Joseph Henry Hidley (American, 1830 to 1872)
Joseph Hidley was an itinerant artist, likely self-taught, who eked out a meager livelihood working a variety of jobs to support his wife and family, in addition to his painting. He was born in 1830, in Greenbush, New York, and of four siblings, was the only surviving child when his father died just before his fourth birthday. He lived with relatives and his mother until he married Caroline Danforth in 1853 and settled in Poestenkill, New York. They had six children, but only three survived infancy.
Along with townscapes and landscapes, he did religious paintings, taxidermy arrangements, fireboards, decorative under window panels, and a few portraits. He died of consumption in 1872 at the age of 42. His works are included in several museums and collections including the Abby Aldridge Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the New York Historical Society, the New York State Historical Association/Fenimore Art Museum, and the Rensselaer County Historical Society.
Information courtesy of Skinner Inc. November 2006