Description: The fireplace, center of family life in early New England, served as a source of inspiration for both professional decorative painters and amateur artists. In the 1700s, paneled fireplace walls often featured a painted landscape above the mantel. After 1790, painted fireboards (also called chimney boards) became popular for covering the unused fireplace in summer, preventing soot from entering the room. Common subjects for fireboard paintings included potted flowers, animals, historical events, and land- and seascapes, often copied from a print or book illustration. While some of the landscapes were imaginary, others were based on direct observation and rank among America's earliest town views. Fireboard covered with wallpaper printed with an urn.
Link to share this object record: https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+86.806 |