Painting

Title:

Benning Wentworth Jenness

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

2016.019.01

Creator:

Custer, Edward L. (1837-1881)

Place of Origin:

Boston, MA

Date:

1877

Description:

Portrait of Benning Wentworth Jenness (1806-1879), painted by Edward L. Custer (1837-1881), 1877. Oil on canvas. Bust-length portrait of white-haired man wearing black jacket, white shirt, high white collar, and black cravat. Signed "E.L. Custer" on front, lower right.

Material:

Textile

Dimensions:

H-30 W-25 inches

Provenance:

Benning W. and Mira Jane Woodman Jenness were great-grandparents of the donor, Elizabeth B. Taft. Benning W. Jenness was born in Deerfield, NH, and began managing a family-owned general store in Strafford in 1823. A community center, his store became the center of the community, and a forum for his introduction and education in local and state politics. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the postmaster, Strafford County sheriff, probate judge, as well as terms in the State House of Representatives and Senate. In 1845 the legislature chose Jenness to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Senator Levi Woodbury, who had been appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The names of Franklin Pierce and Benning W. Jenness were presented as candidates for the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention of 1852 by the New Hampshire delegation. After Pierce won the nomination, Jenness retired from political office and focused his energies on mercantile and lumber investments. Following the death of his first wife, Nancy W. Shackford, Benning W. Jenness married Mira Jane Woodman (1839-1922) of Strafford in 1869. Shortly thereafter the Jennesses moved to Cleveland, OH, where Benning built a multi-million dollar shipping and lumber business. The Jennesses probably sat for the portraits at Edward L. Custer's studio in Boston.

Credit Line:

Gift of Elizabeth B. Taft

People:

Jenness, Benning W. (1806-1879)