Frances Anne Hopkins was born in England on February 2, 1838, and died on March 5, 1919. (née Beechey) In 1858 she married an official of the Hudson Bay Company. She would not only travel to North America with him, but she would travel by voyageur canoe along fur trading routes. Along the way she would sketch scenes and activities of the trip. She is perhaps best know for her several large paintings of the voyageurs and their canoes and place herself in the seat of the canoe along with her husband and the paddlers.

Many of these paintings are part of the collection of the National Library and Archives. In 1870 the Hopkins returned to England to live. When people visit the Canadian Museum of Civilization they can view in the main entrance area a large 3D representation of one of the Hopkins canoe paintings complete with Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins in the canoe.