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Trade Sign, Daniel F. Woodruff Plain & Fancy Sign Painter
Trade Sign, Daniel F. Woodruff Plain & Fancy Sign Painter
Trade Sign, Daniel F. Woodruff Plain & Fancy Sign Painter

Trade Sign, Daniel F. Woodruff Plain & Fancy Sign Painter

Artist
Periodca. 1860 - 1880
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions36.2 × 42.4 in. (91.9 × 107.7 cm)
SignedPainted on front of work, "D. F. WOODRUFF / PLAIN & FANCY SIGN PAINTER."
ClassificationsAdvertising, Business & Ornamental Artifacts
Credit LineGift of the Estate of Miss Laura Harding, 1994
Object number1994.11.1
DescriptionA highly detailed and brilliantly colored depiction of the New Jersey state seal on a deep blue background. In a flowing pink banner across the top of the seal, the name "D. F. WOODRUFF," is flanked by five stars on each side. Another red and gold trimmed banner across the bottom of the seal reads, "PLAIN & FANCY SIGN PAINTER." The seal shows three yellow plows in a green cartouche surmounted by a horse head. It is flanked by a female figure on the left wearing a flowing white dress and billowing blue scarf who is holding a staff with a red liberty cap, and on the right by a second female figure wearing a flowing gold and white costume with a red shawl draped over her right shoulder who is holding a cornucopia filled with agricultural products. Under the cartouche is a third banner in blue that reads "LIBERTY & PROSPERITY" in reference to the symbolism of the two female figures. The seal is set in a naturalistic setting of a grassy foreground with a dramatic partly cloudy sky in the background.
Curatorial RemarksDaniel F. Woodruff created a brilliant advertising sign for himself using an exceptionally detailed and vividly colored version of the New Jersey state seal.NotesDaniel F. Woodruff (1823 - 1903) was a son of Daniel I. Woodruff and Rachel R. Ferguson of South Jersey. In 1849, he married Martha Roark (1824 - 1903). The U. S. Census of 1850 lists Woodruff as a resident of Salem, Salem County, employed as a house painter. By 1860, he had relocated to Bridgeton, Cumberland County, where he remained for the rest of his life. The census schedules for 1860, 1870, and 1880 all indicate that Woodruff was a house painter. In addition, the 1870 census notes that his son Thomas, then age eighteen, was apprenticed to sign painting. An advertisement in the 1889-90 Bridgeton directory reads, "D. F. WOODRUFF & SON, / House, Sign and Ornamental Painters, / GRAINERS AND PAPER HANGERS, / No. 6 East Commerce Street, Bridgeton, N. J. / (Sign of the Golden Eagle.) / Dealers in Wall Paper, Window Shades and Fixtures, Floor and Table Oil / Cloths, Paints, Oils, Turpentine, Varnish, Glass, Putty, Brushes, &c." At that time, Woodruff was in business with his son, Charles F. Woodruff. Daniel Woodruff and his family were interred in the First United Methodist churchyard in Bridgeton. The business continues as of this writing as W. F. Woodruff & Son or the Woodruff Decorating Center, dealers in Benjamin Moore paints for more than 100 years.
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