Old Homestead on the Turnpike
12 in. x 16 in.
Henry Pember Smith,
(1854–1907)
Medium and Support:
oil on canvas
Credit Line:
Florence Griswold Museum, Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Accession Number:
2002.1.131
Henry Pember Smith, a Waterford native, often chose as his subject tidy Connecticut homesteads. His depictions of houses (usually Dutch Colonials) surrounded by stone walls or picket fences and ancient trees struck a chord with Americans after the Civil War. In an era of intense social transformation, old homesteads symbolized enduring values and made comforting reference to the past. Smith’s reverent depictions of New England houses contributed to the Colonial Revival movement of the late nineteenth century.