Frederick was very proud of his family’s roots in New England. Although his father emigrated to Connecticut in the 1850s from Prussia, Frederick’s mother’s family (Blake) was among the earliest settlers of the state. At some point in the early 20th century, Frederick became enthralled with the early history of New England, and began to pursue that history with passion.
He purchased one of the oldest and most storied taverns in Connecticut, the William Bull Tavern of Litchfield, which was built in 1745, and moved it to his property. Over the years Frederick restored the tavern as his family’s residence and filled it with antiques. In the 1920s the Litchfield Enquirer said of his historic home: “Nowhere else in Litchfield, nor in all Connecticut, does one have the close, elbow-to-elbow touch with the dim yesterday of Colonial days that one enjoys in the one-time tavern, now the Fuessenich home.”
In late 1928, Frederick decided to sell his collection of antiques. Among the pieces offered for sale was a large painting (73” X 44”) depicting the figure of Lady Liberty placing a laurel wreath on a bust of George Washington. Frederick had purchased this work from a Connecticut inn; it was one of a set of six, five of which were destroyed in a fire. It was a remarkable survival and a terrific early American painting, but there’s something else about it that makes it truly stellar.
It was a window shade. One of six that graced the interior of the inn they were painted for in the early years of the 19th century. It is not known where this tavern was, who painted these works, or even what the five shades depicted, but this one is chock full of the symbols that were coming to be identified with the young republic of the United States. Not only do we see the figure of Liberty and the bust of Washington, but also the American flag, the pine tree and Liberty cap (in the background), the eagle (albeit smallish and off in an upper corner), and the crown of England which Lady Liberty tramples. This last detail is always a favorite of our visitors from the UK.
The Liberty window shade was purchased by Elie Nadelman, the modernist sculptor/folk art collector I have blogged about several times. It was purchased for the Fenimore Art Museum from his estate in 1948.
Every time I pass by this painting in our folk art gallery I think of the history it witnessed in its original tavern setting beginning in about 1805, an emphatic statement of liberty when the United States was a mere 22 years old.
