History of Carthage, (Hamilton County) Ohio United States of America

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Elbridge Kingsley, painter-engraver, was born at Carthage, Ohio, Sept. 17, 1842; son of Moses W. and Rachel W. (Curtis) Kingsley, and grandson of Seth Kingsley, of Hatfield, Mass. His parents removed to Ohio, where Elbridge was born, and returned to Hatfield, Mass., in 1843. He studied at Hopkins academy, Hadley, Mass., 1856-58, and then entered the office of the Hampshire Gazette at Northampton, where he used his spare moments in drawing, taking his subjects from Bible history and Indian stories. When his apprenticeship expired he went to New York, where he studied the art of engraving on wood with J. W. Orr, and drawing and painting at the Cooper institute. He was first employed as illustrator and engraver by Harper & Brothers and later by Charles Scribner's Sons. In 1882 he made a notable original picture of the Hatfield Woods, which he engraved, and after that time his work appeared regularly in the Century Magazine. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Grolier club of New York, and of the Society of American Wood Engravers, serving on the exhibition committees in Paris, 1889, where he was awarded the gold medal by the International jury. In 1891 a new exhibit was sent to Berlin and preparations made for the exhibition in Chicago. On the return of the pictures he arranged supplementary exhibitions in the Grolier rooms, New York city, the Hamilton club rooms in Brooklyn and other art centres. In 1890 he determined to let his 300 published plates represent his commercial work and to devote the remainder of his life to art from the painter-engraver's standpoint. He worked upon large blocks for Japan proof alone, and these passed through stages of trial-proofs extending over twelve months, and the wood block was treated as copper-plates are by the painter-etcher, producing a series of trial and finished proofs. To facilitate this work, Mr. Kingsley used a sketching car in which he painted and engraved in the region of his subjects, in the neighborhood of his home at Hadley. His work was done entirely for art collectors, and the only exhibition of his progressive work during his active life was placed in the Forbes library at Northampton, Mass. In 1901 Mr. Kingsley was engaged in forming a complete collection, mounted and framed, with a catalogue and sketch of his life, for the art building, Mount Holyoke college, as a memorial of Clara Leigh Dwight, who commenced its arrangement.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Carthage, (Hamilton County) Ohio

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