artist.shtml biography charles-louis-hinton

Artist Name


birth10/18/1869, Ithaca, New YorkPicture of Charles Louis Hinton
death10/12/1950, Bronxville, New York
parentsLouis Joshuah and Jane (Edwards) Hinton
educationPublic Schools, Clapham, England
National Academy of Design, New York City
École dex Beaux-Arts
Académie Julian
awardsTraveling Scholarship from National Academy of Design
Fellow National Sculpture Society

Charles Louis Hinton was born to English parents in 1869 in Ithaca, New York. His father was an established stone carver who moved the family back to England where young Charles received his elementary education. In 1886 the family returned to the United States and lived in Albany New York.

Charles decided to pursue an artistic career and attended the National Academy of Design in New York. His talent won him a coveted traveling scholarship to Paris where he studied at the École dex Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian.

Upon his return to the United States, he became a drawing instructor at the National Academy, a position he would hold for the next thirty-seven years. He was promoted to dean in 1940.

In 1906 he married Grace A. Boyce with whom he had three children: Charles Louis, Edgar Douglas, and Susanne Jane.

Sourced from multiple resources listed in Resources section.



You can click on the medals to see the reverse.

Art is Mighty - Life is Fleeting Medal1932
CLH-AIM
Bronze

This uniface medal bears a standing female nude turned right towards pedestal bearing hourglass; decorative border extending around medal. At left, inscription in bands, ART IS / MIGHTY / LIFE IS / FLEETING / (CLH monogram)

This little gem picks up a famous line attributed to Hippocrates and reused by (among many others) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

"Ars longa, vita brevis."

While the quote originally refers specifically to the art of healing, Hinton probably interprets "art" much more literally and expresses his belief that art survives the artist.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Its mintage is unknown.

References: MACo 1932-028

Garden Award #2 Medal1932
CLH-G-2
Bronze

This uniface medal bears statue of kneeling female nude in center of fountain in the midst of an elaborate garden. (CLH monogram) in fountain's wall.

This medal is usually seen as a two-sided medal (MACo 1932-034) and probably represents a trial strike or a sample piece. Alternatively, the medal was struck one-sided to leave space for different engravings on the reverse. Clubs sometimes chose to have a batch of uniface medals struck that could then be used as awards or commemorative pieces, as needs arose.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Its mintage is unknown.

References: MACo 1932-034

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Books & Articles

Lincoln Essay Contents, Lincoln Medals, and the Commercialization of Lincoln by John Hoffmann
A great research article in the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Volume 24, Issue 2, Summer 2003, pp. 36-62, prominently featuring Charles Hinton.

Research Archives and Websites

medalartists.com by Dick Johnson
The best reference for medallic works of art of American artists.
prabook.com
Some biographical details.
Strange Tears
Some of Hinton's works of art.

Museums

A Summer Shower (1898)
One of Hinton's oil paintings at the Bronxville Historical Conservancy.
Vanity
One of Hinton's sculptural works at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Will Hicoc Low Medallion (1911)
One of Hinton's medallic works at the Met.
Columbia's Call to Arms (1917)
One of Hinton's sculptural works at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.