Hay-Scale Elms
Image ID: ART066
oil painting of 2 large Hay-Scale Elm trees in central area with buildings and dirt roads surrounding them
oil painting unsigned and undated Believed to have been done in the early 1850's
Perkins (Granville?)
This scene at King and Main Street portrayed mid-19th century downtown Northampton, at a busy corner near Wm. G. Dickenson's grocery, Samuel W. Lee's stove store, and the Hook and Ladder Company, located in the basement of what was then the Town Hall. The painting of the large elms behind the small hay-scale "represents the trees most faithfully," according to a letter from Mrs. Louise G. Stoddard Williston, who arranged for the oil to be gifted to the library, at "the behest of the later Rev. Martin L. Williston." (Originally, it was to go to Memorial Hall, site of the Clarke Library, but serious discussions were already underway for the merger of the two libraries, which occurred in 1916; thus, the painting was sent to Forbes.) "The foliage of one (three) was always slightly yellower than that of the other," Louise wrote of her childhood memory, "and that one always shed its leaves a little earlier in the fall." J.P. Williston's home (white, red trim) is seen behind the trees.
The painting is ascribed to an artist with the last name Perkins, who is identified in old newspaper reports as someone who, in the 1950's, "spent some time in Northampton boarding at Mr. Lewis Parsons' on South St." It might have been Granville Perkins (1831-1895), Baltimore-born water colorist, who could be said to have a local connection: in 1879, Elbridge Kingsley did an engraving of one of his drawings.
oil painting unsigned and undated Believed to have been done in the early 1850's
Perkins (Granville?)
This scene at King and Main Street portrayed mid-19th century downtown Northampton, at a busy corner near Wm. G. Dickenson's grocery, Samuel W. Lee's stove store, and the Hook and Ladder Company, located in the basement of what was then the Town Hall. The painting of the large elms behind the small hay-scale "represents the trees most faithfully," according to a letter from Mrs. Louise G. Stoddard Williston, who arranged for the oil to be gifted to the library, at "the behest of the later Rev. Martin L. Williston." (Originally, it was to go to Memorial Hall, site of the Clarke Library, but serious discussions were already underway for the merger of the two libraries, which occurred in 1916; thus, the painting was sent to Forbes.) "The foliage of one (three) was always slightly yellower than that of the other," Louise wrote of her childhood memory, "and that one always shed its leaves a little earlier in the fall." J.P. Williston's home (white, red trim) is seen behind the trees.
The painting is ascribed to an artist with the last name Perkins, who is identified in old newspaper reports as someone who, in the 1950's, "spent some time in Northampton boarding at Mr. Lewis Parsons' on South St." It might have been Granville Perkins (1831-1895), Baltimore-born water colorist, who could be said to have a local connection: in 1879, Elbridge Kingsley did an engraving of one of his drawings.
Image Details
| Dublin Core | |
|---|---|
| Title |
Hay-Scale Elms
|
| Subject |
Granville Perkins
Oil paintings
Elms
|
| Description |
oil painting of 2 large Hay-Scale Elm trees in central area with buildings and dirt roads surrounding them
oil painting unsigned and undated Believed to have been done in the early 1850's Perkins (Granville?) This scene at King and Main Street portrayed mid-19th century downtown Northampton, at a busy corner near Wm. G. Dickenson's grocery, Samuel W. Lee's stove store, and the Hook and Ladder Company, located in the basement of what was then the Town Hall. The painting of the large elms behind the small hay-scale "represents the trees most faithfully," according to a letter from Mrs. Louise G. Stoddard Williston, who arranged for the oil to be gifted to the library, at "the behest of the later Rev. Martin L. Williston." (Originally, it was to go to Memorial Hall, site of the Clarke Library, but serious discussions were already underway for the merger of the two libraries, which occurred in 1916; thus, the painting was sent to Forbes.) "The foliage of one (three) was always slightly yellower than that of the other," Louise wrote of her childhood memory, "and that one always shed its leaves a little earlier in the fall." J.P. Williston's home (white, red trim) is seen behind the trees. The painting is ascribed to an artist with the last name Perkins, who is identified in old newspaper reports as someone who, in the 1950's, "spent some time in Northampton boarding at Mr. Lewis Parsons' on South St." It might have been Granville Perkins (1831-1895), Baltimore-born water colorist, who could be said to have a local connection: in 1879, Elbridge Kingsley did an engraving of one of his drawings. |
| Creator |
(attributed to) Granville Perkins
|
| Format |
Oil painting
|
| Identifier |
ART066
|
| Coverage |
Circulation/lobby
|
| Still Image Item Type Metadata | |
|---|---|
| Physical Dimensions |
18" x 25"
|
Citation
(attributed to) Granville Perkins, “Hay-Scale Elms,” Forbes Library Images from the Archives (Legacy site: Pre-2022), accessed May 19, 2024, https://images.forbeslibrary.org/items/show/806.