HAPGOOD, Mrs Luke Barnard (Ellen Sarah Davis)

The sitter was born on August 22, 1843 in Peru, VT, and became the wife of Luke Barnard Hapgood, from Cambridge, Massachusetts whom she had known since childhood.  She married him in Peru, VT on September 6, 1864; the marriage lasted over 61 years. She was mother of George Davis Hapgood (born 19 May 1872 in Cambridge MA who lived in San Gabriel, CA),­­­ private secretary to Henry E. Huntington, San Marino, California, and three other older children.  They lived at 615 San Marino Avenue, Pasadena in 1925.

Painted in 1925/26 in San Marino, CA. Muller-Ury telegraphed Duveen on January 15, 1926 to report on Huntington’s health and says ‘Finished portrait Hapgoods mother most satisfactory’ (Duveen Brothers Records).

A letter from the sitter, dated February 5, 1926 is in the artist’s papers, and reads in part: ‘…I like to think of the pleasant morning spent in your studio and I hope you understand what it means to our family to have the portrait and your work in it. It is wonderful to create something that endures, and your enthusiasm for your work speaks for its success!…’