"West Point From the East Bank of the Hudson" Antique Drawing by Edward Watkinson Wells

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"West Point from the East Bank of the Hudson" Antique Drawing on Paper

Delicate and detailed drawing by Hartford, Connecticut … Read more "West Point from the East Bank of the Hudson" Antique Drawing on Paper

Delicate and detailed drawing by Hartford, Connecticut artist Edward Watkins Wells (1819-1898) The viewer looks out past a gate at the Hudson River, with its characteristic mountain banks. A shepherd is driving a flock of sheep towards the gate and viewer. The scene appears to have been copied from a drawing book published in 1827, based on the inscription at the bottom edge.
Presented in white archival mat
Mat size: 12"H x 12"W
Paper size: 7.5"H x 9.25"W
Notes of interest on Edward Watkinson Wells
Our most significant acquisition this year came from a dealer in Philadelphia. It is a 450-page diary written over 10 years (1841-1851) by Hartford artist and dilettante Edward Watkinson Wells (1819-1898), one of the many nephews of our founder, David Watkinson (1778-1857).

Edward was immersed in Hartford’s cultural life in the 1840s, exhibited his works at local fairs and gave lessons to the locals. He portrays an active involvement with with his large extended family, which often crossed and re-crossed the other prominent families of Hartford (i.e., Barnard, Channing, Dexter, Ely, Gallaudet, Gill, Goodrich, Hudson, Rockwell, Silsbee, Tappan, Terry, Tracy, Trumbull, Van Renselaer, and Wadsworth).

Edward describes dancing and costume parties, soirees, teas, dinners, and receptions in private homes and public venues. He meets Charles Dickens and his wife when they come through Hartford in 1842, and describes brushes with other luminaries, such as Col. Thomas L. McKenney (who lectures on American Indians), and the Unitarian clergyman Rev. Henry Giles, who gave a pro-Irish speech.

Other entertainments included a balloon ascension, exhibitions of mesmerism and hypnotism, parades, and performances by well-known groups. He also chronicles the progression of the construction of the Wadsworth Atheneum, and touches on his father’s far-reaching interests in the business world–canals, railroads, factories, and real estate.

The cost of this valuable document of mid-19thC Hartford was generously underwritten entirely by a member of the Watkinson Trustees.



Trinity College and the Watkinson Virtual Library has content on Edward Watkinson Wells.
Yale College also:
Edward Watkinson Wells also kept a diary, of which three volumes are preserved (folder 32). He describes a trip by steamboat to Florida, ca. 1855-1860, and the social life and customs he observed there. The other two volumes detail his daily life in Hartford during 1856-1860, and record the deaths of his father and David Watkinson in 1857.

Other items contained in the William Wells Family Papers include a large number of drawings by Edward Watkinson Wells and his mother, assorted printed matter including a sermon by William Wells (folder 63), genealogical records, memorabilia, newspaper clippings, photographs, daguerreotypes, and one tintype of family members.
Edward Watkinson Wells (American, 1819-1898) was born in Hartford, Connecticut. Wells was an artist and socialite - his diary "describes dancing and costume parties, soirees, teas, dinners, and receptions in private homes and public venues. He meets Charles Dickens and his wife when they come through Hartford in 1842, and describes brushes with other luminaries, such as Col. Thomas L. McKenney . . . and the Unitarian clergyman Rev. Henry Giles"
Reverend William Wells (1744-1827), who moved from England to Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1793, and of several families allied to his by marriage. The materials are arranged alphabetically by family member. Short biographies of William Wells, James Hancox Wells, and several others, as well as more detailed genealogical information than that provided in these partial family trees can be found in The Reverend William Wells:..., by James Hayden Wells and Anita Wells (folders 67-68). The book is based mainly on family papers preserved by James Hancox Wells and taken to California by Elisabeth Howard, although references are also made to items in Yale's William Wells Family Papers (see The Reverend William Wells, pg. 5). See less