Masonic Mourning Piece for Reverend Ambrose Todd180913 7/8 × 11 3/4"Watercolor, pencil, and ink on paperMuseum purchase1981.12.70Memorial watercolor painting in 12 3/4" diameter format of mourning woman, off center, holding black cloth to her eyes, 2 young boys in plaid skeleton suits and black hats standing before her holding hands, one with hand raised to eyes; LS with 2 fluted columns on checkered ground, wreath overhead and fraternal symbols; weeping willow behind LS and RS, sky of pale blue wash,forground of green grass with fence running behind. Woman wearing blue gown with lighter shawl around shoulders, white mob cap. On laid paper with pen and ink inscription. Gilded frame with center cove, mitered corners and nail construction. Glass mat with black reverse painted spandrels. Cardboard backing with wide brown tape. Typed labels on back: T: Masonic Memorial for th Rev Ambrose Todd, by Eunice Pinney of Windsor, Conn./Watercolor, 1809 (year of Rev. Todd's death) Discussed in Art Quarterly, Summer 1943. Middle year of Rev. Todd's death. He was Rector of the Eepiscopal/Church in Simsbury, Eunice Pinney's birthplace/inscribed: "The tribut of a friend who loved the living and/laments the dead Eunice Pinney." 12x 13 1/2 Windsor, Conn/Published and reproduced in Art Quartely, Summer 1943/Exhibited loan exhibition of Folk Art, Wilton, Conn,. Feb.; 1947. Label LLS: Whitney Museum of American Art/945 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10021/Artist E. Pinney/Title Masonic Menorial/Date 1809 Lender: Howard and Jean Lipman/ Exhibition Amer Folk painting of three centuries/ 2/25/80-5/13/8015221329Eunice PinneyDrawingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.Verses written outside memorial, below, in pen and ink. Top line in print hand: In memory of the Rev. Mr. Ambrose Todd who died aged 41. The tribute of a friend who who loved the living and laments the dead. Eunice Pinney. BLS in cursive: Death cant disjoin whom Christ hath joined in love/life leads to death and death to live above/on Heavens a happyer place frail thing despise/live well to gain in furture life the prize. BRS: Oh spolefs soul look down below/our widespread sorrow see/God give us strength to hear our wo/to bear the lofs of theeSimsburyWindsorSimsburyWindsorUnited StatesUnited StatesConnecticutConnecticutWorks on PaperFraternal Art and ObjectsPaintingsSimsburyWindsorAs the daughter in a prominent Episcopallian family. Eunice Pinney received a better education than many girls of the time. She started painting as a mature woman, after her second marriage her work was often based upon printed cartoons and other popular publications of the period. This memorial is in honor of Ambrose Todd who came to Simsbury from Branford, CT to cover the Ministry vacated by Rev. Roger Viets at ST Andrews Church. In 1797, he performed the marriage ceremony for Butler Pinney and Eunice Griswold, widow of Oliver Holcomb. He was made a Mason on April 4, 1798 in Morning Star No.28 Loge in East Windso, CTEunice Pinney is one of the most well-known female painters of the early nineteenth century. She was raised and educated during the eighteenth century, but her period of artistic activity occurred primarily after her second marriage in 1809, when she was already a mature woman. Pinney was born into the influential Griswold family of Simsbury, Connecticut, and received a remarkable education for a woman of her time. This was largely a consequence of her being permitted to sit in on her brother Alexander’s lessons, received at the hands of their uncle, Roger Viets, himself a Yale graduate and reverend in the Episcopal Church. Pinney was known in her own day as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading,” and literary themes pervade her watercolors of the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Recent research has revealed that Pinney’s first marriage was an abusive one, and before her first husband, Oliver Holcomb, died by drowning, they had already been divorced. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney, proved more stable, and it was at this time that she began to paint the remarkable watercolors for which she is remembered today.
This unusual mourning piece commemorates Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury and a close personal friend. Reverend Todd took over the parish from Viets in 1787. During the twelve or so years that he officiated at St. Andrew’s, from 1787 to 1799, he married fifty-eight couples, among them the Pinneys in 1797. Todd was made a Mason on April 4, 1798, in Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor, Connecticut. His Masonic affiliation was apparently important to him, as Pinney has chosen to replace the standard plinth and urn with a Masonic temple and many basic mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock printed inscription but in Pinney’s own hand and original language: “The Tribut of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.”In the post-Revolutionary era, academies of learning for girls proliferated in the New England landscape. Even so, the education Eunice Griswold Pinney received was rather remarkable for the day, and she was known as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading.” Pinney’s first marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney in 1797, proved more stable, and it was at this time—as a mature woman rather than a schoolgirl—that she began to paint the watercolors for which she is remembered today. In this tribute to Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury from 1787 to 1799, Pinney has freely adapted the codified elements of mourning art into an original and personal composition. During his tenure Reverend Todd married the Pinneys.
Todd was inducted into the Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor on April 4, 1798. His Masonic affiliation was important to him; his gravestone bears symbols of the fraternal order. Pinney, too, chose to replace the standard plinth, urn, and other mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock sentiment but in Pinney’s own hand and language: “The Tribut [sic] of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.” As Scottish Lodges abhorred conformity and celebrated individuality, this personal testament would have been pleasing to Pinney’s friend.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Masonic Mourning Piece for Reverend Ambrose Todd,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Eunice Pinney is one of the most well-known female painters of the early nineteenth century. She was raised and educated during the eighteenth century, but her period of artistic activity occurred primarily after her second marriage in 1809, when she was already a mature woman. Pinney was born into the influential Griswold family of Simsbury, Connecticut, and received a remarkable education for a woman of her time. This was largely a consequence of her being permitted to sit in on her brother Alexander’s lessons, received at the hands of their uncle, Roger Viets, himself a Yale graduate and reverend in the Episcopal Church. Pinney was known in her own day as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading,” and literary themes pervade her watercolors of the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Recent research has revealed that Pinney’s first marriage was an abusive one, and before her first husband, Oliver Holcomb, died by drowning, they had already been divorced. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney, proved more stable, and it was at this time that she began to paint the remarkable watercolors for which she is remembered today.
This unusual mourning piece commemorates Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury and a close personal friend. Reverend Todd took over the parish from Viets in 1787. During the twelve or so years that he officiated at St. Andrew’s, from 1787 to 1799, he married fifty-eight couples, among them the Pinneys in 1797. Todd was made a Mason on April 4, 1798, in Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor, Connecticut. His Masonic affiliation was apparently important to him, as Pinney has chosen to replace the standard plinth and urn with a Masonic temple and many basic mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock printed inscription but in Pinney’s own hand and original language: “The Tribut of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.”
Stacy C. Hollander, "Masonic Mourning Piece for Reverend Ambrose Todd," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001) 306.PaintingsMemorial watercolor painting in 12 3/4" diameter format of mourning woman, off center, holding black cloth to her eyes, 2 young boys in plaid skeleton suits and black hats standing before her holding hands, one with hand raised to eyes; LS with 2 fluted columns on checkered ground, wreath overhead and fraternal symbols; weeping willow behind LS and RS, sky of pale blue wash,forground of green grass with fence running behind. Woman wearing blue gown with lighter shawl around shoulders, white mob cap. On laid paper with pen and ink inscription. Gilded frame with center cove, mitered corners and nail construction. Glass mat with black reverse painted spandrels. Cardbor backing with wide brown tape. Typed labels on back: T: Masonic Memorial for th Rev Ambrose Todd, by Eunice Pinney of Windsor, Conn./Watercolor, 1809 (year of Rev. Todd's death) Discussed in Art Quarterly, Summer 1943. Middle year of Rev. Todd's death. He was Rector of the Eepiscopal/Church in Simsbury, Eunice Pinney's birthplace/inscribed: "The tribut of a friend who loved the living and/laments the dead Eunice Pinney." 12x 13 1/2 Windsor, Conn/Published and reproduced in Art Quartely, Summer 1943/Exhibited loan exhibition of Folk Art, Wilton, Conn,. Feb.; 1947. Label LLS: Whitney Museum of American Art/945 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10021/Artist E. Pinney/Title Masonic Menorial/Date 1809 Lender: Howard and Jean Lipman/ Exhibition Amer Folk painting of three centuries/ 2/25/80-5/13/80In the post-Revolutionary era, academies of learning for girls proliferated in the New England landscape. Even so, the education Eunice Griswold Pinney received was rather remarkable for the day, and she was known as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading.” Pinney’s first marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney in 1797, proved more stable, and it was at this time—as a mature woman rather than a schoolgirl—that she began to paint the watercolors for which she is remembered today. In this tribute to Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury from 1787 to 1799, Pinney has freely adapted the codified elements of mourning art into an original and personal composition. During his tenure Reverend Todd married the Pinneys.
Todd was inducted into the Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor on April 4, 1798. His Masonic affiliation was important to him; his gravestone bears symbols of the fraternal order. Pinney, too, chose to replace the standard plinth, urn, and other mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock sentiment but in Pinney’s own hand and language: “The Tribut [sic] of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.” As Scottish Lodges abhorred conformity and celebrated individuality, this personal testament would have been pleasing to Pinney’s friend.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Masonic Mourning Piece for Reverend Ambrose Todd,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014. 18091809 1981 12 7 As the daughter in a prominent Episcopallian family. Eunice Pinney received a better education than many girls of the time. She started painting as a mature woman, after her second marriage her work was often based upon printed cartoons and other popular publications of the period. This memorial is in honor of Ambrose Todd who came to Simsbury from Branford, CT to cover the Ministry vacated by Rev. Roger Viets at ST Andrews Church. In 1797, he performed the marriage ceremony for Butler Pinney and Eunice Griswold, widow of Oliver Holcomb. He was made a Mason on April 4, 1798 in Morning Star No.28 Loge in East Windso, CTEunice Pinney is one of the most well-known female painters of the early nineteenth century. She was raised and educated during the eighteenth century, but her period of artistic activity occurred primarily after her second marriage in 1809, when she was already a mature woman. Pinney was born into the influential Griswold family of Simsbury, Connecticut, and received a remarkable education for a woman of her time. This was largely a consequence of her being permitted to sit in on her brother Alexander’s lessons, received at the hands of their uncle, Roger Viets, himself a Yale graduate and reverend in the Episcopal Church. Pinney was known in her own day as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading,” and literary themes pervade her watercolors of the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Recent research has revealed that Pinney’s first marriage was an abusive one, and before her first husband, Oliver Holcomb, died by drowning, they had already been divorced. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney, proved more stable, and it was at this time that she began to paint the remarkable watercolors for which she is remembered today.
This unusual mourning piece commemorates Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury and a close personal friend. Reverend Todd took over the parish from Viets in 1787. During the twelve or so years that he officiated at St. Andrew’s, from 1787 to 1799, he married fifty-eight couples, among them the Pinneys in 1797. Todd was made a Mason on April 4, 1798, in Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor, Connecticut. His Masonic affiliation was apparently important to him, as Pinney has chosen to replace the standard plinth and urn with a Masonic temple and many basic mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock printed inscription but in Pinney’s own hand and original language: “The Tribut of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.”In the post-Revolutionary era, academies of learning for girls proliferated in the New England landscape. Even so, the education Eunice Griswold Pinney received was rather remarkable for the day, and she was known as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading.” Pinney’s first marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney in 1797, proved more stable, and it was at this time—as a mature woman rather than a schoolgirl—that she began to paint the watercolors for which she is remembered today. In this tribute to Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury from 1787 to 1799, Pinney has freely adapted the codified elements of mourning art into an original and personal composition. During his tenure Reverend Todd married the Pinneys.
Todd was inducted into the Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor on April 4, 1798. His Masonic affiliation was important to him; his gravestone bears symbols of the fraternal order. Pinney, too, chose to replace the standard plinth, urn, and other mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock sentiment but in Pinney’s own hand and language: “The Tribut [sic] of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.” As Scottish Lodges abhorred conformity and celebrated individuality, this personal testament would have been pleasing to Pinney’s friend.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Masonic Mourning Piece for Reverend Ambrose Todd,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Eunice Pinney is one of the most well-known female painters of the early nineteenth century. She was raised and educated during the eighteenth century, but her period of artistic activity occurred primarily after her second marriage in 1809, when she was already a mature woman. Pinney was born into the influential Griswold family of Simsbury, Connecticut, and received a remarkable education for a woman of her time. This was largely a consequence of her being permitted to sit in on her brother Alexander’s lessons, received at the hands of their uncle, Roger Viets, himself a Yale graduate and reverend in the Episcopal Church. Pinney was known in her own day as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading,” and literary themes pervade her watercolors of the first two decades of the nineteenth century. Recent research has revealed that Pinney’s first marriage was an abusive one, and before her first husband, Oliver Holcomb, died by drowning, they had already been divorced. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney, proved more stable, and it was at this time that she began to paint the remarkable watercolors for which she is remembered today.
This unusual mourning piece commemorates Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury and a close personal friend. Reverend Todd took over the parish from Viets in 1787. During the twelve or so years that he officiated at St. Andrew’s, from 1787 to 1799, he married fifty-eight couples, among them the Pinneys in 1797. Todd was made a Mason on April 4, 1798, in Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor, Connecticut. His Masonic affiliation was apparently important to him, as Pinney has chosen to replace the standard plinth and urn with a Masonic temple and many basic mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock printed inscription but in Pinney’s own hand and original language: “The Tribut of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.”
Stacy C. Hollander, "Masonic Mourning Piece for Reverend Ambrose Todd," in American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with American Folk Art Museum, 2001) 306.PaintingsMemorial watercolor painting in 12 3/4" diameter format of mourning woman, off center, holding black cloth to her eyes, 2 young boys in plaid skeleton suits and black hats standing before her holding hands, one with hand raised to eyes; LS with 2 fluted columns on checkered ground, wreath overhead and fraternal symbols; weeping willow behind LS and RS, sky of pale blue wash,forground of green grass with fence running behind. Woman wearing blue gown with lighter shawl around shoulders, white mob cap. On laid paper with pen and ink inscription. Gilded frame with center cove, mitered corners and nail construction. Glass mat with black reverse painted spandrels. Cardbor backing with wide brown tape. Typed labels on back: T: Masonic Memorial for th Rev Ambrose Todd, by Eunice Pinney of Windsor, Conn./Watercolor, 1809 (year of Rev. Todd's death) Discussed in Art Quarterly, Summer 1943. Middle year of Rev. Todd's death. He was Rector of the Eepiscopal/Church in Simsbury, Eunice Pinney's birthplace/inscribed: "The tribut of a friend who loved the living and/laments the dead Eunice Pinney." 12x 13 1/2 Windsor, Conn/Published and reproduced in Art Quartely, Summer 1943/Exhibited loan exhibition of Folk Art, Wilton, Conn,. Feb.; 1947. Label LLS: Whitney Museum of American Art/945 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10021/Artist E. Pinney/Title Masonic Menorial/Date 1809 Lender: Howard and Jean Lipman/ Exhibition Amer Folk painting of three centuries/ 2/25/80-5/13/80In the post-Revolutionary era, academies of learning for girls proliferated in the New England landscape. Even so, the education Eunice Griswold Pinney received was rather remarkable for the day, and she was known as “a woman of uncommonly extensive reading.” Pinney’s first marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage, to Butler Pinney in 1797, proved more stable, and it was at this time—as a mature woman rather than a schoolgirl—that she began to paint the watercolors for which she is remembered today. In this tribute to Reverend Ambrose Todd (1764–1809), the rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Simsbury from 1787 to 1799, Pinney has freely adapted the codified elements of mourning art into an original and personal composition. During his tenure Reverend Todd married the Pinneys.
Todd was inducted into the Morning Star No. 28 Lodge in East Windsor on April 4, 1798. His Masonic affiliation was important to him; his gravestone bears symbols of the fraternal order. Pinney, too, chose to replace the standard plinth, urn, and other mourning symbols with Masonic iconography. The inscription in the spandrel expresses great sorrow at Todd’s passing, not in a stock sentiment but in Pinney’s own hand and language: “The Tribut [sic] of a friend who loved the living and laments the dead.” As Scottish Lodges abhorred conformity and celebrated individuality, this personal testament would have been pleasing to Pinney’s friend.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Masonic Mourning Piece for Reverend Ambrose Todd,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.