Morford and Spinning Store

Artist Sarah Hendrickson Van Schoick Reid

Periodca. 1860 - 1870

MediumPastel and charcoal on prepared board coated with marble dust

Dimensions16 × 21.2 in. (40.6 × 53.8 cm)

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Irving Brown, 1933

Object number1984.549

DescriptionA landscape depiction from the northeast of the Morford & Spinning store on the southwest corner of Broad and Front Streets in Red Bank, NJ. The building is a long, single story structure with a second floor attic and black roof. Double doors are centered on the gable end facing Broad Street, flanked by large display windows. A second entrance is located at the Broad Street end of the north elevation. A columned wood-floored porch extends across the front of the building, and wraps around to the north entrance. It is surmounted by a large sign that reads "MORFORD & SPINNING." A small chimney is centered on the ridge of the roof. Eight men, women and a child are positioned around the building. A carriage drawn by two horses passes in front of the store, while an empty horse-drawn wagon approaches from the right. The latter is followed by a dog.
Curatorial RemarksMarble dust painting was a popular medium in the mid-nineteenth century, particularly among school girls. Charcoal was applied to a thin piece of cardboard that had been prepared with a coating of marble dust. The technique is often, and inaccurately, referred to as “sandpaper painting.”NotesSarah Hendrickson Van Schoick (1835 - 1886) was the daughter of William Van Schoick and Eliza Hendrickson of Middletown, Monmouth County. In 1856, she married R. Van Dyke Reid (1833 - 1915) of Red Bank. Sarah Reid was the grandmother of the donor. This frame building, erected in 1829 on the southwest corner of Broad and Front Streets in Red Bank, was occupied for many years by a partnership of T. & J. W. Morford and Benjamin W. Spinning, general merchandise dealers. Mrs. Reid was recognized as the best local artist in crayon. She drew the picture for Spinning before the building was demolished.

Collections