Joseph Oriel Eaton (born 1829) was an American painter of portraits and figure subjects, both in oil and in water-colours. His most famous work is his portrait of Herman Melville, author of the 1851 novel Moby-Dick.

Joseph Oriel Eaton
Eaton's 1870 portrait of Herman Melville

Personal life edit

He was married to Emmaline (Emma) Goodwin, great-granddaughter of John Adams, and granddaughter of John Quincy Adams.[1][2] The Eatons had five children:

  • Son, Frank[2]
  • Son, William[2]
  • Daughter, Mary Nelson (c. 1869 – 1948), married Frank Howard Nelson on June 6, 1907, in Montclair, New Jersey.[2][3][4][5][6]
  • Daughter, Margaret, married to Swedish Count Henning Gustave Taube,[1][2] who was a co-founder of Eaton Corporation and brother of Swedish Prime Minister Arvid Taube.[7]
  • Son, Harrison, but later known as Joseph Oriel Eaton II, born 1873 and a co-founder of Eaton Corporation[2]

A granddaughter (or possibly step-granddaughter) named Margaret Comacho was married to John Stoye on November 6, 1911.[8]

Works edit

 
Mother and Children in an Interior

Among his exhibited works were:

  • Landscape: View on the Hudson. 1868.
  • Multiple portraits of John Means of Kentucky. 1868
  • Greek Water-Carrier. 1872.
  • Lady Godiva. 1874.
  • Looking through the Kaleidoscope. 1875.
  • His own Portrait. 1875. (National Academy of Design)
  • A portrait of daughter Mary at age 4 (Cincinnati Art Museum). c. 1874[9][10]

Death and legacy edit

Eaton was elected into the National Academy of Design as an associate academician in 1866. He died in Yonkers, New York in 1875.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Obituary Notes". The New York Times. 1912-06-22. p. 13. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Mrs. Emma G. Eaton". The Montclair Times. 1912-06-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  3. ^ "Three Weddings Announced". The Montclair Times. 1907-05-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  4. ^ "Obituary for Mary Eaton Nelson (Aged 81)". The Cincinnati Post. 1948-10-22. p. 38. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  5. ^ "Marriage of Nelson-Eaton". The New York Times. 1907-06-07. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  6. ^ "Nelson Will Probated". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1948-10-28. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  7. ^ "Count H. G. Taube, Former Resident of Lake George Dies". The Post-Star. 1928-03-12. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  8. ^ "Notes About Town". The Montclair Times. 1911-11-11. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  9. ^ "Museum Opens Portrait Show of Unique Type". The Cincinnati Post. 1933-02-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  10. ^ "Obituary for Mary Eaton Nelson (Aged 78)". The Cincinnati Enquirer. 1948-10-23. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  •   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainBryan, Michael (1886). "Eaton, Joseph O.". In Graves, Robert Edmund (ed.). Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers (A–K). Vol. I (3rd ed.). London: George Bell & Sons.

External links edit