York Viking Press, 1963),P.57.Paine's autobiography has not been used previously as the basis ofan article describing her life and paintings. 2 Susanna Paine,Roses and Thorns, or Recollections ofan Artist: A Tale ofTruth,for the Grave and Gay(Providence: B.T. Albro, 1854). All quotes,including italicized text, are from this source. Copies can be found at the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester,Mass.; the New-York Historical Society, New York; and the Library of Congress,Washington,D.C.The entire text
THE OLDRIDGE FAMILY New England 1839 째lion wood panels 30 x 25" each Private collection, courtesy Skinner Inc., Bolton, Massachusetts Portrait of the oldest son (bottom right) signed and dated on reverse: Painted Nov. 1839 by Miss Susan Paine
is available at the website ofAuburn University Library, Alabama (www.lib.auburn.edu). 3 If a date is given with a month,it represents an event for which documentation has been found.Ifonly a year is given,the date should be considered accurate within one or two years. Sources of dates, names,and locations include James N.Arnold, VitalRecord ofRehoboth, 1642-1896(Providence: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1897), vols. 1-4;James N. Arnold, Vital Record ofRhode Island, 1636-1858(Providence: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1891-1912),vols. 1-21;federal and Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine censuses, 1800-1860; and the websites Family Search (www.familysearch.org) and Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com). We particularly note the value of Charles K. Bolton's unpublished manuscript from 1939, Workers with Line and Color in New England,in the Boston Athenaeum. 4 The land that was the town of Rehoboth,Mass.,at Paine's birth,in 1792,is today found in both Massachusetts(Rehoboth and Seekonk) and,because ofchanges in the borders between the
states,in Rhode Island (Pawtucket,East Providence, and Cumberland). As we have been unable to find a record of her father owning property, we cannot locate the family home. So it is not possible to determine which city would today be considered her birthplace. 5 The elegantly wrought needlework pieces produced in the young ladies'academies ofProvidence are well known;see Betty Ring,Let Virtue Be a Guide to Thee(Providence: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1983). Paine's autobiography provides new information: that a poor student could pay her board by selling needlework produced during evenings and weekends. 6 VitalRecord ofRhode Island,op. cit. 7 As paper currency was issued by local banks,this money often could not be used outside that financial institution's immediate area. 8 In 1826 and 1827,Paine's Portland advertisements stated that she was charging only $8 for large oil portraits, at a time when $20 to $30 was the typical price.This low price would have given her a competitive advantage but may have also been the basis of her precarious finances. 9 Paine's additional Portland newspaper advertisements appeared in the Portland Advertiser(July 31,1827),the Christian Mirror (August 31,1827,and November 13,1828), and the Eastern Argus (October 24,1828). Note that the Misses Charlotte and Sarah Paine,who were not related to Susanna Paine,operated a young ladies'academy in Portland. Newspaper advertisements offering art instruction are probably referring to this academy and not to Susanna Paine. 10 Maine and Its Role in American Art,op. cit. 11 Paine did not enter her work in any ofthe painting exhibitions at the Boston Athenaeum. 12 Cape Ann,Mass.,is the peninsula that includes the town of Gloucester. Susanna Paine is remembered as one ofthe first artists to paint on Cape Ann. 13 The Christmas hymn appeared on December 27,1836.The poems were published September 19, November 14 and 28,and December 26,1837; and February 8 and May 1,1838. 14 This event is usually referred to as Dorr's Rebellion of1842. As one had to own significant property to vote in Rhode Island, 60 percent ofthe white males were ineligible. This situation fermented until those who wanted to change the state's electoral system held a separate political convention and drafted a new state constitution to address this grievance. Both the opposition and the previously elected state legislature held their own elections, with the opposition group claiming Thomas W.Dorr to have been elected as governor. The state was divided between these groups, which began to amass arms,while President Tyler refused to intervene.The arsenal at Providence was unsuccessfully attacked, Don was imprisoned,and a compromise was reached,with white males being able to vote by paying a poll tax of$1 if they were not property owners. See Paul Buhle,Scott Molloy, and Gail Sansbury, eds.,A History ofRhode Island Working People(Providence: Regine Printing Co.,1983). 15 Susanna Paine, Wait and See(Boston:John Wilson and Son, 1860). A copy of this book,which was also reprinted in 1865 after Paine's death,is in the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.The text is also available on the Auburn University Library website; see n. 2. Paine apparently published another novel, Withering Leaves, also around 1860,but we have been unable to locate a copy. 16 Until recently, Mr. and Mrs. Corbett's portraits were accompanied by the signed portrait oftheir daughter, Mary Elizabeth; see the catalog for Sotheby's sale 6444,June 23-24,1993,lot 215. 17 D.Roger Howlett, Childs Gallery, Boston,letter to the authors, March 2005;and Bernard Plomp,who sold this painting during the 1970s,telephone conversation with the authors, June 2005.
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