Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Painting |
Title |
And In The Streets..., #9 in 'The Two Villages' series |
Catalog Number |
1939.707 |
Creator |
Sawyier, Paul, 1865-1917 |
Maker |
Frankfort |
Date |
ca. 1895 |
Material(s) |
Paint/Paper |
Dimensions |
H-19.5 W-23.5 inches |
Description |
This watercolor is # 9 in 'The Two Villages' series painted by Paul Sawyier [unsigned] and based on the poem by Rose Terry Cooke. The painting is on separate sheet and adhered to a matte backing with a line of the poem beneath. The watercolor depicts a street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The road begins in the left foreground and runs to the center to the covered bridge. Each side of the street is lined with trees and further back buildings. The right side of the painting shows a brick sidewalk with brick curbing running parallel to the street. In the foreground on this sidewalk is a street lamp with a mailbox. Further to the right is a row of buildings fronted by wrought iron fences and stone walls. Leaning up against on of these wall is what appears to be a painting. There is a buggy on the right side of the street next to the curb in the background. Further in the background is the Covered bridge framed by the street and the trees. The painting covers the entire sheet. The sheet of paper is adhered to a board with the painted inscription of one line of Cooke's poem. The painting is framed in a gold frame. |
Notes |
Ninth in a series of paintings by Sawyier illustrating Rose Terry Cooke's 1860 poem 'The Two Villages,' which contrasts life in a small town with the local cemetery on the hill. Sawyier used scenes from Frankfort and Frankfort Cemetery. Sawyier did three sets of paintings based on the poem. The first set had agricultural images from a man ploughing to a grim reaper in a field. A common question in regards to this series of paintings is how did Sawyier become familiar with a poem written by a woman in New England? It turns out that the poem "The Two Villages" was published in a supplement to the Frankfort Roundabout on February 16, 1895. A note under the title saying "applicable to Frankfort and her cemetery" was added by the editors. Is this how Sawyier first heard of the poem? Maybe. We may never know exactly how he came to know about the poem but it is very possible that he read it in 1895 and then painted the illustrations later in the decade. |
Collection |
Estate of Anne Thomas Collection |
People |
Sawyier, Paul, 1865-1917 Cooke, Rose Terry |
Subjects |
Cemeteries Landscapes Art Painting Paintings Poems Poetry Covered bridges |
Search Terms |
Land Landscapes Impressionism Impressionism (Art) |
Physical Holder |
Kentucky Historical Society - KHS |