Painting

Title:

Frederick Smyth

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

2017.025

Creator:

Herrick, Henry W. (1824-1906)

Place of Origin:

Manchester, NH

Date:

1900

Description:

Portrait of Frederick Smyth (1819-1899) of Manchester, NH, by Henry W. Herrick (1824-1906), 1900. Watercolor on paper. Oval bust-length portrait of white-haired man with white beard, wearing gray jacket, gray vest, white shirt, and black bowtie. Signed "Herrick / 1900" in red paint, lower left. Gilded label: "EX.GOV. FREDERICK SMYTH / DIRECTOR OF CITY MISSION / 1850." Matted and framed.

Material:

Paper

Dimensions:

H-17 W-13.8 inches

Provenance:

This portrait of New Hampshire Governor Frederick Smyth (1819-1899) was painted by Manchester artist Henry W. Herrick (1824-1906) for the City Mission of Manchester.

The son of Stephen and Dolly (Rowe) Smyth, Fredrick Smyth grew up in Candia, NH, where he operated a general store beginning in 1838. Smyth eventually moved to Manchester, NH, where he became a partner in George Porter's general store and mercantile business. He continued to work as a merchant until 1849, when he sold his share of the business following his election to the post of Manchester city clerk. He was reelected to that post in 1850 and 1851. In 1852, Smyth was elected to his first term as mayor of Manchester. He was reelected in 1853 and 1854. As mayor he oversaw the construction of the city's first highways, the first water and sewer systems, the first sidewalks, and streetlights. He is credited with the idea of planting trees along city streets to provide shade and maintain the natural beauty of the city. In 1857 and 1858, he served in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Manchester's Ward 3. An unsuccessful candidate in 1860, Smyth was finally elected Governor on the Republican ticket in 1865 and 1866. As governor he focused on stabilizing the state's wartime finances, which were in disarray because of Civil War military expenditures. He borrowed $1.2 million to fund the state's war debt, and settled all state claims against the federal government. He oversaw a revision of state statutes, was a strong supporter of passage of the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, undertook to restore fish to state rivers, began publication of state papers, and in 1866 signed a bill providing for the incorporation of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (University of New Hampshire). He later served on the board of managers of the National Homes for Disabled Soldiers and as president of the Concord and Montreal Railroad.

Henry W. Herrick (1824-1906), son of Israel E. and Martha (Trow) Herrick, was born in Hopkinton, NH, lived in Concord, Nashua, and Manchester, and was educated at the Hancock Academy. Herrick moved to New York City in 1844, where he studied at the National Academy of Design and worked as an engraver for book publishers, engraved bank notes, and taught art. In 1865 Herrick returned to Manchester, where he continued to work as an engraver and painter of portraits and landscapes until his death in 1906.

Credit Line:

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thorner, in memory of Walter and Lepha Davis

People:

Herrick, Henry W. (1824-1906), Smyth, Frederick (1819-1899)

Subjects:

Smyth, Frederick