Robert Hinckley, Sr. and Thomas Hinckley Series, 1897 - 1947, bulk: 1897 - 1935

Robert Hinckley, American portrait artist, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1853, the son of Samuel Lyman and Anne Cutler Parker Hinckley. Hinckley studied in Paris between 1864 - 1884, graduating from Ecole des Beaux Arts and working for a time with John Singer Sargent in the Atelier of Carolus Duran. In 1884, Hinckley returned to the United States and opened a studio in Washington, D.C. During his lengthy career, Robert Hinckley painted some 350 portraits of eminent Americans, several of which hang in the United States Capitol, West Point, and the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Among his most noteworthy works are "Alexander at Persepolis" and a painting of the first ether operation. He is also the author of Geyserland. Robert Hinckley married Eleanora O'Donnell of Baltimore, Maryland in 1885. They had three children: Thomas, Robert and Gladys. Robert Hinckley died at his home in Rehoboth, Delaware on 2 June 1941. The series consists primarily of correspondence, including several early letters written by the artist to members of his family (undated, 1897 - 1898). See Photograph Series (Box 17, Folder 2) for photographs of the artist.

Thomas Hinckley was born in Washington, D.C. on August 4, 1888, the son of Robert and Eleanora O'Donnell Hinckley. After completing courses in mechanical engineering at Steven's Institute of Technology, Hinckley worked for several years in various mining operations in Utah. In 1911, he was accepted into the foreign service, having received recommendations from Senator Reed Smoot of Utah and Henry Cabot Lodge. He was stationed in San Salvador from 1912 - 1914; in Vienna from 1914 - 1915; and in Madrid from 1915 - 1918. Hinckley was transfered to Rome in 1918 as Second Secretary of the Embassy. He died that same year, after contracting pneumonia during a vacation in London. The series includes official correspondence and documents concerning Hinckley's brief foreign service career. Of particular interest, however, is a lengthy run of correspondence (1905 - 1918) from Thomas to members of his family, describing his experiences and adventures in Utah, as well as his State Department assignments in San Salvador, Vienna, Madrid, and Rome. See Photographic Series for albums containing numerous photographs of Western mining operations and hydroelectric power plants, which include glimpses of Western life and culture during the early part of the twentieth century.