Marian Hooper Adams
Encyclopedia
Marian "Clover" Hooper Adams (September 13, 1843 – December 6, 1885) was an American
socialite
, active society hostess and arbiter of Washington, D.C.
, and an accomplished amateur
photographer.
Clover, who has been cited as the inspiration for writer Henry James
's Daisy Miller
(1878
) and The Portrait of a Lady
(1881
), was married to writer Henry Adams. After her suicide
, he commissioned the famous Adams Memorial
, which features an enigmatic androgynous
bronze sculpture
by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
, to stand at the site of her, and his, grave.
After her death, Adams destroyed all the letters that she had ever written to him and never spoke her name or referred to her publicly again. She was also omitted from his The Education of Henry Adams
.
(1812-November 3, 1848). Her siblings were Ellen Sturgis "Nella" Hooper (1838–1887), who married professor Ephraim Whitman Gurney (1829–1886); and Edward William "Ned" Hooper (1839–1901). The Hooper family was wealthy and prominent. Clover's birthplace and childhood home in Boston, was at 114 Beacon Street, Beacon Hill
. When she was five-years-old, her mother, a Transcendentalist
poet, died and she became very close to her physician father. She was privately
educated at a girls school
in Cambridge
, which was run by Elizabeth
and Louis Agassiz
.
Clover Hooper volunteered for the Sanitary Commission
during the Civil War
. She defied convention by insisting on watching the review
of Sherman
's and Grant
's armies in 1865. In 1866, she traveled abroad, where she is said to have met fellow Bostonian Henry Adams in London
. She and her father were living at their home in Beverly, Massachusetts
, in July 1870.
On June 27, 1872, she and Henry Adams were married in Boston, and spent their honeymoon in Europe
. Upon their return, he taught at Harvard
and their home at 91 Marlborough Street, Boston, became a gathering place for a lively circle of intellectual
s. In 1877, they moved to Washington, D.C., where their home on Lafayette Square, across from the White House
, again became a dazzling and witty center of social life. She was known as a clever and outspoken woman.
Clover remained close to her father, writing him regularly. In June 1880, Dr. Hooper was living at his household on Beacon Street in Boston. Her gossipy letters to her father, other family members, and friends, reveal her to be a gifted reporter and provide an insightful view of the Washington and politics of the day, while the ones she wrote from Europe are not ordinary travel letters, but shrewd reflections on character and society, revealing a critical and sprightly mind.
From her reports written in letters, it was widely speculated that it was actually Clover Hooper Adams who was the "anonymous" author of Democracy: An American Novel
(1880
), which was not credited to her husband until 43 years later.
photographers. Familiarizing herself with the chemicals, she did all her own developing
.
Her photographs, which reveal an extraordinary eye, consist of formal and informal portraits of politicians, family friends, various members of the Adams and Hooper families, family pets, and still lifes of interior and exterior locales, including photographs of Washington, Bladensburg, Maryland
, Old Sweet Springs
, and the Adams family homes in Quincy
and Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.
These images provide insights into 19th century America and a woman's place in it. Besides the images, Clover also left behind a great deal of information about her photography, including meticulous chronological notes she kept while working in her darkroom
, listing photographs and commenting on exposures
, light
ing, et cetera, and the references in her letters.
Her work was widely admired, although her husband apparently would not allow her to become professional and discouraged any publication of her photographs.
Clover and her husband hired architect H.H. Richardson
and were in the process of having a new home built on Lafayette Square, which was adjacent to the Richardson designed house being built for John Hay
, when her adored father died on April 13, 1885. After Dr. Hooper's death, she sank into bouts of overwhelming depression
.
While awaiting the completion of the house, they rented one nearby on H Street
. Clover documented the construction of the houses with her camera.
While alone in her bedroom on a Sunday in early December, 1885, she swallowed potassium cyanide
, which she used in developing her photographs.
Clover Hooper Adams died at age 42 at her temporary home on H Street in Washington, D.C., and was found by her husband lying on the rug before her bedroom fire. The evening newspaper reported that she had suddenly dropped dead from paralysis of the heart.
Her husband commissioned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens
and architect Stanford White
to create a memorial to mark her grave in Rock Creek Cemetery
. The haunting Adams Memorial
is probably the most famous of all monuments in the cemetery and is generally considered to be Saint-Gaudens' most famous sculpture.
In a letter to Henry Adams, John Hay wrote, "Is it any consolation to remember her as she was? That bright, intrepid spirit, that keen, fine intellect, that lofty scorn for all that was mean, that social charm which made your house such a one as Washington never knew before and made hundreds of people love her as much as they admired her."
in Boston houses the photograph collection of Clover Adams and other materials.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
, active society hostess and arbiter of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and an accomplished amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
photographer.
Clover, who has been cited as the inspiration for writer Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
's Daisy Miller
Daisy Miller
Daisy Miller is an 1878 novella by Henry James first appearing in Cornhill Magazine in Jun-July 1879, and in book form the following year. It portrays the courtship of the beautiful American girl Daisy Miller by Winterbourne, a sophisticated compatriot of hers...
(1878
1878 in literature
The year 1878 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*January 28 - The Yale News becomes the first daily college newspaper in the United States.*Guy de Maupassant becomes an employee of the Ministry of Public Instruction....
) and The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady
The Portrait of a Lady is a novel by Henry James, first published as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly and Macmillan's Magazine in 1880–81 and then as a book in 1881...
(1881
1881 in literature
The year 1881 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* March 4 - A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes story, begins.* The first of the three-volume History of Woman Suffrage, was published by Susan B...
), was married to writer Henry Adams. After her suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, he commissioned the famous Adams Memorial
Adams Memorial (grave marker)
The Adams Memorial is a grave marker located in Section E of Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C., that features a cast bronze allegorical sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens...
, which features an enigmatic androgynous
Androgyny
Androgyny is a term derived from the Greek words ανήρ, stem ανδρ- and γυνή , referring to the combination of masculine and feminine characteristics...
bronze sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
, to stand at the site of her, and his, grave.
After her death, Adams destroyed all the letters that she had ever written to him and never spoke her name or referred to her publicly again. She was also omitted from his The Education of Henry Adams
The Education of Henry Adams
The Education of Henry Adams records the struggle of Bostonian Henry Adams , in his later years, to come to terms with the dawning 20th century, so different from the world of his youth. It is also a sharp critique of 19th century educational theory and practice. In 1907, Adams began privately...
.
Early life
She was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the third and youngest child of Robert William Hooper (1810 - April 15, 1885) and Ellen H. SturgisEllen Sturgis Hooper
Ellen Sturgis Hooper was an American poet. A member of the Transcendental Club, she was widely regarded as one of the most gifted poets among the New England Transcendentalists...
(1812-November 3, 1848). Her siblings were Ellen Sturgis "Nella" Hooper (1838–1887), who married professor Ephraim Whitman Gurney (1829–1886); and Edward William "Ned" Hooper (1839–1901). The Hooper family was wealthy and prominent. Clover's birthplace and childhood home in Boston, was at 114 Beacon Street, Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts
Beacon Hill is a historic neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, that along with the neighboring Back Bay is home to about 26,000 people. It is a neighborhood of Federal-style rowhouses and is known for its narrow, gas-lit streets and brick sidewalks...
. When she was five-years-old, her mother, a Transcendentalist
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the 1830s and 1840s in the New England region of the United States as a protest against the general state of culture and society, and in particular, the state of intellectualism at Harvard University and the doctrine of the Unitarian...
poet, died and she became very close to her physician father. She was privately
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
educated at a girls school
Single-sex education
Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...
in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, which was run by Elizabeth
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz
Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz was an American educator, and the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College.-Life:...
and Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
.
Clover Hooper volunteered for the Sanitary Commission
United States Sanitary Commission
The United States Sanitary Commission was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the U.S. Army during the American Civil War. It operated across the North, raised its own funds, and enlisted thousands of volunteers...
during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. She defied convention by insisting on watching the review
Grand Review of the Armies
The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in Washington, D.C., on May 23 and May 24, 1865, following the close of the American Civil War...
of Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
's and Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
's armies in 1865. In 1866, she traveled abroad, where she is said to have met fellow Bostonian Henry Adams in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. She and her father were living at their home in Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly, Massachusetts
Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...
, in July 1870.
On June 27, 1872, she and Henry Adams were married in Boston, and spent their honeymoon in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Upon their return, he taught at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and their home at 91 Marlborough Street, Boston, became a gathering place for a lively circle of intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s. In 1877, they moved to Washington, D.C., where their home on Lafayette Square, across from the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, again became a dazzling and witty center of social life. She was known as a clever and outspoken woman.
Clover remained close to her father, writing him regularly. In June 1880, Dr. Hooper was living at his household on Beacon Street in Boston. Her gossipy letters to her father, other family members, and friends, reveal her to be a gifted reporter and provide an insightful view of the Washington and politics of the day, while the ones she wrote from Europe are not ordinary travel letters, but shrewd reflections on character and society, revealing a critical and sprightly mind.
From her reports written in letters, it was widely speculated that it was actually Clover Hooper Adams who was the "anonymous" author of Democracy: An American Novel
Democracy: An American Novel
Democracy: An American Novel is a political novel written by Henry Brooks Adams and published anonymously in 1880. Only after the writer's death in 1918 did his publisher reveal Adams's authorship although, upon publication, the novel had immediately become popular...
(1880
1880 in literature
The year 1880 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Henry Adams - Democracy: An American Novel *Rhoda Broughton - Second Thoughts*Wilkie Collins - Jezebel's Daughter...
), which was not credited to her husband until 43 years later.
Photography
In 1883, Clover became active in photography and was one of the earliest portraitPortrait photography
Portrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people , in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject...
photographers. Familiarizing herself with the chemicals, she did all her own developing
Photographic processing
Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image...
.
Her photographs, which reveal an extraordinary eye, consist of formal and informal portraits of politicians, family friends, various members of the Adams and Hooper families, family pets, and still lifes of interior and exterior locales, including photographs of Washington, Bladensburg, Maryland
Bladensburg, Maryland
Bladensburg is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 7,661 at the 2000 census.Bladensburg is from central Washington, DC...
, Old Sweet Springs
Sweet Springs, West Virginia
Sweet Springs is an unincorporated town in Monroe County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Sweet Springs lies at the intersection of West Virginia Route 3 and West Virginia Route 311. The community is known for its Old Sweet Springs resort and spa, listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
, and the Adams family homes in Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
and Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.
These images provide insights into 19th century America and a woman's place in it. Besides the images, Clover also left behind a great deal of information about her photography, including meticulous chronological notes she kept while working in her darkroom
Darkroom
A darkroom is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light sensitive photographic materials, including photographic film and photographic paper. Darkrooms have been created and used since the inception of photography in the early 19th century...
, listing photographs and commenting on exposures
Exposure (photography)
In photography, exposure is the total amount of light allowed to fall on the photographic medium during the process of taking a photograph. Exposure is measured in lux seconds, and can be computed from exposure value and scene luminance over a specified area.In photographic jargon, an exposure...
, light
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the human eye, and is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light has wavelength in a range from about 380 nanometres to about 740 nm, with a frequency range of about 405 THz to 790 THz...
ing, et cetera, and the references in her letters.
Her work was widely admired, although her husband apparently would not allow her to become professional and discouraged any publication of her photographs.
Final years
The Adams' letters reveal their household to be a normal and happy one. In the beginning, he confessed himself "absurdly in love," and she spoke again and again of Henry's "utter devotion."Clover and her husband hired architect H.H. Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...
and were in the process of having a new home built on Lafayette Square, which was adjacent to the Richardson designed house being built for John Hay
John Hay
John Milton Hay was an American statesman, diplomat, author, journalist, and private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln.-Early life:...
, when her adored father died on April 13, 1885. After Dr. Hooper's death, she sank into bouts of overwhelming depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
.
While awaiting the completion of the house, they rented one nearby on H Street
H Street (Washington, D.C.)
H Street is an east-west street in Washington, D.C.. It is also used as an alternate name for the Near Northeast neighborhood, as H Street is the neighborhood's main commercial strip.-History:...
. Clover documented the construction of the houses with her camera.
While alone in her bedroom on a Sunday in early December, 1885, she swallowed potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide
Potassium cyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula KCN. This colorless crystalline compound, similar in appearance to sugar, is highly soluble in water. Most KCN is used in gold mining, organic synthesis, and electroplating. Smaller applications include jewelry for chemical gilding and...
, which she used in developing her photographs.
Clover Hooper Adams died at age 42 at her temporary home on H Street in Washington, D.C., and was found by her husband lying on the rug before her bedroom fire. The evening newspaper reported that she had suddenly dropped dead from paralysis of the heart.
Her husband commissioned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
and architect Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
to create a memorial to mark her grave in Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery
Rock Creek Cemetery — also Rock Creek Church Yard and Cemetery — is an cemetery with a natural rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE in Washington, D.C.'s Michigan Park neighborhood, near Washington's Petworth neighborhood...
. The haunting Adams Memorial
Adams Memorial (grave marker)
The Adams Memorial is a grave marker located in Section E of Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, D.C., that features a cast bronze allegorical sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens...
is probably the most famous of all monuments in the cemetery and is generally considered to be Saint-Gaudens' most famous sculpture.
In a letter to Henry Adams, John Hay wrote, "Is it any consolation to remember her as she was? That bright, intrepid spirit, that keen, fine intellect, that lofty scorn for all that was mean, that social charm which made your house such a one as Washington never knew before and made hundreds of people love her as much as they admired her."
Legacy
The Massachusetts Historical SocietyMassachusetts Historical Society
The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history...
in Boston houses the photograph collection of Clover Adams and other materials.
Books
- The Letters of Mrs. Henry Adams, 1865-1883. Edited by Ward Thoron, Little, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and CompanyLittle, Brown and Company is a publishing house established by Charles Coffin Little and his partner, James Brown. Since 2006 it has been a constituent unit of Hachette Book Group USA.-19th century:...
, Boston. With illustrations, including a portrait by Marian Adams. 587 pp. 19361936 in literatureThe year 1936 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Life magazine is first published.* The Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's literature is established in the UK.-New books:...
. - Clover: The Tragic Love Story of Clover and Henry Adams and Their Brilliant Life in America's Gilded Age. By Otto Friedrich, Simon & SchusterSimon & SchusterSimon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. 381 pp. 19791979 in literatureThe year 1979 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-New books:*Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*V.C...
. - The Education of Mrs. Henry Adams. By Eugenia Kaledin, Temple University PressTemple University PressTemple University Press is a university press publishing house that is part of Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The press was founded in 1969....
, PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. 306 pp. 19811981 in literatureThe year 1981 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction given for the first time...
.
External links
- Lafayette Square Historic District, Washington, D.C.
- Strange Odyssey of Pirated Copy of Adams Memorial - With Photo of Clover Adams
- Homestead.com - The Adams Memorial
- Clover Adams Memorial at Find A GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
- Haunted Houses and Buildings in Washington, D.C.