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Thaddeus Defrees (Defriez) was born in Boston, MA on September 27, 1855, the youngest of three children. His parents were Georgianna and William, a machinist. Thaddeus’s grandfather, William Henry Defriez Sr., immigrated from England.

Defrees painted in a style strongly influenced by the French Barbizon School. He was a pupil of George Loring Brown, and, like his mentor, often inscribed his canvases verso with the dates and locations of his work. Defrees was active in the White Mountains from at least 1877 until his death in 1888. He exhibited at the Boston Art Club in January, 1878 and was listed in the 1879 Boston City Directory as a “Landscape Painter,” with an address of 512 East Broadway.

In January of 1880, Defrees made his first European trip in the company of George Loring Brown. On January 24, they departed from the Port of Boston aboard the Cunard Line S/S Samaria, en route to Liverpool, England, and later to other cities as part of their journey.  Defrees excelled at painting Venetian scenery and, in particular, the Venice Canals.

By January of 1882, Defrees had taken a studio on Beacon Street in Boston. In 1883, he was listed in the Boston City Directory as an “Artist” living at 33 School Street, Room 44, which remained his last known address prior to his death. During the summer months, Defrees would often venture to the White Mountains and was the artist-in-residence at the Thorn Mountain House and later the Wilson Cottages. The Proctor family of Jackson, NH was related to the Wilsons of Wilson Cottages. Alice Protor has indicated that the Proctors always referred to Defrees as “Jan”.  Many of his paintings depict views captured in and around Jackson and Shelburne, NH.  He was also known to have painted Massachusetts subjects.

In 1888, while traveling in Italy, Defrees contracted typhoid fever and died in Venice, on July 9. He was just 33 years of age. A Memorial Stone for Defrees can be found in the Southborough Rural Cemetery, in Southborough, MA. Click here for more information.

On November 22nd and 23rd of 1888, his estate auctioned 188 oils and watercolors at Noyes, Cobb & Co. in Boston. Titles included scenes of Venice, Italy, and France, as well as many Jackson and other New Hampshire scenes. Titles in the auction catalog were often not very specific, but likely White Mountain views included: “New Hampshire Scenery”, “Falls at Jackson NH”, “Old Farm-House”, “White Mountains”, “Mountains New Hampshire”, “Landscape New Hampshire”, ” Jackson”, “Old Mill”, “Lake and Mountains”, “Interior Farm House”, “Old Mill, Lincoln, N.H.”, and “Midsummer Morning Ellis River”.

Images of Thaddeus Defrees

Gravestone

Signatures

Image Credits
Courtesy of Alice Proctor

References
Independent research by the authors
Independent research by Charles Vogel and Allen Vogel
New Hampshire Scenery
Susanne Germone (Thaddeus’s 2nd cousin, three times removed)