Old Tennent Church and Graveyard

Period1864

MediumGraphite and pastel on sandpaper board

Dimensions17.6 × 22.5 in. (44.7 × 57.2 cm)

InscribedA paper label formerly attached to the drawing reads, "Old Tennent Church. / Drawn by Harriet E. Applegate / 1864 aged 14 years."

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineGift of Mrs. J. Amory Haskell, 1936

Object number971

DescriptionA monochromatic landscape view of a two-story church with a five bay facade, three entrances, three bay end gable, gable roof, and an octagonal cupola over the gable end with a conical roof and weathervane in the shape of a rooster. The structure sits in the middle of its graveyard with several trees in close proximity to it. Another tree is depicted in the lower left. Several of the graves are surrounded by ornamental cast iron fences.
Curatorial RemarksSilas Wood, Jr. (1816–1885) devised the term “monochromatic painting,” which was a form of black and white drawing, in charcoal or pastel, that was done on a varnished board covered with marble dust. A professional artist and teacher from New York City, Wood traveled frequently to towns and cities throughout the region, giving lectures on the fine arts and selling sandpaper painting materials. The technique was especially popular during the 1850s and 1860s, particularly among cultured young ladies and women, who used it to create decorative works of art, often based on published engravings.NotesMuseum accession records indicate that a Monmouth County resident, Harriet E. Applegate (1849 - 1936) of Englishtown, created this delicate rendition of Old Tennent Church at the age of fourteen in 1864. A stencil on the verso of the image describes the support as a No. 2 monochromatic board from “S. Wood, Jr.” The present edifice of Old Tennent Church in Manalapan Township, Monmouth County, was built in 1751 - 1753. It figured prominently in the Battle of Monmouth which took place on 28 June 1778.

Collections

ProvenanceThis unusual depiction of Old Tennent Church was initially placed on loan with the Association on 16 November 1932 by Harriet E. Applegate. At her passing in 1936, it and several other items from her estate were acquired by Mrs. J. Amory Haskell and returned to the organization.