The View From Here

When we began searching for our New England home, we came across a blog that not only gave us hope for our search, but also helped us to learn that we are not alone in our passions. The View From Here is a blog devoted to a couple's journey of restoring an antique home. It is warm, sincere and a light in the tunnel if you love homes that need love and respect, and are interested in the integrity of antique architecture and craftsmanship. A recent post is devoted to the house we are featuring below (images from their blog)--it is a beauty and in the unfortunate position that once grand homes are now stuck in; abandoned and abused in the midst of Tyvec and vinyl sided developments that continue to sprawl across our once pristine rural areas.

Reflection

There is something singularly elegant about the reflection of silver. Our trip to The Met a few weeks ago provided a glimpse of their American Collection in storage, the repetition of early silver gave brought William Nicholson's silver still lifes to mind. Elegant, understated and untarnished by time:

Tea pots from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

William Nicholson, The Silver Casket via Kettle's Yard

From The Met's American Decorative Arts Collection

William Nicholson, The Lustre Bowl via Still Life, Quick Heart

A tumbler set from our collection

William Nicholson, Winter Anemones via Artnet

When Cities Were New

Early 1840s image of NYC at Sotheby's....yep, NYC

While searching through early representations of towns and cities on 17th and 18th century fire boards and overmantels, we ran into some remarkable daguerreotypes of US cities. From the East to the West, they give us a glimpse into how vast these cities had become in the 1840s and 50s and how quickly photography evolved.

The Niagara in East Boston, circa 1855 via Warren's Stuff

San Francisco Harbor, circa 1850, via Daughter of the Golden West

Philadelphia by Robert Cornelius, circa 1840, via Explore PA History

Richmond, VA from Church Hill, circa 1855, via The Valentine Richmond History Center

Cincinnati, OH, circa 1848, via The Historical Society

St Anthony Falls (now Minneapolis), Minnesota, circa 1850s, via Minnesota Historical Society

In The Black...

Sheldon Peck, Portrait of a Dark-Haired Gentleman, sold at Sotheby's for $33,000.00

18th Century painted chest of drawers at JAGR Projects via 1stDibs

Whether true black, the ashiest of browns or the most charcoal of grays, we love black on the interior and exterior of a home. Early homes, furnishings and paintings reflect the drama of black, as either an atmospheric backdrop or creating a striking silhouette in the foreground.

The Thomas Goodell Homestead via Historical Home

Attributed to Sheldon Peck at Leland Little via Liveauctioneers

[1]

Georgian black-painted table, sold at Christie's for $12,500.00

Paul Revere House , Boston via Drewidhistory

[2]

Silhouette grouping via Country Living

Bow-back windsor settee in black paint sold for $1,793.00 at Christie's

Textures Around the House

We love shooting the objects we find, the rooms we're revamping and the town we live in. Sometimes, walking around the house, we find textural moments that tell a story unto themselves.

Profile of an antique washtub found in Maine

Paint gatoring on the house

Beautiful mud wasp's nest on the rain gutter

Dragonfly corpse in a spider's web by the door

Auerbach, Carriere and Hesse

Eugene Carriere, Portrait of the Artist's Child at Christie's

Frank Auerbach, Portrait of JYM via Embodied

We love these artists together....they all seem to articulate emotion, capture a melancholy beauty that engages us in the most primal, personal way.

Eugene Carriere, Mrs. Carriere via Vintage Printable

Frank Auerbach portrait via Lenin Imports

Eugene Carriere, Sick Child at Musee d'Orsay

Eva Hesse, No Title

Eugene Carriere, The First Communion at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eva Hesse, No Title

Mistress Mary...

Quite Contrary, how does your garden grow?

With Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

and so my garden grows.

- Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book , circa 1744

Neighbor Marcie's unintentional still life....our inspiration

Pigments at Kremer Pigmente

[1]

New lettuce, Walpole, NH

[2]

Stripes of lettuce and cabbage, Walpole, NH

Greenhouse, Walpole, NH

[3]

Greenhouse structure, Walpole, NH

The Simple Life

Searching for Trompe L'oeil on the internet, we ran across some paintings by a painter named Ken Davies. Masterfully painted, his imagery brought to mind a familiar aesthetic that we're aiming for in our New England life.

From The World of Interiors, Last Taxidermist in Paris via The Snail and the Cyclops

Ken Davies, Clapboards and Shadows

We'll find the photographer of this Deerfield, NH interior soon!

Ken Davies, Christening Dress

An enamel basin at home in NH