Artist/Maker

Gray, Pauline Bahnson

Date Made

1943

Medium

oil on canvas

Accession Number

5878.2

Description

DESCRIPTION: Oil on canvas interpretation of the 1787 watercolor painting of Salem by Ludwig Von Redeken. The artist meticulously tries to include every every detail painted in the original. A note in the artist’s hand describes the painting and is attached to the verso. The scene depicted is Salem from the southwest; in the background is the town depicted up on a ridge; in the foreground is a farmer plowing a field surrounded by fences. Off to the right is a depiction of the original artist (Von Redeken).

Artist Biography

ARTIST: “Pauline Bahnson Gray (1891-1955) was born in Salem in a house two doors up from Home Moravian Church, and at no time in her life did she live more than a few minutes away from the eighteenth-century community, nor did it ever slip out of her memories of a joyous childhood. Gray’s talent with a brush wound up becoming the visual context for an interested citizenry in the restoration of “old” Salem as industrialization and automobile traffic began engulfing its uniqueness as a pastoral village in the early-twentieth century. Whether one has ties to the Moravian community, is a preservationist, or a person simply drawn to Pauline’s life of quiet purpose, her story will resonate with many.” (Old Salem Brought To Life by Aurelia Gray Eller and Paula W. Locklair)

Credit Line

Gift of William Bahnson Gray in honor of Thomas A. Gray