Sign for Mason's Inn
Dateafter 1830
MediumPaint on pine board and moldings, gold leaf, iron hardware
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width including hardware): 53 1/8 x 61 1/2in. (134.9 x 156.2cm)
Other (height x width of sign only): 49 3/4 x 61in. (126.4 x 154.9cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCollection of Morgan B. Brainard, Gift of Mrs. Morgan B. Brainard
Object number1961.63.37
DescriptionImages: On side 1, horse and rider with tree trunk. On side 2, landscape scene, with vignette in lower right of man hiding something in tree trunk.
Text: On both sides, below image "A.N. MASON".
Construction: Three boards, grain oriented horizontally, assembled with tongue-and-groove joints, held together by moldings nailed to the edges.
Text: On both sides, below image "A.N. MASON".
Construction: Three boards, grain oriented horizontally, assembled with tongue-and-groove joints, held together by moldings nailed to the edges.
Collections
Label TextOn one side of this sign, a man on horseback ponders a hollow tree trunk. The other side depicts the 1687 hiding of Connecticut’s colonial Charter from the British in the Charter Oak. The story of this famous event had a peak in popularity with the Connecticut Bicentennial and again when the tree fell in 1856. The image on the side displayed has been interpreted as a later man paying his respects to the origins of Connecticut liberty and independence.
NotesTechnique Note: Ground layer is off-white. Lettering was skillfully executed in varnished gold or metal, although covered with bronze paint, now tarnished. The letter "A" has a distinctive curved mid-line on side 2. Letters were awkwardly retouched at some time in the past.Status
On view
before 1892
about 1823
1814-1820
1790-1820