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88-505: A total of 72,000 visits were made to the museum in the year ending June 30, 2009, and another 16,000 visits were made to the museum's satellite gallery at TheatreWorks in Hartford, Connecticut . Walnut Hill Park , designed by Frederick Law Olmsted , is next to the museum. The museum's origins are in the "New Britain Institute", chartered in 1853 with the goal of fostering education and art in

176-447: A collection now worth millions. A wealthy widow, Grace Judd Landers, expected to donate a large amount of money to the museum, but she lost her money in the stock market crash of 1929, and so donated her house as a museum in 1934. Sanford B. D. Low, a son-in-law of William H. Hart, at one time president of New Britain's Stanley Works , was the museum's first director. He acquired a number of works by his friend, Thomas Hart Benton , for

264-608: A constrained and unnatural position, which is a trial to the temper. But I should like to sit to Stuart from the first of January to the last of December, for he lets me do just what I please, and keeps me constantly amused by his conversation. Stuart was known for working without the aid of sketches, beginning directly upon the canvas. His approach is suggested by the advice which he gave to his pupil Matthew Harris Jouett : "Never be sparing of colour, load your pictures, but keep your colours as separate as you can. No blending, tis destruction to clear & bea[u]tiful effect." Although this

352-513: A couple of families and a few dozen soldiers. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but the area is known today as Dutch Point; the name of the Dutch fort "House of Hope" is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue. A significant reason for establishment of the Dutch trading post was to better control the flow of wampum , the de facto currency of New Netherland and portions of New England, to and from valuable Native American fur traders. The Dutch outpost and

440-521: A household in the city was $ 20,820, and the median income for a family was $ 22,051. Males had a median income of $ 28,444 versus $ 26,131 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 13,428. Hartford is a center for medical care, research, and education. Within the city of Hartford itself, hospitals include Hartford Hospital , The Institute of Living , Connecticut Children's Medical Center , and Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center (which merged in 1990 with Mount Sinai Hospital ). Hartford

528-685: A huge commercial success, and production expanded in the Weed factory, with Weed making every part but the tires. Demand for bicycles overshadowed the failing sewing machine market by 1890, so Pope bought the Weed factory, took over as its president, and renamed it the Pope Manufacturing Company . The bicycle boom was short-lived, peaking near the turn of the century when more and more consumers craved individual automobile travel, and Pope's company suffered financially from over-production amidst falling demand. In an effort to save his business, Pope opened

616-534: A life mask of Stuart around 1825. In 1940, the U.S. Post Office issued a series of postage stamps called the " Famous Americans Series " commemorating famous artists, authors, inventors, scientists, poets, educators, and musicians. Gilbert Stuart is found on the 1 cent issue in the artists category, along with James McNeill Whistler , Augustus Saint-Gaudens , Daniel Chester French , and Frederic Remington . Today, Stuart's birthplace in Saunderstown , Rhode Island ,

704-760: A local carpenter. His family recovered from their financial troubles 10 years later, and they planned to move his body to a family cemetery in Newport. However, they could not remember the exact location of his body, and it was never moved. There is a monument for Stuart, his wife, and their children at the Common Burying Ground in Newport. The Boston Athenæum held a benefit exhibition of Stuart's works in August 1828 in an effort to provide financial aid for his family. More than 250 portraits were lent for this critically acclaimed and well-subscribed exhibition. This also marked

792-549: A matinee performance of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus on Barbour Street in the city's north end and became known as the Hartford Circus Fire . After World War II , many residents of Puerto Rico moved to Hartford. Starting in the late 1950s, the suburbs ringing Hartford began to grow and flourish and the capital city began a long decline. Insurance giant Connecticut General (now CIGNA ) moved to

880-570: A mission to establish a trading post and fortify the area for the Dutch West India Company . The original site was located on the south bank of the Park River in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was called Fort Hoop or the "House of Hope." In 1633, Jacob Van Curler formally bought the land around Fort Hoop from the Pequot chief for a small sum. It was home to perhaps

968-469: A motor carriage department and turned out electric carriages, beginning with the "Mark III" in 1897. His venture might have made Hartford the capital of the automobile industry were it not for the ascendancy of Henry Ford and a series of pitfalls and patent struggles that outlived Pope himself. In 1876, Hartford Machine Screw was granted a charter "for the purpose of manufacturing screws, hardware and machinery of every variety." The basis for its incorporation

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1056-602: A new factory adjacent to Weed, where it remained until 1948. On the week of April 12, 1909, the Connecticut River reached a record flood stage of 24.5 feet (7.5 meters) above the low-water mark, flooding the city of Hartford and doing great damage. On July 6, 1944, Hartford was the scene of one of the worst fire disasters in the history of the United States. Claiming the lives of 168 persons, mostly children and their mothers, and injuring several hundred more. It occurred at

1144-457: A new technology innovation hub in Hartford, creating up to 1,000 jobs by 2022. The Hartford technology innovation hub will focus on three key sectors- insurance, healthcare and manufacturing. Hartford has continued to attract technology companies including CGI Inc. , Covr Financial Technologies, GalaxE. Solutions, HCL Technologies and Larsen & Toubro . Insurance software provided Insurity

1232-419: A new, modern campus in the suburb of Bloomfield . Constitution Plaza had been hailed as a model of urban renewal, but it gradually became a concrete office park. Once-flourishing department stores shut down, such as Brown Thomson, Sage-Allen , and G. Fox & Co. , as suburban malls grew in popularity, such as Westfarms and Buckland Hills . In 1997, the city lost its professional hockey franchise, with

1320-405: A nineteenth-century palazzo on Asylum Street. Bank of America and People's United Financial have a significant corporate presence in Hartford. In 2009, Northeast Utilities , a Fortune 500 company and New England's largest energy utility, announced it would establish its corporate headquarters downtown. Hartford is a burgeoning technology hub. In March 2018, Infosys announced that opening of

1408-491: A portraitist were jeopardized by the onset of the American Revolution and its social disruptions. Although he was a patriot , he departed for England in 1775 following the example set by John Singleton Copley . His painting style during this period began to develop beyond the relatively hard-edged and linear style that he had learned from Alexander. He was unsuccessful at first in pursuit of his vocation, but he became

1496-540: A protégé of Benjamin West in 1777 and studied with him for the next six years. The relationship was beneficial, with Stuart exhibiting for the first time at the Royal Academy in spring of 1777. By 1782, Stuart had met with success, largely due to acclaim for The Skater , a portrait of Sir William Grant . It was Stuart's first full-length portrait and, according to a rival, it belied the prevailing opinion that Stuart "made

1584-461: A sermon that inspired the writing of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut , which provided a framework for Connecticut's separation for Massachusetts Bay Colony and the formation of a civil government. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were the legal basis for Connecticut Colony until the 1662 royal charter granted to Connecticut by Charles II . The original settlement area contained

1672-405: A shrinking population base and high pension obligations, a $ 65 million budget gap was projected for the year of 2018. The city had cut budget of public services and gotten union concessions however these measures did not balance the budget. A state bailout later that year kept the city from filing for bankruptcy. Downtown Hartford is busy during the day with commuters, but tends to be quiet in

1760-567: A stroke which left him partially paralyzed, but he continued to paint for two years until his death in Boston on July 9, 1828, at 72. He was buried in the Central Burial Ground at Boston Common . Stuart left his family deeply in debt, and his wife and daughters were unable to purchase a grave site. He was, therefore, buried in an unmarked grave which was purchased cheaply from Benjamin Howland,

1848-493: A studio in Washington, D. C. Stuart moved to Devonshire Street in Boston in 1805, continuing in both critical acclaim and financial troubles. He exhibited works locally at Doggett's Repository and Julien Hall . Predictably, he was sought out for advice by other Amertican artists, such as John Trumbull , Thomas Sully , Washington Allston , and John Vanderlyn . Stuart married Charlotte Coates around September 1786; she

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1936-704: A tolerable likeness of a face, but as to the figure, he could not get below the fifth button'". Stuart said that he was "suddenly lifted into fame by a single picture". The prices for his pictures were exceeded only by those of renowned English artists Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough . Despite his many commissions, however, he was habitually neglectful of finances and was in danger of being sent to debtors' prison . In 1787, he fled to Dublin, Ireland where he painted and accumulated debt with equal vigor. Stuart ended his 18-year stay in Britain and Ireland in 1793, leaving behind numerous unfinished paintings. He returned to

2024-531: A village of North Kingstown in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations , and he was baptized at Old Narragansett Church on April 11, 1756. He was the third child of Gilbert Stuart, a Scottish immigrant employed in the snuff -making industry, and Elizabeth Anthony Stuart, a member of a prominent land-owning family from Middletown, Rhode Island . Stuart's father owned the first snuff mill in America, which

2112-537: Is also headquartered in the city. Gilbert Stuart Gilbert Stuart ( né Stewart ; December 3, 1755 – July 9, 1828) was an American painter born in the Rhode Island Colony who is widely considered one of America's foremost portraitists. His best-known work is an unfinished portrait of George Washington , begun in 1796, which is usually referred to as the Athenaeum Portrait . Stuart retained

2200-560: Is also part of the collection. The painting is an allegorical tribute to those lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 . The museum is the first to build a collection of Post-contemporary Art, centered around Parrish's 9/11 painting and including works by Tony Curanaj, Daniel Maidman , Richard T. Scott , Sadie Valerie, Stephanie Deshpande , and Patricia Watwood , among others. 41°39′51″N 72°47′30″W  /  41.6643°N 72.7917°W  / 41.6643; -72.7917 Hartford, Connecticut Hartford

2288-412: Is also the historic international center of the insurance industry, with companies like Aetna , Conning & Company , The Hartford , Harvard Pilgrim Health Care , The Phoenix Companies , and Hartford Steam Boiler based in the city, and companies like Prudential Financial , Lincoln National Corporation , Sun Life Financial Travelers , United Healthcare and Axa XL having major operations in

2376-444: Is an exaggeration to avoid muddiness, Stuart's colors were remarkably fresh. At Stuart's best, he had an extraordinary ability to convey the impression of "luminous, transparent flesh" with color coming from beneath. The face seemed to be embued with life, while the beauty of its coloring conveyed a spiritual quality to contemporaries. Although uneven, he could produce astonishingly strong likenesses. John Henri Isaac Browere created

2464-422: Is approximately 47.05 inches (1,200 mm), which is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year. Hartford typically receives about 51.7 inches (131 cm) of snow in an average winter—about 40% more than coastal Connecticut cities like New Haven, Stamford, and New London. Seasonal snowfall has ranged from 115.2 inches (293 cm) during the winter of 1995–96 to 13.5 inches (34 cm) in 1999–2000. During

2552-552: Is home of the University of Hartford and also houses the largest per capita of residents claiming Jamaican-American heritage in the United States. Other neighborhoods in Hartford include Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Clay Arsenal, South West, and Upper Albany, which is dotted by many Caribbean restaurants and specialty stores. At the 2010 United States census , there were 124,775 people, 44,986 households, and 27,171 families residing in

2640-404: Is home to Keney Park and a number of the city's oldest and most ornate homes. The South End features "Little Italy" and was the home of Hartford's sizeable Italian community. South Green hosts Hartford Hospital . The South Meadows is the site of Hartford–Brainard Airport and Hartford's industrial community. The North Meadows has retail strips, car dealerships, and Comcast Theatre. Blue Hills

2728-564: Is open to the public as the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum. The birthplace consists of the original house where he was born, with copies of his paintings hanging throughout the house, as well as a separate art gallery in which are displayed several original paintings by both Gilbert Stuart and his daughter Jane. The museum opened in 1931. Gilbert Stuart's paintings of Washington, Jefferson, and others have served as models for dozens of U.S. postage stamps. Washington's image from

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2816-618: Is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut . The city, located in Hartford County , had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 census . Hartford is the most populous city in the Capitol Planning Region and the core city of the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Founded in 1635, Hartford is among the oldest cities in the United States. It is home to the country's oldest public art museum ( Wadsworth Atheneum ),

2904-651: Is the second-largest concentration of Puerto Ricans in the Northeast , behind only Holyoke, Massachusetts , approximately 30 miles (48 km) to the north along the Connecticut River. There are small but recognizable concentrations of people with origins in Mexico, Colombia , Peru , and the Dominican Republic as well. Among the non-Hispanic population, the largest ancestry group is from Jamaica ; in 2014, Hartford

2992-454: The 1938 New England Hurricane , as well as with Hurricane Irene in 2011. The highest officially recorded temperature is 103 °F (39 °C) on July 22, 2011, and the lowest is −26 °F (−32 °C) on January 22, 1961; the record cold daily maximum is −2 °F (−19 °C) on December 2, 1917, while, conversely, the record warm daily minimum is 80 °F (27 °C) on July 31, 1917. The central business district, as well as

3080-538: The American Civil War . Since 2015, it has been one of the poorest cities in the country, with three out of ten families living below the poverty threshold. In sharp contrast, the Greater Hartford metropolitan statistical area was ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production and 8th out of 280 metropolitan statistical areas in per capita income in 2015. Nicknamed the "Insurance Capital of

3168-638: The Germantown section of Philadelphia , where he opened a studio, and Washington posed for him later that year. Stuart painted Washington in a series of iconic portraits, each of them leading to a demand for copies and keeping him busy and highly paid for years. The most famous and celebrated of these likenesses, the Athenaeum portrait, is portrayed on the United States one-dollar bill . Stuart painted about 50 reproductions of it. However, he avoided completing

3256-582: The Hartford Whalers moving to Raleigh, North Carolina—despite an increase in season ticket sales and an offer from the state for a new arena. In 2005, a developer from Newton, Massachusetts tried unsuccessfully to bring an NHL team back to Hartford and house them in a new, publicly funded stadium. Hartford experienced problems as the population shrank 11 percent during the 1990s. Only Flint, Michigan ; Gary, Indiana ; St. Louis, Missouri ; and Baltimore , Maryland experienced larger population losses during

3344-958: The Podunks , mostly east of the Connecticut River; the Poquonocks north and west of Hartford; the Massacoes in the Simsbury area; the Tunxis tribe in West Hartford and Farmington ; the Wangunks to the south; and the Saukiog in Hartford itself. The first Europeans known to have explored the area were the Dutch under Adriaen Block , who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam returned in 1623 with

3432-562: The 2 silver dollar bill of 1899, and the one dollar note of (1918 to 2023). United States one-dollar bills featured the image for decades (1918 to 2023). The painting was jointly purchased by the National Portrait Gallery and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1980, and is generally on display in the National Portrait Gallery. Another celebrated image of Washington is the full-length Lansdowne portrait , now in

3520-454: The Dutch fort. The settlement was originally called Newtown, but it was changed to Hartford in 1637 in honor of Stone's hometown of Hertford , England. Hooker also created the nearby town of Windsor in 1633. The etymology of Hartford is the ford where harts cross, or "deer crossing." As the Puritan minister in Hartford, Thomas Hooker wielded a great deal of power; in 1638, he delivered

3608-566: The Henry Luce Foundation. In 2003, the 43,000-square-foot (4,000 m) Chase Family Building was constructed, doubling the museum's size. During Hyland's tenure (as of 2009), the New Britain museum building was renovated, and the museum doubled its collection to 10,000 objects, doubled its full-time staff to 24 employees, doubled its docents to 100 and nearly tripled memberships from 1,200 to 3,500. The museum's $ 3.92 million in income for

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3696-640: The National Portrait Gallery. Its historical importance is almost matched by an early forgery based on it which was purchased for the White House . This painting was rescued during the Burning of Washington in the War of 1812 thanks to the efforts of First Lady Dolley Madison and Paul Jennings , one of President James Madison 's slaves . Three replicas of the original portrait are accepted as by Stuart. Additional copies were painted by other artists. In 1803, Stuart opened

3784-603: The Sanford B. D. Low Memorial Illustration Collection was inaugurated. The first museum collection of American illustration in the United States, it now holds over 1,700 works dating from the 19th century. Douglas Hyland became executive director of the museum in 1999 after having been director of the San Antonio Museum . He raised funds from new donors outside of New Britain, including the Walton Family Foundation and

3872-542: The State Capitol, Old State House and a number of museums and shops are located Downtown. Parkville, home to Real Art Ways , is named for the confluence of the north and the south branches of the Park River. Frog Hollow, in close proximity to Downtown, is home to Pope Park and Trinity College , which is one of the nation's oldest institutions of higher learning. Asylum Hill, a mixed residential and commercial area, houses

3960-928: The United States and the United Kingdom, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Frick Collection in New York City , the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. , the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia , the National Portrait Gallery in London , Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts , and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts . Stuart was born on December 3, 1755, in Saunderstown ,

4048-506: The United States with a particular goal of painting a portrait of George Washington and having an engraver reproduce it and provide for his family through the engraving's sale. He settled briefly in New York City and pursued portrait commissions from influential people who could bring him to Washington's attention. In 1794, he painted statesman John Jay , from whom he received a letter of introduction to Washington. In 1795, Stuart moved to

4136-593: The Weed Sewing Machine Company took over its factory. The invention of a new type of sewing machine led to a new application of mass production after the principles of interchangeability were applied to clocks and guns. The Weed Company played a major role in making Hartford one of three machine tool centers in New England and even outranked the Colt Armory in nearby Coltsville in size. Weed eventually became

4224-685: The World" and "America's filing cabinet", the city holds high sufficiency as a global city , as home to the headquarters of many insurance companies, the region's major industry. Other prominent industries include the services, education and healthcare industries. Hartford coordinates certain Hartford–Springfield regional development matters through the Knowledge Corridor Economic Partnership. Various tribes lived in or around Hartford, all Algonquian peoples . These included

4312-520: The banks of the Connecticut River. These events are held outdoors and include live music, festivals, dance, arts and crafts. Hartford also has a vibrant theater scene with major Broadway productions at the Bushnell Theater as well as performances at the Hartford Stage and TheaterWorks (City Arts). In July 2017, Hartford considered filing Chapter 9 bankruptcy . After years of contending with

4400-405: The beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief." Hartford has been the sole capital of Connecticut since 1875. (Before then, New Haven and Hartford alternated as dual capitals, as part of the agreement by which the Colony of New Haven was absorbed into the Colony of Connecticut in 1664.) Hartford was the richest city in the United States for several decades following

4488-505: The birthplace of both the bicycle and automobile industries in Hartford. Industrialist Albert Pope was inspired by a British-made, high-wheeled bicycle (called a velocipede) that he saw at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition , and he bought patent rights for bicycle production in the United States. He wanted to contract out his first order, however, so he approached George Fairfield of Weed Sewing Machine Company, who produced Pope's first run of bicycles in 1878. Bicycles proved to be

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4576-407: The boundary between Hartford and East Hartford, and is located on the east side of the city. The Park River originally divided Hartford into northern and southern sections and was a major part of Bushnell Park , but the river was nearly completely enclosed and buried by flood control projects in the 1940s. The former course of the river can still be seen in some of the roadways that were built in

4664-715: The city, especially among its immigrant population. In 1903, the museum received a bequest of $ 20,000 from John Butler Talcott to acquire "original modern oil paintings either by native or foreign artists". Talcott's nephew was tonalist Allen Butler Talcott of the Old Lyme Art Colony . Bryson Burroughs , then curator of paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, suggested to museum officials that directing their efforts at acquiring American art would be most cost-effective. The museum took his advice and seldom spent more than $ 1,000 for any artwork, amassing

4752-467: The city. At the American Community Survey 's 2019 estimates, the population increased to 123,088. The 2020 United States census tabulated a population of 121,054. Hartford's racial and ethnic makeup in 2019 was 36.0% White, 42.7% Black or African American, 23.7% some other race, 3.4% Asian, 1.2% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.3% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders. 43.4% of

4840-645: The city. Insurance giant Aetna had its headquarters in Hartford before announcing a relocation to New York City in July 2017. However, when CVS acquired Aetna a few months later, they announced Aetna would remain in Hartford for at least four years. The city is also home to the corporate headquarters of CareCentrix, Choice Merchant Solutions, Global Atlantic Financial Group, Hartford Healthcare, Insurity, LAZ Parking, ProPark Mobility, U.S. Fire Arms , and Virtus Investment Partners . In 2008, Sovereign Bank consolidated two bank branches as well as its regional headquarters in

4928-742: The city. This type of event caught on and eventually became a staple of mid-to-late 19th-century campaigning. Hartford was a major manufacturing city from the 19th century until the mid-20th century. During the Industrial Revolution into the mid-20th century, the Connecticut River Valley cities produced many major precision manufacturing innovations. Among these was Hartford's pioneer bicycle and automobile maker Pope . Many factories have been closed or relocated, or have reduced operations, as in nearly all former Northern manufacturing cities. Around 1850, Hartford native Samuel Colt perfected

5016-521: The company expanded into aircraft engine design at its Hartford factory. Just three years after Colt's first factory opened, the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company set up shop in 1852 at a nearby site along the now-buried Park River , located in the present-day neighborhood of Frog Hollow . Their factory heralded the beginning of the area's transformation from marshy farmland into a major industrial zone. The road leading from town to

5104-473: The decade. However, the population has increased since the 2000 Census. In 1987, Carrie Saxon Perry was elected mayor of Hartford, becoming the first female African-American mayor of a major American city. Riverfront Plaza was opened in 1999, connecting the riverfront and the downtown area for the first time since the 1960s. A significant number of cultural events and performances take place every year at Mortensen Plaza (Riverfront Recapture Organization) by

5192-615: The evenings and weekends. However, more residential and retail development in recent years has begun changing the pattern. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 18.0 square miles (47 km ), of which 17.3 square miles (45 km ) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km ) (3.67%) is water. The city of Hartford is bordered by the towns of West Hartford , Newington , Wethersfield , East Hartford , Bloomfield , South Windsor , Glastonbury , and Windsor . The Connecticut River forms

5280-425: The factory was called Rifle Lane; the name was later changed to College Street and then Capitol Avenue. A century earlier, mills had located along the Park River because of the water power, but by the 1850s water power was approaching obsolescence. Sharps located there specifically to take advantage of the railroad line that had been constructed alongside the river in 1838. The Sharps Rifle Company failed in 1870, and

5368-429: The first public showing of his unfinished 1796 Athenæum portrait of Washington . By the end of his career, Gilbert Stuart had painted the likenesses of more than 1,000 American political and social figures. He was praised for the vitality and naturalness of his portraits, and his subjects found his company agreeable. John Adams said: Speaking generally, no penance is like having one's picture done. You must sit in

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5456-1141: The fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, revenue was up slightly from the $ 3.86 million of the previous fiscal year. The permanent collection includes colonial portraits, works from the Hudson River School , American Impressionists and the Ash Can School . The collection includes works by John Singleton Copley , Marcus Jansen , Frederic Church , Thomas Cole , Rockwell Kent , Georgia O'Keeffe , N.C. Wyeth , Andrew Wyeth , and Sol LeWitt . American Colonial and Federal-era portraits are represented with works by John Smibert , John Trumbull , Mather Brown , John Singleton Copley , Charles Willson Peale , Sarah Peale , Gilbert Stuart , and Ralph Earl . The museum's holdings of early and late Hudson River School paintings include landscapes by Thomas Cole , Thomas Doughty , Asher B. Durand , Fitz Hugh Lane , Martin Johnson Heade , John Kensett , Albert Bierstadt , and Frederic Church . Nineteenth-century still life works at

5544-661: The five New England states ( Maine was still part of Massachusetts at that time) gathered at the Hartford Convention to discuss New England's possible secession from the United States. During the early 19th century, the Hartford area was a center of abolitionist activity, and the most famous abolitionist family was the Beechers. The Reverend Lyman Beecher was an important Congregational minister known for his anti-slavery sermons. His daughter Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin ; her brother Henry Ward Beecher

5632-424: The guidance of Alexander, Stuart painted the portrait Dr. Hunter's Spaniels when he was 14; it hangs today in the Hunter House Mansion in Newport. In 1771, Stuart moved to Scotland with Alexander to finish his studies; however, Alexander died in Edinburgh one year later. Stuart tried to maintain a living and pursue his painting career, but to no avail, so he returned to Newport in 1773. Stuart's prospects as

5720-491: The headquarters of several insurance companies as well as the historic homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe . The West End, home to the Governor's residence, Elizabeth Park , and the University of Connecticut School of Law , abuts the Hartford Golf Club. Sheldon Charter Oak is renowned as the location of the Charter Oak and its successor monument as well as the former Colt headquarters including Samuel Colt 's family estate, Armsmear . The North East neighborhood

5808-487: The line that they agreed on was more than 50 miles (80 km) west of the original settlement. The English began to arrive in 1636, settling upstream from Fort Hoop near the present-day Downtown and Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhoods. Puritan pastors Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone , along with Governor John Haynes , led 100 settlers with 130 head of cattle in a trek from Newtown in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Cambridge ) and started their settlement just north of

5896-715: The museum include a pastel by Mary Cassatt and works by Theodore Robinson , John Henry Twachtman , J. Alden Weir , Willard Metcalf , and 11 oil paintings by Childe Hassam . Among the later Impressionist works are paintings by William Glackens , Ernest Lawson , Frederick Carl Frieseke , Louis Ritman , Richard Emil Miller , and Maurice Prendergast . The collection also includes the mural series "The Arts of Life in America" by Thomas Hart Benton . The museum's contemporary art holdings include works by Chuck Close , Dan Flavin , Eva Hesse , Julie Heffernan , Walton Ford , Ronnie Landfield , and Graydon Parrish . Graydon Parrish's large realist painting The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy

5984-670: The museum include paintings by Raphaelle Peale , Severin Roesen , William Harnett , John Peto , John Haberle , and John La Farge . Genre painting and sculpture is represented by John Quidor , William Sidney Mount , Lilly Martin Spencer , John George Brown , and John Rogers . The museum's holdings in post-Civil War figural painting and sculpture, include works by Winslow Homer , Thomas Eakins , Mary Cassatt , John Singer Sargent , J. Alden Weir , George de Forest Brush , Joseph DeCamp , Frank Benson , Edmund C. Tarbell , William Paxton , Elizabeth Nourse , and 19 plasters and bronzes by Solon Borglum . Works by American Impressionists at

6072-439: The museum. Both Low and Benton were part of a high-spirited circle of friends (including James Cagney ) who spent summers at Hart Haven, William Hart's summer place on Martha's Vineyard where both Low and Benton painted together (Hart was no relation to Thomas Hart Benton). In the late 1940s, Low found out that the Whitney Museum in New York City was rumored to be ready to sell Benton's "The Arts of Life in America" series, which

6160-450: The north. The white population forms a majority in only two census tracts: the downtown area and the far northwest. Nevertheless, many areas in the middle of the city, in Asylum Hill, and in West End, have a significant white population. More than three-quarters (77%) of the Hispanic population was Puerto Rican (with more than half born on the island of Puerto Rico) and fully 33.7% of all Hartford residents claimed Puerto Rican heritage. This

6248-468: The oldest publicly funded park ( Bushnell Park ), the oldest continuously published newspaper (the Hartford Courant ), the second-oldest secondary school ( Hartford Public High School ), and the oldest school for deaf children ( American School for the Deaf ), founded by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet in 1817. It is the location of the Mark Twain House , in which the author Mark Twain wrote his most famous works and raised his family. He wrote in 1868, "Of all

6336-461: The original and used it to paint scores of copies that were commissioned by patrons in America and abroad. The image of George Washington featured in the painting has appeared on the United States one-dollar bill for more than a century and on various postage stamps of the 19th century and early 20th century. Stuart produced portraits of about 1,000 people, including the first six Presidents . His work can be found today at art museums throughout

6424-460: The original version. After finishing Washington's face, he kept it to make copies which he sold for $ 100 each. Thus the original portrait remained in its unfinished state at the time of his death in 1828. An engraver at the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing , George Frederick Cumming Smillie , made an etching of the painting which was used on multiple banknotes. A vignette of the portrait appears on

6512-539: The period from April through October is warm to hot in Hartford, with the hottest months being June, July, and August. In the summer months there is often high humidity and occasional (but brief) thundershowers. The cool to cold months are from November through March, with the coldest months in December, January, and February having average highs of 35 to 38 °F (2 to 3 °C) and overnight lows of around 18 to 23 °F (−8 to −5 °C). The average annual precipitation

6600-446: The population were Hispanic or Latino, chiefly of Puerto Rican origin. Non-Hispanic Whites were 15.8% of the population in 2010. The city's Hispanic and Latino population primarily consisted of Puerto Ricans (33.63%), Dominicans (3.0%), Mexicans (1.6%), Cubans (0.4%) and other Hispanic or Latinos at 5.63%. The Hispanic and Latino population is concentrated on the city's south side, while African Americans are concentrated in

6688-550: The precision manufacturing process that enabled the mass production of thousands of his revolvers with interchangeable parts. A variety of industries adopted and adapted these techniques over the next several decades, and Hartford became the center of production for a wide array of products, including: Colt , Richard Gatling , and John Browning firearms; Weed sewing machines ; Columbia bicycles; Pope automobiles; and leading typewriter manufacturers Royal Typewriter Company and Underwood Typewriter Company which together made Hartford

6776-634: The river's place, such as Jewell Street and the Conlin-Whitehead Highway . The Köppen climate classification categorizes Hartford as the hot-summer humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ) bordering on Cfa humid subtropical under the 0 °C isotherm. Winters are moderately cold, with periods of snow, while summers are hot and humid. Spring and fall are normally transition seasons, with weather ranging from warm to cool. The city of Hartford lies in USDA Hardiness zone 6b-7a. Seasonally,

6864-464: The site of the Charter Oak , an old white oak tree in which colonists hid Connecticut's Royal Charter of 1662 to protect it from confiscation by an English governor-general. The state adopted the oak tree as the emblem on the Connecticut state quarter. The Charter Oak Monument is located at the corner of Charter Oak Place, a historic street, and Charter Oak Avenue. On December 15, 1814, delegates from

6952-424: The summer, temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on an average of 17 days per year; in the winter, overnight temperatures can dip to a range of 5 to −5 °F (−15 to −21 °C) on at least one night a year. Tropical storms and hurricanes have also struck Hartford, although the occurrence of such systems is rare and is usually confined to the remnants of such storms. Hartford saw extensive damage from

7040-455: The tiny contingent of Dutch soldiers who were stationed there did little to check the English migration, and the Dutch soon realized that they were vastly outnumbered. The House of Hope remained an outpost, but it was steadily swallowed up by waves of English settlers. In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant met with English representatives to negotiate a permanent boundary between the Dutch and English colonies;

7128-589: The “Typewriter Capitol of the World” during the first half of the 20th century. The Pratt & Whitney Company was founded in Hartford in 1860 by Francis A. Pratt and Amos Whitney. They built a substantial factory in which the company manufactured a wide range of machine tools, including tools for the makers of sewing machines, and gun-making machinery for use by the Union Army during the American Civil War. In 1925,

7216-527: Was 13 years his junior and "exceedingly pretty". They had 12 children, five of whom died by 1815 and two others of whom died in their youth. Their daughter Jane (1812–1888) was also a painter. She sold many of his paintings and her replicas of them from her studios in Boston and Newport, Rhode Island . In 2011, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame . In 1824, Stuart suffered

7304-456: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.33. In the city, the population distribution skews young: 30.1% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males. The median income for

7392-489: Was a noted clergyman who vehemently opposed slavery and supported the temperance movement and women's suffrage. The Stowes' sister Isabella Beecher Hooker was a leading member of the women's rights movement . In 1860, Hartford was the site of the first " Wide Awakes ", abolitionist supporters of Abraham Lincoln . These supporters organized torch-light parades that were both political and social events, often including fireworks and music, in celebration of Lincoln's visit to

7480-461: Was home to an estimated 11,400 Jamaican Americans , as well as another 1,200 people who identified otherwise as West Indian Americans . There were 44,986 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.2% were married couples living together, 29.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.6% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who

7568-408: Was located in the basement of the family homestead. Stuart moved to Newport, Rhode Island , at the age of six, where his father pursued work in the merchant field. In Newport, he first began to show great promise as a painter. In 1770, he made the acquaintance of Scottish artist Cosmo Alexander , a visitor to the colonies who made portraits of local patrons and who became a tutor to Stuart. Under

7656-452: Was out of fashion as representational art. Benton had believed he was cheated when he sold the murals to the Whitney's director, Juliana Force. Low arranged to have the New Britain museum acquire the works for $ 500, paid for by Alix Stanley, a member of the family which founded Stanley Works. The purchase price was less than it cost to hire a crane for the move and transport the pictures. In 1964

7744-401: Was the invention of the first single-spindle automatic screw machine. For its next four years, the new firm occupied one of Weed's buildings, milling thousands of screws daily on over 50 machines. Its president was George Fairfield, who ran Weed, and its superintendent was Christopher Spencer, one of Connecticut's most versatile inventors. Soon Hartford Machine Screw outgrew its quarters and built

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