Painting

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

1987.022

Creator:

Ellery, Richard V. (1909-1993) -- Artist

Place of Origin:

Concord, NH

Date:

1948

Description:

Mural, oil on canvas, 6 ft. x 10 ft., by Richard V. Ellery (1909-1993), 1948. Depicts Concord, NH, and Merrimack River, with Concord Coach in foreground, c. 1840. Passengers on top of coach looking back at Concord. No stretcher or frame. Signed "Richard V. Ellery" in lower right on front. Commissioned by New Hampshire Savings Bank in 1948. Mural hung in bank lobby in Concord until 1986. Rolled for storage.

Material:

Textile

Dimensions:

H-72 L-120 inches

Provenance:

Commissioned by New Hampshire Savings Bank in 1948. Hung in the bank's lobby in Concord until 1986. Received via Belknap Mill Society, Laconia, NH.

Richard V. Ellery was commissioned by W. H. Jones & Son, Bank Architects, Melrose, MA, to produce murals for several banks, including New Hampshire Savings Bank in 1948. In 1987, the artist wrote about his planning process for this mural: "In my search for a theme I came across the fact of the Great Coach's importance to the westward movement of the settling of America and went to work at the Concord Library to research and authenticate, rather enthusiastically setting the theme as the travelers took their last glance back at their beloved city."

The background of the mural is based on a colored lithograph after George Harvey, 1853, in NHHS collection (1988.502).

Credit Line:

Gift of the New Hampshire Savings Bank

People:

Ellery, Richard V. (1909-1993)

Subjects:

Concord, NH, Concord Coach, Merrimack River, Westward movement, Murals