Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & LibraryObjects
1830
Jonathan D. Poor (1807-1845)
USA: Maine
Lime wash fresco and tempera on plaster
overall: 67-1/8"h x 139-1/2"w
Museum Purchase through the Generosity of Judy and John William McNaughton, 33°, Dorothy A. and Albert H. Richardson, Jr., Supreme Council, 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., Trustees of the Supreme Council Benevolent Fund, The Webber Memorial Fund, and Scottish Rite Masons in the fifteen states of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.
2007.048
Painted wall mural showing a harbor view and a rural landscape. Gray sky, pale blue water and green-brown grass. Five tall trees in the foreground with green leaves that extend vertically to the top of the painting. Body of water extends to the back of the painting with green land at left and right. Green island in the center with additional trees on all land sections. Four ships are visible at left side. At center is a small boat with a sail steered by a man wearing a top hat and jacket. Signature in black at center reads, "JD Poor 1830."
In the early 1800s some New Englanders often embellished their homes with wall paintings. This peaceful scene once decorated the dining room of Silas Burbank’s 1820 Mt. Vernon, Maine home. In 1824 painter and inventor Rufus Porter (1792-1884) began creating murals for a rural clientele who wanted scenes that echoed the high-style French pictorial wallpapers fashionable in urban areas. Porter’s nephew Jonathan Poor decorated the dining room and a study for Burbank in 1830, possibly with Porter’s help. Poor signed the work, but Porter may have added his signature touch—a man in a sailboat wearing a tall hat—to this scene. In 1967 the owners of Burbank’s house noticed Poor’s murals underneath their wallpaper. Fifteen years later, when home renovations threatened the murals, a conservator and volunteers worked to preserve them. The group steamed off fragments of wallpaper and covered the murals with layers of paper, cheesecloth, cotton burlap, resin, and plywood so that the murals could be safely removed from the house. Later, specially treated paint matched to the colors in the mural was applied to prevent the surface from peeling. Today the mural shows its age and history but is protected from further deterioration. The Jonathan Poor mural is on display in the Van Gorden-Williams Library. It is dedicated to the memory of Illustrious Walter E. Webber, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander and President of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library, Inc., 2003-2006.