Every time I venture into the life of William F. Cogswell, I am amazed at what this self-taught portrait artist accomplished. He painted portraits of presidents, governors, titans of industry, the Gold Rush, Hawaiian Royalty, etc. and, even today, his work hangs in the state capitol in Sacramento and is in the White House Collection. Of course, he is of interest here, East of Allen, because he bought near 500 acres here in 1874 and went on to build the famous Sierra Madre Villa Hotel.
In the late 1800’s, the old hotel, with its warm weather, ocean views and citrus groves, attracted many movers and shakers to this otherwise remote spot. Dating back at least to a 1929 newspaper article, it became sort of accepted local history that Gen. Grant came to stay at the Sierra Madre Villa. After much research and a fun consult with experts at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, we ran a series of posts that resolved the 100-year old question. Despite reports to the contrary, it turns out Grant did not stay at the hotel. So, there was no story to be had about Ulysses .S. Grant hanging out in east Pas.
While researching the Grant posts, I came across some interesting stuff that I wanted to note so I’m posting it below.
Cogswell and Grant
Though Grant never visited Cogswell’s hotel, he was certainly acquainted with Cogswell. The Grant Presidential Library had a few items of correspondence between the two. The most candid was an 1871 letter from Cogswell to Grant in which Cogswell asks the then President Grant for a letter of introduction for his son, who was off to study music in Italy. This is not a business correspondence, but a personal one. Cogswell seeks a personal favor, which is a pretty bold request to the country’s president and one Cogswell likely would not have considered without some level of friendship with Grant. The letter closes with respectful remembrance from Cogswell and his wife to the Grant family. Here’s the text of the letter:
We don’t know whether Grant sent the requested letter. The Grant Presidential Library did not have any letter of introduction for Cogswell’s son.
William Gardner Cogswell
Whether or not Grant wrote the letter of introduction, William Gardner Cogswell (“W.G.”) went on to study music in Italy. By 1877, he was married and living in southern California. As noted in the Homestead Blog’s recent Sierra Madre Villa history, W.G. and his wife, Lizzie Hutchinson Cogswell, were artists in their own rights, achieving fame as opera singers. They were also music teachers with Lizzie gaining additional fame as the first vocal coach for famed soprano, Mamie Perry, who was said to be Los Angeles’ first operatic diva.
Tying it all back to the Villa, in 1885, W.G. Cogswell took over management of the Sierra Madre Villa Hotel. He oversaw the decline of the hotel and eventually sold the hotel and property in June, 1891.
John Sartain Engraving
In 1867, before Gen. Grant became president, William Cogswell painted a famous portrait of Gen. Grant and his family. General Grant and others admired the Cogswell portrait and the portrait was reproduced in print form by an artist named John Sartain, who pioneered new forms of engraving. There is an exchange of correspondence in April 1868 among Grant, Sartain and Cogswell in which Grant asks Cogswell to secure an artist to box up the painting to ship to Sartain in Philadelphia. A copy of the Sartain print appears at the top of this post. Through the production and distribution of prints, Cogwell’s portrait of the Grant family became widely known and appreciated.
Cogswell Letter from Gen. Oliver O. Howard
One such admirer of the Grant family painting was Brig. Gen. (later Major General) Oliver O. Howard. The Grant Presidential papers note that Gen. Howard wrote to Cogswell expressing his admiration for the painting and acknowledging his receipt of the Sartain print of the painting. The entry in papers of U.S. Grant follows:
Howard’s letter to Cogswell indicates he was aware of Cogswell and may have had other interactions with Cogswell. Don’t know. However, it does not appear that Cogswell painted a portrait of Gen. Howard.
Incidentally, far afield now from the Villa, but Gen. Howard has quite a story. He was wounded in an early Civil War battle and his right arm was amputated. He remained in the Army and went on to be involved in many Civil War campaigns, including Gettysburg and Sherman’s March. After the war, he served nine years as commissioner of the Freedmen’s Bureau and in 1867 founded Howard University.
Leave a Reply