Sample Box and Ten Panels1820–1830Box: 8 3/4 × 15 1/16 × 2 5/8"
Panels: 6 7/8 × 14 × 1/8" eachPaint on pine, with brass handleAnonymous gift and gift of the Richard Coyle Lilly Foundation1980.28.1A-K015221531Moses Eaton Jr.Tools and EquipmentThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.DublinDublinUnited StatesNew HampshireThree Dimensional WorksDublinNineteenth-century decorative painters learned their skills in a variety of ways, from serving apprenticeships to reading instruction manuals. In 1812 Hezekiah Reynolds printed a pamphlet of paint recipes and techniques intended “for the use of those who have not been regularly instructed in the Art of Painting.” In 1827 English author Nathaniel Whittock directed his book to “the house painter who intends becoming an imitator of fancy woods.”
This sample box was discovered in the New Hampshire home of the decorative painter Moses Eaton. It includes ten narrow panels with exuberantly painted patterns produced in a variety of techniques such as vinegar painting, shelling, seaweed painting, stamping, and mottling. One panel is painted a solid yellow ocher. This would provide the base for vigorous patterning overlaid with a darker glaze or paint and manipulated using putty, leather, sponges, feathers, or the artist’s own fingers to work the paint and create some of the textures displayed on these panels. Once the entire surface was dry, it received coats of varnish that protected the surface and added depth and luster.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Sample Box and Ten Panels,” 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. This sample box was discovered by a descendent in the New Hampshire home of Moses Eaton. It probably was made and used by Moses Eaton Jr. rather than his father, though both men were decorative painters, known for stenciled painting on walls. The sample box includes ten narrow panels, nine of which display imaginative graining in a variety of patterns and colors. The tenth panel is coated with the ground color used in the other nine. The panels are contained in a small wooden box with brass handle that is itself covered with decorative grain painting. The painting displayed on these samples is most typically associated with painted decoration on case furniture and boxes rather than interior wall murals for which Eaton is recognized today. A tradition of imaginative and imitative graining on interior woodwork in homes, however, was established after the second quarter of the eighteenth century.
The exuberantly textured surfaces offered in these sample panels came into widespread favor by the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The effects were produced by a variety of techniques that involved manipulating the paint while it was still wet. The ground was usually a light shade, with darker or contrasting colors applied over the base coat. The painter might employ aids such as putty, leather, sponges, feathers, or his own fingers to work the paint and create some of the textures displayed on these panels. Other effects were achieved through the use of vinegar or another liquid that reacted with the paint to produce unusual patterns.Nineteenth-century decorative painters learned their skills in a variety of ways, from serving apprenticeships to reading instruction manuals. In 1812 Hezekiah Reynolds printed a pamphlet of paint recipes and techniques intended “for the use of those who have not been regularly instructed in the Art of Painting.” In 1827 English author Nathaniel Whittock directed his book to “the house painter who intends becoming an imitator of fancy woods.”
This sample box was discovered in the New Hampshire home of the decorative painter Moses Eaton. It includes ten narrow panels with exuberantly painted patterns produced in a variety of techniques such as vinegar painting, shelling, seaweed painting, stamping, and mottling. One panel is painted a solid yellow ocher. This would provide the base for vigorous patterning overlaid with a darker glaze or paint and manipulated using putty, leather, sponges, feathers, or the artist’s own fingers to work the paint and create some of the textures displayed on these panels. Once the entire surface was dry, it received coats of varnish that protected the surface and added depth and luster.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Sample Box and Ten Panels,” 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. Painted Furniture18201830 1980 28 1A K Nineteenth-century decorative painters learned their skills in a variety of ways, from serving apprenticeships to reading instruction manuals. In 1812 Hezekiah Reynolds printed a pamphlet of paint recipes and techniques intended “for the use of those who have not been regularly instructed in the Art of Painting.” In 1827 English author Nathaniel Whittock directed his book to “the house painter who intends becoming an imitator of fancy woods.”
This sample box was discovered in the New Hampshire home of the decorative painter Moses Eaton. It includes ten narrow panels with exuberantly painted patterns produced in a variety of techniques such as vinegar painting, shelling, seaweed painting, stamping, and mottling. One panel is painted a solid yellow ocher. This would provide the base for vigorous patterning overlaid with a darker glaze or paint and manipulated using putty, leather, sponges, feathers, or the artist’s own fingers to work the paint and create some of the textures displayed on these panels. Once the entire surface was dry, it received coats of varnish that protected the surface and added depth and luster.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Sample Box and Ten Panels,” 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. This sample box was discovered by a descendent in the New Hampshire home of Moses Eaton. It probably was made and used by Moses Eaton Jr. rather than his father, though both men were decorative painters, known for stenciled painting on walls. The sample box includes ten narrow panels, nine of which display imaginative graining in a variety of patterns and colors. The tenth panel is coated with the ground color used in the other nine. The panels are contained in a small wooden box with brass handle that is itself covered with decorative grain painting. The painting displayed on these samples is most typically associated with painted decoration on case furniture and boxes rather than interior wall murals for which Eaton is recognized today. A tradition of imaginative and imitative graining on interior woodwork in homes, however, was established after the second quarter of the eighteenth century.
The exuberantly textured surfaces offered in these sample panels came into widespread favor by the first quarter of the nineteenth century. The effects were produced by a variety of techniques that involved manipulating the paint while it was still wet. The ground was usually a light shade, with darker or contrasting colors applied over the base coat. The painter might employ aids such as putty, leather, sponges, feathers, or his own fingers to work the paint and create some of the textures displayed on these panels. Other effects were achieved through the use of vinegar or another liquid that reacted with the paint to produce unusual patterns.Nineteenth-century decorative painters learned their skills in a variety of ways, from serving apprenticeships to reading instruction manuals. In 1812 Hezekiah Reynolds printed a pamphlet of paint recipes and techniques intended “for the use of those who have not been regularly instructed in the Art of Painting.” In 1827 English author Nathaniel Whittock directed his book to “the house painter who intends becoming an imitator of fancy woods.”
This sample box was discovered in the New Hampshire home of the decorative painter Moses Eaton. It includes ten narrow panels with exuberantly painted patterns produced in a variety of techniques such as vinegar painting, shelling, seaweed painting, stamping, and mottling. One panel is painted a solid yellow ocher. This would provide the base for vigorous patterning overlaid with a darker glaze or paint and manipulated using putty, leather, sponges, feathers, or the artist’s own fingers to work the paint and create some of the textures displayed on these panels. Once the entire surface was dry, it received coats of varnish that protected the surface and added depth and luster.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Sample Box and Ten Panels,” 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. Painted Furniture