Curtisville
PainterAttributed to
James Rabbeth Jr.
(English, 1824 - 1858)
Dateabout 1855
MediumOil on canvas on masonite in black painted wood frame
DimensionsStretcher (height x width): 32 3/8 x 64 3/4in. (82.2 x 164.5cm)
Frame (height x width x depth): 34 7/8 x 67 5/8 x 1 1/4in. (88.6 x 171.8 x 3.2cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number1947.19.0
DescriptionA village with factory buildings, houses, and fields planted with crops. A small body of water is in the far distance. Fields with green plants in rows are at the right. Three two-story houses in the foreground are all painted white with fences around them. There is unplowed land to the right side and in the right background there are additional houses. Factory buildings, one with a smokestack, are in the left background. In front of this, clothes are drying on a clothesline in a grassy yard surrounded by a rail and picket fence. A garden with bean poles and other bushy plants is to the left. At the extreme left are two white two-story houses, with fences around them, some white and some brown. Smaller buildings, presumably outhouses, are beside most buildings. Several people, men and women, are depicted going about daily activies around the buildings. Animals, including chickens are visible near some of the houses. The borders of the painting have been painted red; the title, "CURTISVILLE", appears in a broad red band at the bottom, slightly right of center.
NotesSubject Note: The Curtisville Manufacturing Company was founded in Hartford in 1834 by Frederick Curtis. About 1846 the company moved to Glastonbury, where it was located in the Naubec section of town, on Salmon Brook. By 1857 the region occupied by the manufactory was called Curtisville, with its own post-master. The company made German silver and plated ware. The property was later owned by the American Sterling Company, then by the Williams Brothers Silver Company.Constituent Note: James Rabbeth, Jr. was born in London, England in 1824. He married Nancy Alvord, of Glastonbury, on 26 April 1858 and must have died shortly thereafter, as she is listed as widow of James in the list of Church Members of the First Church of Christ, published in 1859.
Status
On view
E.B. & E.C. Kellogg
1840-1848
