837 rebellion. But in a show of support 30 years later, in 1867 the Queen named Sir Francis to the Privy Council, an appointment described by Prime Minister Lord Darby as, "a tardy act of justice." This 3/4 view painting may be Cook's best-known portrait and the artist was known to have kept a copy in his studio until as late as 1885. Cook's painting also served as the model for the Head portrait done by George Theodore Berthon (1806-1892), who was commissioned by Sir John Beverly Robinson in 1880 to paint a series of 20 posthumous portraits of former Lt. Governors for display in the recently (1870) built Government House in Toronto. Berthon's rendering is now displayed at the Ontario Legislative Building, Queen's Park, Toronto.

Mezzotint is a process of printmaking in which the plate is embedded with thousands of small dots as a means of creating tonality. The plate is inked and then wiped clean. When printing, the dots hold a great deal of ink and a high quality image is achieved. While the mezzotint technique was first developed in Germany in 1642, it was especially popular in England from 1750-1850 as a means of reproducing portraits and other oil paintings. The end result is an image similar in tonality to a sharply contrasted, extremely well-defined black and white photograph, which in some instances was then hand painted with watercolors to be more reminiscent of the original painting. Cook's portrait received both treatments. Charles Turner (1774-1857), a well-known and prolific English printmaker, made an engraving of Cook's portrait in 1837, as shown by the below left image. The impression on the below right is made from Turner's same plate, but watercolor has been added to the black and white rendering. Although the number of prints made by Turner is unknown, because the dots are not deep and the plate is smoothed a bit with each print produced, the mezzotint process is normally limited to 100-200 copies of acceptable quality.

Mezzotint, inscribed in the plate as follows:
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR FRANCIS BOND HEAD. BART: K.C.H.
Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, &c. &c. &c.
From an Original Picture painted at the solicitation of the inhabitants of the City of Toronto.
This Plate is respectfully dedicated to
Her Most Gracious Majesty's Loyal Canadian Subjects by their fellow Citizen & most obt. Humle. Servt.
Frederick Chase Capreol.
Published Octr. 10, 1837 by Fred C. Capreol, Toronto, Upper Canada: & in London for the Proprietor. by Messrs. Dominic Colnaghi & Co. Printsellers, 14 Pall Mall East. & Mr. Leggatt, Printsellers, 85, Cornhill. l.l.; Painted by Nelson Cook, Esqre. l.r.; Engraved by C. Turner, A.R.A.

[NOTE: The abbreviated title, BART: K.C.H., following Head's name above, stands for "1st Baronet, Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order."]

  b. 26 Jul 1791, Berthier, Lower Canada - d. 31 Jan 1863; son of Christopher Robinson, who was member of a prominent Virgina family of on 5 Jun 1817 married Emma Walker with whom Robinson had seven children, including second son John Beverley Robinson, Jr (1821-1887, who was mayor of Toronto (1856) and the fifth Lt-Governor of Ontario (1880-1887); from 1798-1811 completed studies in Kingston, Cornwall, and York, including his law articles; in War of 1812 militia lieutenant under Isaac Brock at Queenston Heights; also at Detroit and the taking of York (Toronto) by US forces, where he was captured; became Acting Attorney General of Upper Canada in 1813, then named to the position in 1814, and was Solicitor General after the War; returned to England to finish his legal studies; appointed Solicitor General once more and was elected to the Assembly in 1820; acted as Attorney-General until 1829, when he became Chief Justice (until 1862); in 1830 appointed to Legislative Council, where he eventually became Speaker of the Council and then President of the Executive Council; first president of the Court of Error and Appeal; prominent member of the "Family Compact," a powerful group of wealthy, conservative Upper Canada office holders in the 1830s; knighted in 1854. Cook claimed him as friend and ally in his efforts to patent the Davenport "engine," describing him as "the most ultra tory [sic] in the Province -- a strong Church and State man -- & a bitter foe to Republic[an?]s [ie, Reformers?]… [he] virtually governs Upper Canada -- he has his prejudices, but he is a good & wise man…" [letter to Ransom Cook, Toronto, 5 Dec 1836]. Robinson Sr. painted as officer of militia; portrait apparently damaged and repainted in part.

b. 4 Mar 1793, Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England - d. 19 Oct 1870, Toronto; known as the "Father of Medical Education in Upper Canada"; son of surgeon Dr. Thomas Rolph and Frances Petty Rolph, who emigrated to Canada ca 1808; John followed only in 1812 and returned to England to study both law (Cambridge) and medicine (Guy's & St Thomas's Hospital); in Canada he pursued both professions, was said to carry his legal briefs in one saddlebag, surgical gear in the other; fought the cholera epidemic of 1832 [which killed Barnabas Dickinson, Parrit Blaisdell, and the father of Mrs. Mary Telfer Baird]; active in politics, associated with ["the leader of," says Cook in letter, below] the Reform faction; represented Counties of Middlesex (1824) and Norfolk (1835); moved to York (Toronto, 1832) and started a med school; a secretive planner with William Mackenzie of the ill-fated 1837 Rebellion [see Francis Bond Head and Robert McVicar], he fled to Rochester, NY; returned to Toronto ca 1844, restarted a med school which eventually became part of Victoria College, where he was a controversial Dean; Minister of Crown Lands (1851-54). In a letter to Ransom [Toronto, 11 Oct 1837], Cook writes of the just-finished portrait, "it is painted for the Reformers of U.C. [I]t is to be engraved next spring…." [Was it?] Portrait 136X108 cm; listed in Toronto Society of Arts exhibit catalog for 1848 [see, eg, other TSA catalog works, Rev Harris and Gentleman]. Inscribed verso, on lining of the canvas: Painted by Nelson Cook S.A./U.C. 1837 [SA most likely refers to the Toronto Society of Artists and Amateurs. However, SA is sometimes used for sine anno = without year; even if so here, there is no doubt of the 1837 date. UC = Upper Canada]. ROM shows the portrait given by Rolph's son Thomas, 1934. In her 1961 book, The Life and Times of the Hon. John Rolph, M.D. (1793 - 1870), Marian A. Patterson writes: "Nelson Cook presents Rolph in the full rigor of life, as a slightly bald, keen-eyed, clean-shaven man. In contemporary circles, Cook was regarded as an artist of note and his works were given high praise in the columns of the daily press.....
A full length portrait of John Rolph, Esq. is particularly worthy of notice, not only for the peculiarly happy manner in which the artist has caught both the face and figure of that gentleman, but also for the very superior style in which the work is done.
- The Christian Guardian, Toronto, 26 July 1837
Patterson went on to write: "In his portrait study the artist has caught on his canvas a suggestion of the strength and force of character which sustained this 'Grit Reformer' through the many political and professional tribulations of his tempestuous life."

Sister of Sir Francis Bond Head, daughter of James Roper and Frances Anne Head; m. Lt Gen Samuel Dalrymple 10 May 1831, the General d 1832. This portrait is assumed only from a mention in Cook's letter to Ransom from Toronto, 19 October 1837: "I am now painting Sir Francis Head's Sister, Mrs. Dalrymple". Whether he finished such a painting or whether it exists today is unknown.

[Also see Letters From Canada which includes an extensive biography of Thomas Davenport]

b. 9 Jul 1802, Williamstown, VT - d. 6 Jul 1851, Salisbury, VT and buried at Pine Hill Cemetery in Brandon, VT; blacksmith-turned-inventor who developed the first "electromagnetic motor" in 1834 [see picture below] and for which he then received the first US patent in 1837 while in partnership with Nelson Cook's brother, Ransom, and while Nelson was serving as Davenport's patent agent in Canada; married Emily Goss (ca. 1810 - ca. 1862) and had at least two sons: George Daniel Davenport (1832 - 1864, a casualty of the Civil War Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia) and Willard Goss Davenport (1843 - 1919). The 21 1/4" X 27 1/4" painting came from a Newport, RI estate with a note on the back saying the portrait depicted Thomas Davenport. Both Cowan's in Cincinnati and Skinner in Boston concurred with the sitter's identity based on the painting's likeness to a known ca. 1850 Davenport daguerreotype, a copy of which also was on the back of the portrait. Although unsigned and undated, both Cowan's and Skinner attributed the portrait to Cook based on the artist's style and Ransom's & Nelson's business relationships with Davenport. The portrait's date was estimated by this site's caretakers based on Davenport's 1837 peak of notoriety, which coincided with the inventor's close association with the Cook brothers. Skinner put up the portrait for auction in November 2009, but the reserve price was not met and the painting went unsold at that time. Skinner said the painting had been lined and overly retouched, so much so that Davenport's clothing style (especially his tie) was inconsistent with that customary to his adult lifetime. Additionally, as of November 2009 the portrait was in poor condition with punctures, surface rubs / losses, & crazing.

b. 1810 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, d. 17 Jul 1892 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada; Chief Clerk of the House of Commons in Upper Canada (Ontario) Legislature for 37 years, followed by 13 years in the federal government until his retirement in 1879; married Tirzah Hopkins in 1837 -- the painting may have celebrated their recent marriage; son, Allan Poyntz Patrick (1849-1948), was the first surveyor of the Province of Alberta and a prominent city father of Calgary. This portrait clearly displays the artistic maturity Cook had achieved by 1838 relative to his Canadian renderings from just 5-6 years earlier. Although the painting is void of Cook's eventual use of a red chair, the artist has provided a hint of what was to come by placing his sitter in front of a dramatic red sky.

b. 12 Mar 1814 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, d. 29 Jul 1887 in Ottawa, Carleton, Ontario, Canada; daughter of Hannah Green and Caleb Hopkins, representative of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada (Ontario); m. Alfred Poyntz Patrick in 1837; she and Alfred were the parents of Allan Poyntz Patrick (1849-1948), western rancher, surveyor, and prominent city father of Calgary. Of all of Cook's many Canadian portraits, this one stands out as being the most exquisite and majestic. Everything about this painting -- its artistic rendering, attention to detail, composition, and color palette -- is testament to how far the artist has come since painting the Dickinsons in 1832. It's as if this portrait served as Cook's "final exam" before he headed back across the border to ply his trade in the United States.

b. 9 Mar 1806 in Philadelphia, PA - d. 12 Dec 1872 in Philadelphia; mention of this painting appeared in an October 21, 1885 Utica Morning Herald newspaper article, which stated that Cook’s 1838 painting of Edwin Forrest as Shakespeare’s Coriolanus was being exhibited at a Rome, NY retail store. In all likelihood Forrest never sat for this portrait. Rather, while still in Canada honing his skills, Cook may have created his painting of Forrest from another artist’s rendering as a sample of his work for prospective sitters [see As a Portraitist]. Forrest was considered by many to be the first great “tragedian” of American theater; made his first acting appearance in 1820 and spent his career performing mostly Shakespeare to wide acclaim in the US and Europe; his personal life often outshone that of his stage characters: a simmering feud with actor William Charles Macready led to the NYC Astor Place Opera House riot killing 22 (1849), while a divorce trial pitting Forrest against wife Catherine Sinclair in 1851/52 produced sporadic performances thereafter.)

Displayed in 1847 at first exhibition of Toronto Society of Arts, catalog entry no. 121 ; catalog available at Metropolitan Toronto Library. Noted by SIRIS/Smithsonian American Art Museum, Pre-1877 Art Exhibition Catalogue Index.