Ann Butler was the eldest daughter of eleven children born to Aaron Butler (1790–1860) and Sarah Cornell Butler (1793–1869) in Greene County, New York. The bountiful apple orchards on Butler’s property allowed him to establish a successful cider mill and brandy business. He also operated a general store and hay press. The Butlers of Brandy Hill are best remembered today for the beautiful wares that they produced in the tin shop, which opened in 1824 and continued to operate until a few years before his death. While Butler’s sons were occupied with the manufacture and distribution of the tinwares, his daughters engaged in "flowering" the forms, painting the beautiful designs of scrolls, flowers, and decorative bands that made such tinware desirable. This was one of the few socially sanctioned artistic employments for women.

Ann and her sisters may have learned the art of flower painting as part of their education at Greenville Academy. Ann became the primary decorator by the age of fourteen or fifteen and was conversant with all phases of production of the tinware business, sometimes accompanying her father on trips as far away as New York City. Nevertheless, her involvement in the family business effectively ended in 1840, when she married Eli Scutt. She moved with her husband to Livingstonville, New York, where she raised three children. Ann Butler’s short professional life typifies the course of many young women who were expected to cease such activities after marriage and the establishment of their own homes, but her impact on the aesthetics of tinware produced by the family shop helped to determine the popularity of their wares. Several pieces, including those displayed here, are signed with Ann Butler’s name on a heart-shaped device enclosing her initials. The Battersea-type shaped trinket box and Chippendale-style caddy were among seven pieces that descended within the Butler family.

Stacy C. Hollander, "Tea Caddies, Trunk, Trinket Box," exhibition copy for American Perspectives: Stories from the American Folk Art Museum Collection. Stacy C. Hollander, curator. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2020.

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