AFA Autumn 2019

Autumn 98 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com R ufus E. Patten (1807–1879) is not well-known today. He was, however, something of a beloved figure in his own time in his native town of Candia, New Hampshire, a small community in Rockingham County, not far from Manchester, settled in 1748. About Patten, Wilson Palmer, a town historian writing in 1910, asked, “Who in Candia doesn’t remember him?” 1 Palmer goes on to extoll Patten’s virtues for several hundred words. Among those attributes, not noted at the time, was his considerable virtuosity as a draftsman, as evidenced by his micro drawings included in New Hampshire Folk Art: By the People, For the People, on view at the Portsmouth Historical Society, through September 29, 2019. The exhibition features works of art created outside the formal academic tradition by artists, craftsmen, and other individuals from the Granite State. So, who was Rufus E. Patten? His great-grandparents came to the New The Micro-drawings of Rufus E. Patten BY GERALD W. R. WARD It’s a Small World Fig. 1: Silhouette of Rufus E. Patten, unknown artist, N.H., ca. 1830. Pen and ink on paper; Framed 6⅞ x 6 inches. Collection of Craig and Alison Jewett. The silhouette has a pencil note on the back: “belonged to Agnes Miller Ronald of Exeter, N.H. It was framed in about 1940 by Goodspeed in Boston. The name on the silhouette seems to be Rufus E. Patten.” Agnes Johnston Miller Ronald (1866–1926) was the wife of John Reid Ronald (1864– 1941). Given the information concerning when the silhouette was framed, it likely was taken to Goodspeed’s by Mr. Ronald. Fig. 2: Rufus E. Patten (1807–1879), penmanship example, ca. 1825–1835. Ink on paper, 1¾ x 2⅞ inches. Signed “R.E. Patten.” Collection of Craig and Alison Jewett. Fig. 3: Rufus E. Patten (1807–1879), penmanship example, ca. 1825–1835. Ink on paper, 1¾ x 2⅞ inches. Signed “R.E. Patten.” Collection of Craig and Alison Jewett.