Frances Anne Hopkins | |
|---|---|
 Hopkins photographed in 1863 by William Notman | |
| Born | February 2, 1838 London, England |
| Died | March 5, 1919 (aged 81) Hampstead, London, England |
| Occupation | Painter |
| Known for | Painting scenes of the fur trade in Canada |
| Spouse |
Edward Hopkins (m. 1858) |
| Father | Frederick William Beechey |
| Relatives |
|
Frances Anne Hopkins (February 2, 1838 – March 5, 1919) was a British painter. She was the third of Frederick William Beechey's five children.[1] In 1858, she married a Hudson's Bay Company official, Edward Hopkins, whose work took him to North America. Hopkins travelled along with him. While sailing, she was able to sketch extensively, therefore, capturing a now lost way of living – the last days of the fur trade.[2]
Hopkins painted actively during the 1860s and 1870s.[3] Her best-known works are several large paintings made from her sketches. She portrayed a voyageur's life in the mid-nineteenth century.[4] Hopkins, however, remained relatively unknown until recently. At the same time, considering that, she was an artist placed in a context where gender-imposed restrictions were prevalent. In fact, Frances Anne Hopkins was dubbed as a woman who "staked out an identity based on difference: a woman in a group of men."[5] Her works were featured at exhibitions of the Art Association of Montreal, followed by, eleven exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London.[6]
The Hopkins family returned to England in 1870 where she lived until her death. Hopkins was an artist able to record an important aspect of Canadian history.[7]
- ^ Schultze, Thomas (2008). Frances Anne Hopkins: Images from Canada. Manotick, Ontario: Penumbra Press. p. 23.
- ^ Ferrari, Pepita (1997). The Petticoat Expeditions, Part Two: Frances Hopkins. Canada: National Film Board of Canada.
- ^ Wylie, Liz (1996). "Canoeing and Canadian Art". Queen's Quarterly. 103: 614.
- ^ Clark and Stacey, Janet E. and Robert H. (1990). Frances Anne Hopkins, 1838-1919: Canadian Scenery. Thunder Bay, Ontario: Thunder Bay Art Gallery. p. 15.
- ^ Huneault, Kristina (2006). "Placing Frances Anne Hopkins: a British-born artist in colonial Canada". Local/Global: Women Artists in the Nineteenth Century. 9: 53.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Forster, Merna (2004). 100 Canadian heroines: famous and forgotten faces. Toronto, Ontario: Dundurn Group. p. 115.