The Old Print Shop

Lake Superior. (aka Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior)

  • ARTIST: Frances Anne Hopkins

  • PUBLISHER: Published by M. Knoedler & Co., New York and Goupil & Co. Paris and London.

  • MEDIUM: Engraving,

    DATE: 1873.

  • EDITION SIZE: 18 7/8 x 30 3/4" 47.9 x 78.3 cm) plus title and margins.

  • DESCRIPTION: Painted by F. Hopkins; Engraved by Charles Mottram. Engraved “Proof” in the lower left margin. <br><br> Frances Anne Hopkins (1838-1918) was born in England and was the daughter of Arctic explorer Admiral Frederick William Beechy and granddaughter of Court painter Sir William Beechey. She was a natural artist, and had been taught the techniques of painting and sketching at home. In 1858 she traveled to Canada and married Edward Martin Hopkins, who was secretary to the general superintendent of the Hudson’s Bay Company. “Hopkins would take short canoe trips with her husband and Sir George Simpson from the Hudson’s Bay Company for tours and inspection of Company post. She recorded her entire life travels in her sketchbooks. She and her husband had several trips including a canoe trip to Lake Superior in 1864. Hopkins canoe trip along the Lake Superior extended from the Upper Great Lakes to as far as Thunder Bay and Marquette, Michigan… She traveled along the fur trading routes with her husband and she sketched landscapes and activities of her trips. Hopkins placed herself and her husband in the seat of the canoe, in most of her paintings of voyageurs and their canoes. Women partaking in canoe touring travels were unlikely in the 19th century.” Canadian Art History Wikispaces. 2013. In this image she is sitting in the center of the nearest canoe. The title of the painting is “Canoes in a Fog, Lake Superior”. Painted in 1869 and exhibited at the Royal Academy in London where it received great praise which lead to it being published by Knoedler & Co., New York; Goupil & Co., Paris & London. Engraved by Charles Mottram, one of the leading engravers of the day.

  • ADDITIONAL INFO:

  • CONDITION: Fair condition. Several breaks - tears in the chine colle. Main image okay. B/W

  • REFERENCE:

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