c1830 Memorial, town & oversize Rabbit WATERCOLOR

 c1830 Memorial, town & oversize Rabbit WATERCOLOR

 Intricate details of people, town, horses + Memorial

Usually painted as a memorial to family members, as evinced by the two monuments at the lower right corner, these paintings were prized items in early to mid-19^th century homes. The painting is in mint condition, painted on circa 1830 thin tan paper backed with parchment, in an acid-free museum mounting. The painting itself measures 7”x 12”, the mounting is 10”x 14”, and the later frame (circa 1920s, with original mahogany veneer) is 12.5” high, 16.5” wide and 1” deep. Itinerant artists rarely signed their work, though we believe the large rabbit in the foreground is either the artist’s signature or has something to do with the memorial or possibly from the family crest – it could even have been the name of the farm or manor, “Rabbit Hill” or such, for whom the painting was made. The painting most likely depicts a New England village, with the church prominently painted at center right and the graveyard in front. A stone bridge crosses a stream and the road leads out of town towards rolling hills and rounded New England mountains. There are nine buildings, a man on horseback and another horse hiding in the trees, on the left behind the rabbit. Beautifully painted, this artist was no beginner and the watercolors are laid on thinly for the background colors, and applied more thickly to build up the tree leaves. Black India-ink was used for all the minute details. This is a painting worthy of any fine collection.

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