Title: Henry Hubbard
Object Name: Painting
Object ID: 2017.004.01
Creator: Harding, Chester (1792-1866)
Place of Origin: Boston, MA
Date: 1846 circa
Description: Portrait of Henry Hubbard (1784-1857) of Charlestown, NH, attributed to Chester Harding (1792-1866). Oil on canvas. Oval bust-length portrait of balding man with white hair, wearing black coat and tie, white shirt, and high white collar. Red drapery in left background. In oval frame.
Material: Textile
Dimensions: H-24 W-20 inches
Provenance: According to family history, artist Chester Harding painted and drew the portraits of Henry Hubbard and Sally Walker Dean Hubbard. The Hubbards moved to Boston in 1846 when Henry was appointed Sub-Treasurer of the United States by President James K. Polk. Harding was a popular Boston painter beginning in the 1820s, painting portraits of many of the prominent men and women of his time, including James Madison, James Monroe, Daniel Webster, John Quincy Adams, Daniel Boone, Chief Justice John Marshall, and Civil War Major General William T. Sherman.
Henry Hubbard, the son of John and Prudence (Stevens) Hubbard, was born and educated in Charlestown, NH. After graduating from Dartmouth college in 1803, Hubbard studied law in the office of Jeremiah Mason of Portsmouth. He eventually returned to Charlestown where he practiced law and became active in town politics, serving as selectman, moderator, town clerk, and representative in the New Hampshire legislature. After a decade of service in the legislature, he was chosen speaker of the house in 1825. During the 1820s he also served as solicitor for Cheshire County and Judge of Probate for Sullivan County. A Democrat, in 1829 he was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, serving until his election to the United States Senate in 1834, serving one six-year term. He returned to the practice of law in Charlestown in 1840. A popular orator and respected legal mind, Hubbard was next elected to serve as governor in 1842 and 1843. Returning to the practice of law, Hubbard was appointed Sub-Treasurer of the United States by President James K. Polk, serving from 1846 to 1849. Henry Hubbard married Sally Walker Dean (1795-1876), daughter of Aaron and Phyla (walker) Dean of Charlestown, November 30, 1813. They had five children. The portraits descended through the eldest son of Henry and Sally Hubbard, Henry Hubbard (1817-1876) to their great-great-great grand-daughter, the donor, Elizabeth Strode.
Credit Line: Gift of Elizabeth Strode
People:
Hubbard, Henry (1784-1857)
Subjects:
Hubbard, Henry