Untitled
Helen Fewsmith
Category
Art / Drawings and watercolours
Date
circa 1942
Materials
Paper, wood, glass and chipboard
Measurements
400 mm (height); 494 mm (width); 19 mm (depth)
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 671267
Summary
A watercolour painting of three adults and two children sitting on a beach, with a curved bay and buildings in the background. Two of the adults (probably both ladies) are sitting on beach chairs, and the third adult (another lady) is sitting on the sand. One child is lying on her front on a rug and the other is digging in the sand. The painting was painted by Helen Fewsmith at Lynn Beach, Nahant, Massachusetts, USA in circa 1942. The lady in the yellow dress (sitting on the sand) is Elisabeth, Helen Fewsmith's sister, one of the other ladies is Bunny Schacht (foster parent of Penelope Pitt while she was evacuated to the USA), and one of the little girls is Penelope Pitt. The painting is framed in a dark brown wooden frame with gold painted around the inside edge. There is a cream card mount, with a dark brown mount behind. The painting and mounts are covered by glass. The painting is held in at the back with a flat piece of chipboard, sealed around the edges with frame tape. A brass coloured metal ring is attached to either side of the frame with a length of white cord tied between them. Attached to the cord is a small parcel wrapped in beige paper and fastened with Sellotape. The contents are unknown. The framer's label, on pale yellow paper with black print, is mostly obscured by a laminated A4 sheet of white paper on which a brief history of Penelope Pitt has been typed, and then Sellotaped onto the back of the frame. A brown paper envelope has also been stuck to the back of the frame, which originally held paperwork about the artist and Penelope Pitt (now filed separately).
Provenance
Donated to the Museum of Childhood as a bequest by Peter Southworth in July 2013.
Marks and inscriptions
On the framer's label: '[] 322 Chatswroth Road, S40 2BY. / 28th year. 01246-231575. 8/2002.'
Makers and roles
Helen Fewsmith, artist