Tompkins H. Matteson

Tompkins Harrison Matteson (1813-1884) was a fascinating individual. Famous as a painter of military and historical scenes, many of them turned into prints for magazines, I have discovered that he also wrote short stories and was one of the earliest illustrators in the so-called penny press, executing many drawings and doing some writing for the fascinating “Mammoth” Brother Jonathan pictorial newspaper. Although a resident of Sherburne, Chenango County, Matteson was active in New York City, attaining Associate membership in the National Academy of Design. He also attained some notice as the teacher of Elihu Vedder, the symbolist painter, designer, and illustrator. Testimony to his love affair with history, Matteson affected the garb of a bygone day: black cloak, buckled squire-toe shoes, and a tall steeple-crowned hat, just like a Pilgrim forebear. His paintings are found in many museums across country, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, New-York Historical Society, and Butler Institute of American Art.