Haddam
PainterPainted by
Sibyl Huntington
(1734 - 1798)
Dateabout 1758
MediumPainting; oil on wood panel in wood frame
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 27 7/8 x 52 3/8in. (70.8 x 133cm)
Other (panel height x width): 30 5/8 x 54 5/8in. (77.8 x 138.7cm)
Frame (height x width): 35 5/8 x 62 5/8 x 1in. (90.5 x 159.1 x 2.5cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number1994.109.0
DescriptionThree men wearing frock coats and holding muskets stand beneath a tree. A boy and several dogs are at the right. Cows are beneath a tree at the far right. Game animals, including rabbits and deer, are at the left. Against a background of dense trees, beyond a river, is a cluster of buildings, including a church and houses.
Label TextThe painting represents the Connecticut River flowing near the church at Haddam, Connecticut. If the landscape was painted in the early years of the Mays' marriage, then the church at the center of the cluster of buildings represents the second meeting house of Haddam, which was built in 1721 and used until 1771. The Mays' house stood some distance from this meeting house, but was next to the one which replaced it in 1771. Sybil May included an architectural detail typical of Connecticut River Valley architecture in the mid-18th century: the scroll pediment over the doors to the meeting house and the house on the right. The figures and animals in the foreground are probably drawn from needlework sources, which in turn were based on contemporary print sources.
Status
Not on view
