Description:
Iron peel with a pointed leaf-shaped handle, tapered shaft, and rectangular shovel, which has been broken off at the end, which was to place and remove bread and pastries in the oven and for other fireplace activities. The peel, which both probably descended in the Williams family of Deerfield and was in the Childs-Russell-Williams-Champney-Keith house, was donated to PVMA by Elizabeth Williams Champney (1850-1922), wife of the artist, James Wells Champney (1843-1903), and listed in the Kitchen as "148. Iron Slice." Born in Springfield, Ohio, Elizabeth Williams was the half-sister of Orson Bennet Williams (1834-1912) and daughter of Samuel Barnard Williams (1803-1884), originally of Deerfield, whose second wife was Caroline Johnson (d.1885) whom he married in 1844; the granddaughter of Elijah Williams (1767-1832) who married Hannah Barnard (1772-1853), daughter of Samuel Barnard (1721-1788) of Deerfield, in 1803; and great-granddaugher of Dr. Thomas Williams (1718-1775) of Deerfield. In 1876 the Champneys moved into Samuel Barnard Williams' house in Deerfield where Champney built a studio; they lived in Deerfield for several years while he was professor of art at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and one of the founders of the Smith Art Gallery. In 1879, Champney opened a studio in New York City, and from that time on the Deerfield became their summer home. James and Elizabeth had two children: Edward Frere (1874-1929) who studied art and became an architect, and Maria Mitchell (1876-1906) who was born in Deerfield, married John Sanford Humphreys in 1899, and was a miniature painter.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+64.319 |
