Sketchbook

Object Name:

Sketchbook

Object ID:

2021.005.01

Creator:

Tenney, Ulysses D. (1826-1908)Artist

Date:

1875-1900

Description:

Sketchbook containing pencil drawings by Ulysses D. Tenney (1826-1908). Leatherbound cardboard, with marbleized covers. Small folio size, folded paper leaves. 32 pages of drawings, some dated 1877. Subjects include portions of human figures, portraits, landscape elements, and one loose watercolor portrait of a woman.

Material:

Paper
Leather

Dimensions:

H-15.5 W-10.4 D-1 inches

Provenance:

Artist Ulysses Dow Tenney (1826-1908) was born in Hanover, NH, son of John Tenney and Tryphena Dow. Ulysses began painting portraits during the mid-1840s, and by the late 1840s, he and his uncle, Adna Tenney (1810-1900), became the most prolific portrait painters in New Hampshire. Over forty years while residents of Hanover, Concord, Manchester, Portsmouth, and other cities, they painted portraits of businessmen, politicians, and community leaders. During the 1870s, the Tenneys were best known for their portraits of politicians and government officials, commissioned to fill the halls of the New Hampshire State House. By 1874, U. D. Tenney had settled permanently in Portsmouth, where he lived until his death in 1908.

The donor purchased the sketchbook from an antique dealer, who had acquired it from the estate of Thorvald Tenney (1930-2019) of Peterborough, NH, a descendant of Ulysses D. Tenney.

Credit Line:

Gift of Warren F. Broderick

People:

Tenney, Ulysses D. (1826-1908)

Subjects:

Sketchbooks, Sketches