A French and Indian War battle inside the walls of an old home

A scene depicting a battle, possibly during the French and Indian War, was found in the walls of a 18th-century home in East Hartford. (Hartford Courant).

Art experts are confounded by the image of a large, colorful tree in the center of the drawing. Some believe it could represent Old Man Winter. (Hartford Courant).

More Information Here: https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-rare-french-indian-war-drawing-20190519-7k4wg5n6sjb2dcgx42az4pouni-story.html

He Said it was General Braddock's White Horse by Robert Griffing

He Said it was General Braddock's White Horse
by Robert Griffing.

https://lordnelsons.com/gallery/Originals/RGGenBraddocksWhiteHorse30x40.htm;

Casanova’s Europe Art, Pleasure, and Power in the 18th Century.

The Charlatan (1756), Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Casanova’s Europe
Art, Pleasure, and Power in the 18th Century

July 8, 2018 – October 8, 2018
Ann and Graham Gund Gallery (Gallery LG31)

MEMBERS SEE IT FREE

https://www.mfa.org/exhibitions/casanovas-europe

These 18th-Century Paintings of Interracial Mexican Families Are Based on a Lie.

Miguel Cabrera, De español y negra, mulata (From male Spaniard and Black Female, Mulata), c. 1763. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-18th-century-paintings-interracial-mexican-families-based-lie

How Cut-Paper Silhouettes Ensured Portraiture Wasn’t Just for the Rich.

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-cut-paper-silhouettes-ensured-portraiture-rich

New paintings from David Wright.

Edge of the Old Fields By David Wright.

A Well Deserved repose By David Wright.

http://www.lordnelsons.com/gallery/frontier/wright/wright2.htm

Niagara Portage By Robert Griffing.

Niagara Portage By Robert Griffing.

http://www.lordnelsons.com/welcome.htm

A Better Life By John Buxton.

A Better Life By John Buxton.

The Plan By Robert Griffing.

At The Rivers Edge By Robert Griffin.

Squire Boone crossing the mountains with stores for his brother Daniel and brother-in-law John Stewart encamped in the wilds of Kentucky.

The Introduction By Griffing.

The Introduction By Robert Griffing.

At The Gardens By Buxton.

At The Gardens By Buxton.

Pirates and Seamen By Gerry Embleton.

By Gerry Embleton: http://www.gerryembleton.com/the-frontier

"Camp Bear Rocks" By Robert Griffing.

My thanks to http://flintlockandtomahawk.blogspot.com.au for this painting.

Woodman V Woodsman Confusion.

There seems to be some confusion in regards to what a woodman is and what a woodsman is. They are two different occupations. Occupation is the main word here, because a woodsman could also be a woodman and a woodman could also be a woodsman.
My interpretation is this: When we call someone a woodman, we are refering to a man whos main work tools are a felling axe and a fascine knife or bill hook. He is a wood cutter. A charcoal burner for instance must also be a woodman, because his trade requires him to remove wood from the forest or woodland to be used to make charcoal. Where as this person may also be a woodsman, a woodsman is not likely to choose the trade of a charcoal burner as his main job of work.

 Painting of an 18th century woodman.

A charcoal burner's camp.

Forest scene with woodman and his dog by Thomas Barker.

The Woodman.

The Woodman's return engraved by John Whessell 1760ad.

A woodsman as I see it is a person who spends a lot of his time in the forest & woods and derives part of his living if not all of it from those woods, but his main purpose is not in cutting wood to earn a living. A woodsman may have many other occupations, such as a Ranger, scout, courier, farmer, trapper, or hunter. His main tools of occupation are the Flintlock gun, the tomahawk & the hunting knife among others, or if in England he is likely to be a poacher or a gamekeeper.

Most of the paintings of woodmen are English or European, the definition in Europe or England of a woodsman would be as I said earlier, a poacher or a gamekeeper. So we are not likely to find any paintings titled "The Woodsman" and showing what we accept as a colonial woodsman.

 An untitled painting by Sedgwick.

 The woodsman By Gainsborough.

 Titled The Woodsman but no provanence.

 A modern painting of "The Woodsman" by John Buxton.

Ambush 1725 at Lovewell Pond by John Buxton

 Ambush 1725 at Lovewell Pond by John Buxton

Pieter Hermansz Verelst

But by accident he did direct us to a painter that was then in the house with him, a Dutchman, newly come over, one Evarelst, who took us to his lodging close by, and did shew us a little flower-pot of his doing, the finest thing that ever, I think, I saw in my life; the drops of dew hanging on the leaves, so as I was forced, again and again, to put my finger to it, to feel whether my eyes were deceived or no. He do ask 70l. for it: I had the vanity to bid him 20l.; but a better picture I never saw in my whole life; and it is worth going twenty miles to see it.

Samuel Pepys April 11^th 1669.

Marketplace :  By Pieter Hermansz Verelst

Anna Morandi, an extraoridinay 18th Century Woman.

Anna Morandi was an 18th century Anatomist, and she created the human anatomy in wax sculptures to help the medical proffession understand the human body. The story is here:  http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/03/the-lady-anatomist-18th-century-wax-sculptures-by-anna-manzolini/254515/

A self portrait of Anna Morandi with what looks like a human brain.

Becoming The Common Man/Woman.

Becoming The Common Man/woman.



Unless you are working in a living history museum, you are not likely to be interpreting a particular person from history; you are more likely to be interpreting a common character, the common woodsman, or a common Ranger etc. Although there were woods women, I very much doubt that they were as common as the woodsmen. Ann Bailey & Mrs Pentry would hardly be called common woods women, but woodsmen were very common & came in all classes, both poor in regard to woods lore & those that were extremely good, & quite a few in between.

You do not want to be a poor woodsman in regard to the skills, but you do need to start off being common. Later on others may class you as an uncommon woodsrunner in regard to your skills & knowledge, but that will be after you have had a good deal of experience. Even the common woodsrunner had freedom of choice, but there were items of clothing & equipment that were usually common to all. The common English or French work frock was worn by the majority of woodsrunners, men & women. Leggings were very common & were usually of the Indian style. Likewise woodland Indian moccasins were worn by the majority of people running the woods. Breeches or a breechclout, the choice is yours. Both were very common.

Beware of what you see in period paintings. Whilst this is considered to be very good primary documentation, some painters were known to glorify noted individuals by adding items that were not common usage. There are for instance paintings of Daniel Boone wearing a fur collared coat. Boone may have been an uncommon woodsman in regard to his intelligence & experience, but in every other regard he was still a common woodsman & is more likely to have worn the common English work frock than a fur collared coat. Sir John Caldwell was once painted wearing the clothing of an Ojibwe chief. The clothing is genuine I have no doubt, but this was not this gentleman’s common clothing at any time or in any place.

Here we see Daniel Boone with what appears to be fur on the top of his moccasins & he is holding a fur hat. It is well documented that Boone did not ware a fur hat & always wore a wide brimmed low crowned felt hat.

Sir John Caldwell, very fancy indeed. I believe that Sir john was an officer in the British army, and a certain book known to portray military dress has this painting as an example of an officer's dress in colonial America!

The author wearing a common frock coat at a winter solstice party.