George Wilcox1838Image: 30 x 24 1/2 " (76.2 x 62.2 cm)
Frame: 37 1/2 x 32 x 2 1/2 " (95.3 x 81.3 x 6.4 cm)Oil on canvas, mounted on Masonite, in the original gilded frameGift of Deborah Davenport and Stewart Stender2025.1.101579649310Joseph Whiting StockPaintingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster26674http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster12336http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster13041http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster11800Daniel Plumb, Jr.Daniel Plumb, Jr.Daniel Plumb, Jr.SpringfieldSpringfieldUnited StatesMassachusettsPaintingsRecent AcquisitionsAdam ReichSpringfieldObject information is a work in progress and may be updated
with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art
Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgOil on canvas portrait identified as George F. Wilcox, age 10, of Springfield, MA, c. 1838. As recorded in Joseph Whiting Stock’s account book, Stock painted portraits of Philo Franklin Wilcox (1805-1871), his wife, Orpha J. Wood Wilcox (1808-1890), along with their son George, 10 years old, in 1838 in Springfield, MA. His account book also lists painting at that time George’s sister Ellen, age 4 and brother Francis, from corpse, age ½. In Feb 1845 Stock painted George’s siblings Mary (b. 1840- 18 Dec 1844) and Francis (b. 1842- 7 Dec 1844), posthumously, in both a double portrait and individually. The double portrait was in the Garbisch Collection and is now in the National Gallery of Art, published in “American Naïve Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington”, 1992, p. 378. The individual portraits of Mary Wilcox and of Francis Wilcox are owned by the American Folk Art Museum in NYC. The paintings of Philo, Orpha and George Wilcox are illustrated in “The Paintings and the Journal of Joseph Whiting Stock” by Tomlinson, 1976, but are mislabeled/misidentified as Daniel Plumb, Sr., Mrs. Daniel Plumb and Daniel Plumb, Jr. The illustrations of the portraits of Francis and Ellen Wilcox are identified correctly. The portraits of Philo, Orpha and George Wilcox were found in the home of a member of the Plumb family in Springfield, MA. The portraits were first thought to represent a Daniel Plumb, his wife and his son, Daniel Plumb, Jr. However, the only people living in the region with these names found in the genealogical record are Daniel Plumb (1746-1793) and his son, Daniel (1770-1792), who both died before the artist was born. Research in 1979 by Nathan Liverant & Son revealed that these portraits instead illustrate the ancestors of an allied member of the Plumb family, Philo Franklin and Orpha J. Wilcox and their son George Wilcox. Philo’s mother, Lucy Plumb (b. 1777) was the daughter and sister of the aforementioned Daniel Plumbs, illustrating the connection between the families. The Liverant’s conclusion is supported by a printed image of Philo in his later years that closely resembles the portrait of the man in the published Stock book (Louis H. Everts, “History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, vol. II (Philadelphia, 1879), p. 845).George Wilcox was born about 1828 in Springfield, MA. He is listed in the 1850 Federal Census as living with his parents in Springfield and working as a “laborer, industry not reported”. He married 14 Jan 1852 to Jane E. Tomlinson of Stonington, CT. He was listed as a merchant at that time. They apparently had no children and George died 26 June 1857 at age 27. Jane remarried in 1859 and had 4 children with her 2nd husband. George is buried in Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, MA, with his father, mother, and 5 siblings (Edward P., Mary E., Francis E., Francis E., Francis P.)Formerly thought to be a portrait of Daniel Plumb, Jr., late 1840s-1850 in the collection of James and Catherine Perkins, East Hampton, New York as published by Juliette Tomlinson. Later research showed that this could not be the case as supported by a 1979 Antiques article. See object file, secondary sources folderExquisitely executed, this Joseph Whiting Stock portrait of ten-year-old George Wilcox (c. 1828-1857) offers a timeless expression of youthful energy and optimism. George’s portrait will join two other members of the Wilcox family already in the Museum’s holdings: siblings Mary and Francis, both also painted by Stock. A pendant pair of portraits depicting the children’s parents is currently in the collection of another friend of the museum.
Individually or together, Joseph Whiting Stock’s portraits tell a compelling story of resilience: the artist was paralyzed from the waist down at age eleven and was confined almost continuously to bed until age nineteen, when an imaginative doctor prescribed a wheelchair. Today, Stock’s career and surviving works offer intriguing insights into the intersection of disability studies and the histories of American art.The subject of the portrait, George Wilcox, was born about 1828 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is listed in the 1850 Federal Census as living with his parents in Springfield and working as a “laborer, industry not reported.” He married January 14, 1852 to Jane E. Tomlinson of Stonington, Connecticut. He was listed as a merchant at that time. They had no children and George died June 26, 1857 at age 27. Jane remarried in 1859 and had four children with her second husband. George is buried in Springfield Cemetery, with his father, mother, and five siblings (Edward P., Mary E., Francis E., Francis E., Francis P.).Portrait of a boy at 3/4 angle, wearing a suit, vest, bow tie and holding a book and hat. Gray background with red curtain at the side. http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster26674http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster12336http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster13041http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster11800Daniel Plumb, Jr.Daniel Plumb, Jr.Daniel Plumb, Jr.Daniel Plumb, Jr.http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster26674http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster12336http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster13041http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster11800http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster26674http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster12336http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster13041http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster1180018381838 2025 1 1 Object information is a work in progress and may be updated
with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art
Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgOil on canvas portrait identified as George F. Wilcox, age 10, of Springfield, MA, c. 1838. As recorded in Joseph Whiting Stock’s account book, Stock painted portraits of Philo Franklin Wilcox (1805-1871), his wife, Orpha J. Wood Wilcox (1808-1890), along with their son George, 10 years old, in 1838 in Springfield, MA. His account book also lists painting at that time George’s sister Ellen, age 4 and brother Francis, from corpse, age ½. In Feb 1845 Stock painted George’s siblings Mary (b. 1840- 18 Dec 1844) and Francis (b. 1842- 7 Dec 1844), posthumously, in both a double portrait and individually. The double portrait was in the Garbisch Collection and is now in the National Gallery of Art, published in “American Naïve Paintings, National Gallery of Art, Washington”, 1992, p. 378. The individual portraits of Mary Wilcox and of Francis Wilcox are owned by the American Folk Art Museum in NYC. The paintings of Philo, Orpha and George Wilcox are illustrated in “The Paintings and the Journal of Joseph Whiting Stock” by Tomlinson, 1976, but are mislabeled/misidentified as Daniel Plumb, Sr., Mrs. Daniel Plumb and Daniel Plumb, Jr. The illustrations of the portraits of Francis and Ellen Wilcox are identified correctly. The portraits of Philo, Orpha and George Wilcox were found in the home of a member of the Plumb family in Springfield, MA. The portraits were first thought to represent a Daniel Plumb, his wife and his son, Daniel Plumb, Jr. However, the only people living in the region with these names found in the genealogical record are Daniel Plumb (1746-1793) and his son, Daniel (1770-1792), who both died before the artist was born. Research in 1979 by Nathan Liverant & Son revealed that these portraits instead illustrate the ancestors of an allied member of the Plumb family, Philo Franklin and Orpha J. Wilcox and their son George Wilcox. Philo’s mother, Lucy Plumb (b. 1777) was the daughter and sister of the aforementioned Daniel Plumbs, illustrating the connection between the families. The Liverant’s conclusion is supported by a printed image of Philo in his later years that closely resembles the portrait of the man in the published Stock book (Louis H. Everts, “History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, vol. II (Philadelphia, 1879), p. 845).George Wilcox was born about 1828 in Springfield, MA. He is listed in the 1850 Federal Census as living with his parents in Springfield and working as a “laborer, industry not reported”. He married 14 Jan 1852 to Jane E. Tomlinson of Stonington, CT. He was listed as a merchant at that time. They apparently had no children and George died 26 June 1857 at age 27. Jane remarried in 1859 and had 4 children with her 2nd husband. George is buried in Springfield Cemetery, Springfield, MA, with his father, mother, and 5 siblings (Edward P., Mary E., Francis E., Francis E., Francis P.)Formerly thought to be a portrait of Daniel Plumb, Jr., late 1840s-1850 in the collection of James and Catherine Perkins, East Hampton, New York as published by Juliette Tomlinson. Later research showed that this could not be the case as supported by a 1979 Antiques article. See object file, secondary sources folderExquisitely executed, this Joseph Whiting Stock portrait of ten-year-old George Wilcox (c. 1828-1857) offers a timeless expression of youthful energy and optimism. George’s portrait will join two other members of the Wilcox family already in the Museum’s holdings: siblings Mary and Francis, both also painted by Stock. A pendant pair of portraits depicting the children’s parents is currently in the collection of another friend of the museum.
Individually or together, Joseph Whiting Stock’s portraits tell a compelling story of resilience: the artist was paralyzed from the waist down at age eleven and was confined almost continuously to bed until age nineteen, when an imaginative doctor prescribed a wheelchair. Today, Stock’s career and surviving works offer intriguing insights into the intersection of disability studies and the histories of American art.The subject of the portrait, George Wilcox, was born about 1828 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is listed in the 1850 Federal Census as living with his parents in Springfield and working as a “laborer, industry not reported.” He married January 14, 1852 to Jane E. Tomlinson of Stonington, Connecticut. He was listed as a merchant at that time. They had no children and George died June 26, 1857 at age 27. Jane remarried in 1859 and had four children with her second husband. George is buried in Springfield Cemetery, with his father, mother, and five siblings (Edward P., Mary E., Francis E., Francis E., Francis P.).Portrait of a boy at 3/4 angle, wearing a suit, vest, bow tie and holding a book and hat. Gray background with red curtain at the side.