While her fame as a an artist rests on only four existing works of art, Hannah Cohoon (1781–1864) has the unique reputation as the most well known 19th century artist of the Shaker religion. The paintings of Hannah Cohoon have been reproduced in many forms, from embroidery to prints and her images are known across the world, even if some don't even know her name.
What is not widely known, even amongst those who know about Hannah Cohoon, is that she also composed music. We feature one of her songs on this page.
What little is known of Hannah's life story seems to show that she was unschooled as an artist and created her famous painting from her heart.
She began her mystical drawings in 1845 during a time of personal "mystical excitement". Shaker women often experienced spiritual elation, visions of the spirit land, and music heard during their ecstatic experiences. These experiences were often expressed in painting and music.
While she lived most of her life, a simple life, in the Shaker communities, as so often happens, now her few painting are a monetary commodity for collectors and sell in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Hannah Cohoon died on January 7, 1864 at Hancock, just before her seventy-sixth birthday, and she is buried in the Family Cemetery of the Church.
We discovered the following song composed by Hannah Cohoon in a Shaker hymnal at the Library of Congress.