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About the Painting of the Old Fairbanks Home
The picture of the "Old Fairbanks Home" was painted in 1933 by John B Fairbanks to commemorate the 1633 arrival of Jonathan Fairbanks with his wife, Grace Lee, and children to America. Jonathan's brother Richard and wife Elizabeth arrived with them at Boston on the ship "Griffin", from Lancaster, England. Jonathan and family moved to Dedham, Massachusetts, where he built the home pictured here. It is the oldest frame home in America. Richard was to become the first appointed Postmaster in the United States.
The main beam of the house was brought by Jonathan from England. The window frames are said to have come over on a sailing of the Mayflower.
Many artists have painted the 2- and 3-story front side of the home. John B Fairbanks wanted to paint the back side. The back side shows the house to be large, but not showing its full height. Painting it in the moonlight was still another approach.
In the painting the moon is full, occasionally a cloud floats by, covering its face. The unclear outlines of the limbs of the giant elms give the suggestion of movement. The evergreen at the right end of the house is bent slightly in the wind, confirming that there is a breeze. The trackless wind-swept snow of the yard indicates that the snow is crusted.
If one looks closely, one can see red berries on the bushes against the house, showing that they are pyracantha bushes. The suggestion of snow suspended above the bushes is a way of showing the height of the bushes without detracting from the expanse of the large roof.
Some of the larger branches of the tree are still holding the snow that was deposited a few days earlier. Some of summer's last leaves still cling to the branches. There is a subtle peaceful and homey feeling that the painting gives to the house. While it looks old, it gives the feeling of having withstood many a storm and that it is there to stay.
The section of the house to the left of the picture shows a connecting hall, joining the main house to the left end. As children grew up and married they would add to the house for the next family.
Truly an old master, John B Fairbanks had a way of organizing each brush stroke to make it count. The well laid out strokes have constructed a beautifully haunting memorial to this valiant edifice. This is probably one of the finest examples of impressionism that one could find. John B Fairbanks was a student of the school of impressionism. He was a contemporary of such notables as Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Lautrec, Van Gogh, Sargent, and Gaugin. He was a master of art who studied in Paris.
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