Collage

Title:

Spirit of 1776

Object Name:

Collage

Object ID:

1952.013

Creator:

Merrill, Edward West (1841-1910)Artist; Willard, Archibald M. (1836-1918)Artist

Place of Origin:

Concord, NH

Date:

circa 1876

Description:

Birchbark Picture. The Spirit of 1776, by Edward West Merrill (1841-1910), c. 1876. Birchbark, ink, paint, on paper. Three Revolutionary War figures. Center figure with drum holding two drum sticks; wearing trousers with leggings, shirt, and vest. Man to right playing a flute or fife; wearing yellow trousers with leggings, white shirt, and blue coat. Figure to left with drum; wearing a bicorne hat, white coat with red lapels, white trousers, and yellow boots. Center and right figure looking left; figure to left looking right. Birchbark clothing and musical instruments, lithograph prints for face and hands. White painted grass on black background. Titled center: "The Spirit of 1776". Inscription lower left: "80 PIECES / OF BARK IN / THIS PICTURE ". Signed lower right: "DRAWN ON BIRCHBARK / BY EW Merrill. / Concord N.H." Molded wood frame, glazed. Based on the "The Spirit of '76" painted in 1876 by Archibald M. Willard.

Material:

Wood
Birchbark

Dimensions:

H-28 W-22 inches

Provenance:

Presented to the Soldiers Home, Chelsea, MA in 1881 by Sarah E. Talbot (1829-1907) of Malden, MA, a member of the Ladies' Aid Association of the Soldiers' Home in Massachusetts.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Sociery Purchase

People:

Merrill, Edward West (1841-1910), Willard, Archibald M. (1836-1918), Talbot, Sarah E. (1829-1907)

Subjects:

Drums, Fifes