The Center for Painted Wall Preservation will host an Upper Connecticut River Valley Talk and Tour Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, visiting four private homes with painted murals and overmantels! Beginning at 9:30 AM at the Lyme Center Academy Building, Lyme, NH, box lunches and maps will be distributed following the talk for those registered for the event. Pre-registration begins July 1 online at www.pwpcenter.org/events. The cost is $50/person for non-members and $40/person members of CPWP which includes the lecture, a box lunch, map and the opportunity to visit four unique private locations. Proof of vaccination is required to attend the event.
The Littleton Inn in Littleton, NH was opened by James Williams in 1790. The Inn was a mecca for hunters, trappers and explorers from north and south. Incredible early wall murals remain untouched in the upper room of this small building located at the foothills of the White Mountains. Rarely open to the public, the walls are believed to have been painted by the Bear and Pears artist, who also painted the well-known fireboard owned by the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown, NY.
Original overmantels still in situ? You will see these at the Meeting House Farm in Norwich, VT. Two overmantels dating from early 1800s using both scenic landscape painting on plaster and marbleizing are the decorative features at this site. The marbleizing technique is the only known Vermont example of this style of painting and may be one of the earliest known American examples using oil paint on plaster.
The Elwin Chase House, an early Greek Revival home, is nestled on the edge of the Tabor Valley. The interior boasts brightly colored and untouched murals floor to ceiling extending from the downstairs foyer up the stairs to the upper hallway. Dating in the 1830’s, these murals are unique because they seem to tell a story unlike most murals of this period.
The Moses Kent House in Lyme, NH is an early nineteenth century Federal gem. Over the last century the house has undergone extensive restoration to undo all the construction work that were done to “improve” the house by various owners. Luckily, the Rufus Porter-school murals have remained almost untouched through the years. They have, however, been cleaned and restored to their majestic beauty in the front parlor, lower and upper halls, stairway and upper bedchamber. There is evidence of two hands working here and may be the epitome of Rufus Porter and his nephew J. D. Poor working together.
Step back in time with CPWP. Join us in seeing paint decorated walls in private homes at the height of the fall foliage season in the Upper Connecticut River Valley. CPWP is looking forward to sharing this rare opportunity to view these marvelous painted American Folk Art murals and their history
To visit these private homes along the Upper Connecticut River Valley featuring original 19th century paint-decorated wall murals, register for the tour at