Lorenzo James Hatch (July 16, 1856 – February 3, 1914) was an American artist best known for his work as a portrait engraver in Washington, D.C., and New York. He worked for the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing, private bank note printers, and in China, assisting the government with establishing a government bureau of engraving and printing.

Biography

Hatch was born in

Hartford, New York Hartford is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town centrally located in Washington County, New York, Washington County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town popu ...

, and raised in

Dorset, Vermont Dorset is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,133 at the 2020 census. Dorset is famous for being the location of Cephas Kent's Inn, where four meetings of the Convention that signed the Dorset Accords led ...

. He studied at the Washington Art Students' Club and with

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

. Early in his career, he found his talent for engraving intricate portraits in metals. In 1874, the head of the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing admired Hatch's portrait of George Washington on copper and hired him. During his time in Washington, D.C., Hatch spent his nights studying drawing and watercolor painting. However, his talent to engrave vignettes of presidents and other famous figures proved more impressive. In 1888, Hatch moved to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to work for a private bank note company. There, he met Grace Harrison of California. They were married and had one son, Harrison in 1902. After taking a job in New York City with another bank note company, Hatch solidified his reputation in the field. The portraits of Ulysses S. Grant and Philip Sheridan on the reverse of the 1896 US five-dollar bill (''

Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World ''Electricity as the Dominant Force in the World'' is an 1896 United States five-dollar silver certificate. It is of the US large-size variety measuring by . The note is one of three notes that are part of the "Educational Series". As a result o ...

'') were engraved by Lorenzo Hatch. The reverse of the 1896 two-dollar silver certificate ('' Science presenting steam and electricity to Commerce and Manufacture'') was designed by Thomas Morris. The two portraits of

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After establishing his reputation as a portrait painter, Morse, in his middle age, contributed to the invention of a Electrical telegraph#Morse ...

and

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...

were engraved by Lorenzo Hatch. Around 1908, the Chinese government invited Hatch to establish a Bureau of Engraving and Printing modeled after that of the United States. He accepted a six-year contract to oversee the building of the bureau and train the Chinese to run the office. With his wife, their son, and sister-in-law Effie Harrision, Lorenzo moved to Peking. During his time in China, Lorenzo Hatch succeeded in building the foundations for a modern printing bureau. However, the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

in China between 1911 and 1912 hindered completion. He described his experiences, perceptions, and insecurities of being in China to his family and friends through letters. Before his contract ended, Hatch died on February 3, 1914. His body was returned to

, and is buried in Maple Hill Cemetery across from his boyhood home.

External links

Smithsonian Institution archives, with biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatch, Lorenzo 19th-century American engravers 1856 births 1914 deaths 20th-century American engravers 19th-century American artists 20th-century American artists People from Hartford, New York