Thomas Scott Williams, II by
George Hewitt Cushman,
signed, circa 1842.
Thomas Scott Williams, II (1818-1842) of
Weatherfield, Connecticut was the son of John Williams and Mry Dyer.
He was named after his eminent uncle, Congressman from Connecticut,
Thomas Scott Williams. One of Cushman's earliest works, take
n at
a time when the artist was painting only family, it is likely that
Cushman, also an eastern Connecticut native, and Williams were acquainted.
Set in the original gold locket frame with cast foliate
border on the front, engine-turned reverse, hinged at
the top. The miniature is signed on the backing paper Cushman/
Painter. The other side of the backing paper,
written by the artist is T. S. Williams/ 2nd/ Drowned/
Sept/ 1842.
1 inch high.
George Hewitt Cushman (1814-1876) studied with Washington Alston
before turning to engraving, first in Hartford, then in Boston. In
1842, Cushman moved to Philadelphia where he was a bank note and
book engraver, all the while painting portraits of friends and family
and exhibiting at the Artists' Fund Society. In 1862, Cushman decided
to devote himself to portraiture, moving to New York. Cushman's rare
works are in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and
the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His portrait of Susan Wetherill,
who would later become his wife, is in the Yale University Art Gallery.
