On the French Canadian Cultural Alliance of the Great Lakes’ website, Wisconsin-based MaryEllen Weller-Smith writes a fascinating story about Frances Anne Hopkins (née Beechey), an English artist who painted some of the most recognizable images of the voyageur world. Hopkins travelled with her husband Edward Hopkins, a Hudson’s Bay company official, along some of the most important fur trading routes and sketched and recorded an integral part of Canada’s history.
Shooting the Rapids, c1879, Frances Anne Hopkins, Library and Archives Canada, Frances Anne Hopkins Fonds, C-002774
When you have a moment, I recommend you read this beautifully illustrated article, Fur Trade Canoes and London Society: The Paintings of Frances Anne Hopkins — and tell your children and grandchildren about Frances Anne Hopkins.
