Anson Dickinson, a painter of miniature portraits, was born in Milton, Connecticut, in 1779. He was the eldest of ten children born to Oliver Dickinson Junior (1757-1847) and Anna Landon Dickinson (1760-1849). As a boy, Anson Dickinson was apprenticed to Litchfield silversmith Isaac Thompson. Little else is known about his early art training. He first advertised his services as a miniature painter in a New Haven newspaper of May 27, 1802. His earliest known painting is signed and dated 1803.
During his nearly 50 year career as a miniaturist, Dickinson kept a work book which has enabled art historians to trace the development of his career. Included are the names of 1500 subjects he painted, as well as dates, places, and in some cases, prices charged. Because of the relatively high cost of his miniatures, he had to travel widely throughout the eastern states and into Canada to find clients.
In 1804, Dickinson had his own miniature portrait painted by Edward Greene Malbone, the most eminent miniaturist in America. Subsequently, Dickinson's style changed, and he opened the first of several New York City studios. Throughout his career, he returned to Milton at fairly regular intervals to visit his family and paint Litchfield residents and students at the Tapping Reeve Law School and Miss Sarah Pierce's Female Academy. He also traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, and in later years, to Washington D.C. where he painted miniature portraits of members of Congress and their families.
In 1812, Dickinson married Sarah Brown, a French Canadian. In 1824 or thereafter, they adopted the two motherless Walker children, Mary Ann and William Edmund. The family resided with the artist when he was settled or with his family in Milton when he was traveling. He and his wife both died there in 1852 and are buried in Milton's Blue Swamp Cemetery.
Dickinson painted great and famous as well as ordinary men and women, including many members of his own family. He was renowned in his own time, but is nearly forgotten in ours. The Litchfield Historical Society has the largest number of Dickinson miniatures of any public institution, and The Stamford Historical Society, the second largest number. Within Connecticut, The Connecticut Historical Society, Yale University Art Gallery, and The New Haven Colony Historical Society also own miniatures by Anson Dickinson. The majority of his miniature paintings have not been located, if, in fact, they are extant.
Manuscript Sources
Dickinson, Anson Papers. The Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Conn. Dickinson, Anson Papers.
The Stamford Historical Society, Stamford, Conn.
Miscellaneous Papers. Ingraham Memorial Library, The Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield, Conn.
