Painting

Title:

The Gardeners Daughter

Object Name:

Painting

Object ID:

2024.017

Creator:

Burgess, William (1846- ) -- Artist

Date:

1877-1880

Description:

Painting. Double-sided painting on board by William Burgess, an inmate at the New Hampshire State Prison, 1877-1880. One of the two sides depicts "THE GARDENERS DAUGHTER," based off of an engraving of the same name published in 1857 in London by Henry Graves & Company, which was itself based on an oil painting by Richard Ansdell. The painting depicts a woman in a town standing by a white horse. The scene on the opposite side is titled "COMEING HOME FROM THE WAKE" and depicts a man and woman walking along a moonlit road with a stone bridge in front of them. The man has an arm over the woman's shoulder. The title, "COMEING HOME FROM THE WAKE" derives from a famous 19th century English folk ballad. The board with a hole at the top is believed to be a mess hall tray from the state prison.

Dimensions:

H-19.125 W-12 D-0.625 inches

Provenance:

Acquired by Horace Fiske Holton (1818-1893) from William Burgess while he was an inmate at the New Hampshire State Prison. Holton was a Lancaster farmer and a member of the New Hampshire Board of Agriculture from May 1873 to June 1876. He traveled to Concord for these meetings, and according to Holton's granddaughter, he befriended a warden named Pilsbury at the state prison. This was either John C. Pilsbury (1802-1885) who served as warden from 1870 to 1880 or it was his son, Thomas A. Pilsbury (1843-1893), who served as deputy warden from 1870-1889. The painting was displayed in the Wilder-Holton House by the Holton family who lived in the house until 1975 and then by the Lancaster Historical Society, who now occupy the Wilder-Holton House.

Credit Line:

Gift of the Lancaster Historical Society, Lancaster, NH

People:

Pillsbury, John C. (1802-1885), Pillsbury, Thomas A. (1843-1893), Holton, Horace Fiske (1818-1893), Burgess, William (1846- )

Subjects:

Prisons, Prisoners, State Prison (NH)