Seth Wells Cheney (November 28, 1810 – September 10, 1856) was an American artist and a pioneer of

crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax an ...

work in the United States.

Biography

He was the son of George Cheney and Electa Woodbridge. He received a public school education. In 1833 he went to Paris and studied under Jean-Baptiste Isabey and

Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...

when he returned he started drawing portraits in Boston in 1841. His portraits are in black and white crayon. He was one of the earliest American artists in black and white, and excelled in giving spirituality to his portraits and ideal female faces, which were sought by collectors. Among his works are portraits of

Theodore Parker Theodore Parker (August 24, 1810 – May 10, 1860) was an American transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church. A reformer and abolitionist, his words and popular quotations would later inspire speeches by Abraham Lincol ...

with his wife, James Walker (president of

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

), William Cullen Bryant, and

Ephraim Peabody Ephraim Peabody (22 March 1807 – 28 November 1856) was a Unitarian clergyman from the United States. Biography He was born in Wilton, New Hampshire. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1827, studied theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and beg ...

, “Rosalie,” and “A Roman Girl.” On May 10, 1848 he was made an associate of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

. When the poet

Fitz-Greene Halleck Fitz-Greene Halleck (July 8, 1790 – November 19, 1867) was an American poet and member of the Knickerbocker Group. Born and raised in Guilford, Connecticut, he went to New York City at the age of 20, and lived and worked there for nearly fo ...

expressed surprise that his portrait was not finished, Cheney said, “I will finish it,” whereupon he put his foot through it. He died in South Manchester, Connecticut.

Family

He was the brother of Ward Cheney, a prominent silk manufacturer of South Manchester, and John Cheney, an engraver. He was married twice first in September 1847 to Emily Woodbridge Pitkin, daughter of Horace Pitkin and Emily Woodbridge. His wife, Emily, died without issue in 1850. Three years later on 19 May 1853 he married Ednah Dow Littlehale, daughter of Sargent Smith Littledale and Ednah Parker (Dow). This marriage produced one child: Margaret Swan Cheney (8 September 1855 – 22 September 1882)His daughter, Margaret Swan Cheney died of tuberculosis while a student in the 1882 class at MIT and a reception room of the Women’s Chemistry Laboratory was named in her memory
AMITA.org
Association of MIT Alumnae) His memoirs were published by Ednah, his second wife, in 1881.

Image gallery

Image:1844 HWLongfellow bySethCheney.png, Portrait of

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

, 1844 Image:FemalePortraitHead2 bySethCheney Harvard.png, Female portrait head Image:MalePortraitHead bySethCheney Harvard.png, Male portrait head Image:FemalePortraitHead bySethCheney Harvard.png, Female portrait head

Notes

References

*Bolton, Theodore. ''Early American Portrait Draughtsmen in Crayons.'' New York: Kennedy Graphics, 1970
Google Books
Retrieved May 10, 2008 *Littlehale, Frederick H. ''A Complete History and Genealogy of the Littlehale Family in America from 1633 to 1889.'' Boston, Mass: A.W. & F.H. Littlehale, 1889
Google Books
Retrieved May 10, 2008

External links