James Hope (1818 - 1892)

Alexander Acevedo, New York;
Peter Tillou, Litchfield, Connecticut;
David Wheatcroft, Westborough, Massachusetts.

Frances McQueeney-Jones Mascolo, "Beyond Tradition: A Folk Art Collection in New Hampshire," Antiques & Fine Art, vol. VII, issue 2, Summer/Autumn 2006, p. 141.

Craquelure. Antique gilt frame: 32 by 41 inches.
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For three summers (1848-1850) Frederic Church (1826-1900) painted in the Clarendon Springs region of Vermont, and one of the resulting works was shown at the American Academy of Design in 1850. It was there that James Hope befriended the artist and described him in a letter as “famous through color power.”

Hope painted at least three views of Clarendon Springs, one of which was commissioned by the owner of Clarendon House (pictured at center) and hung in the lobby (now in the collection of the Currier Gallery of Art). A far more linear and stylized landscape than those painted by his more famous friend, the bold red clouds may well be a nod to Church, whose depiction of sunset skies often included vibrant reds and oranges.