AFA Winter 2019

Antiques & Fine Art 105 2019 F rom the confines of a wheelchair, Massachusetts native Joseph Whiting Stock (1815–1855) painted nearly a thousand portraits over a period of twenty- three years. Paralyzed in a traumatic accident at age eleven, and suffering from additional complications for the rest of his life, Stock defied medical odds to become one of the country’s most admired folk artists. He combined exceptional artistic talent with uncommon business acumen and remarkable strength of character. Sometime after 1845, Stock began a journal that served as a combination autobiography, diary, and business account book. 1 He began with an account of his background: I was born in Springfield, Massachusetts January 30th, 1815. My parents were poor, married early, and have had a large family to support but have ever maintained a respectable standing in society by their honest and industrial habits. Springfield was located at the confluence of four rivers and was the crossroads of trade routes to Boston, Albany, New York City, and Montreal, making it a relatively cosmopolitan city in the early nineteenth century. Although Stock described his parents as “poor,” he was born as the third child of twelve to a financially Joseph Whiting Stock (1815– 1855), attributed, Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Chase, 1832–1836. Oil on canvas, 36⅜ x 31¼ inches. Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, New York (N0019.2003 [01 & 02)]. Photograph by Richard Walker. In his lifetime, Joseph Whiting Stock painted more than 900 portraits of friends and family as well as notable personages and members of an upwardly mobile middle class. In addition to the full-length images of children, for which he is best known, he also painted half-length portraits of adults such as this pair. In August of 1836, Stock recorded in his journal that he “ Went to Cabotville [now Chicopee], a factory village in Springfield. Stayed eight weeks and painted Calvin Chase; Mrs. Chase, his wife; Stewart Chase, son; and Mary Chase, daughter.” Calvin Chase was a machinist born in 1802 in Dunbarton, New Hampshire. He married Eliza Boardman in nearby Weare, settling in Chicopee by 1830. The couple had four children, all of whom remained in the area. This was a substantial commission for Stock as he charged eight dollars each for the adult portraits and five dollars apiece for those of the children. It appears that he was well received in Chicopee as he painted an additional 22 portraits during his stay.