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Elma Mary Gove (1832–1921) was an American painter.


Biography

Born in
Weare, New Hampshire Weare is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 9,092 at the 2020 census. It is close to two important New Hampshire cities, Manchester and Concord. History It was granted to veterans of the Canadia ...
, Gove was the daughter of Hiram and Mary Sargent Gove; her father was a hatmaker who later became a self-trained physician, and her mother was an early advocate for women's rights. By 1848 the couple was estranged. They divorced in that year – one precipitating event was Hiram's kidnapping of Elma, which her mother soon put right. Mary soon remarried, and Elma travelled to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
to study as an artist; in 1848 she enrolled in the antique class 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, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
for the year. She identified herself upon registration as a "painter", suggesting that she already had some experience in the role. With the annual show of 1849, at which she exhibited three crayon portraits, she began to participate in the Academy's exhibitions. Over the following fifteen years she continued to work in crayon, but she branched out into oils as well; at the 1851 annual exhibition she showed two portraits, including one of
Eliphalet Nott Eliphalet Nott (June 25, 1773January 25, 1866), was a famed Presbyterian minister, inventor, educational pioneer, and long-term president of Union College, Schenectady, New York. Early life Nott was born at Ashford, Connecticut, on June 25, 177 ...
. Gove continued showing at the Academy until 1864; she also presented work at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1805, it is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in the United States. The academy's museum ...
and the
Boston Athenaeum Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...
. She was mainly a portraitist, but produced genre pieces and religious works as well. Her paintings were owned by James Renwick Brevoort and
Edward W. Nichols Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...
, among others, and a portrait by her of Nichols is in the collection of the National Academy of Design. Gove lived in New York from around 1849 at least until 1855; in 1857 and 1858 she is known to have been in
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
. While there, she received a medal in 1857 for her crayon drawings, which she exhibited at the annual show of the Ohio Mechanics' Institute. Among her patrons in the city was Henry Worrall, who loaned one of her charcoal portraits to an exhibition of the Cincinnati Associated Artists in 1866. By 1859 she was back in Brooklyn, briefly, before establishing a studio at 806 Broadway. There she remained at least until 1864. By 1866 she was giving her address as Paris when providing work for exhibits; in 1870 she was noted as being on her way to
Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the civil parish of Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, in the Malvern Hills District, Malvern Hills district, in the county of Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of O ...
. She married one Thomas Letchworth soon after arriving in England, and the couple had two children. It appears that she remained in England for the rest of her life.


References

1832 births 1921 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American painters People from Weare, New Hampshire Painters from New Hampshire American expatriates in England National Academy of Design alumni American portrait painters 19th-century American women painters {{US-painter-1830s-stub