General Clinton's Headquarters

Period1933

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions14 × 17.2 in. (35.6 × 43.7 cm)

InscribedA paper label on the stretcher reads, "subj -- Gen. Clinton's Headquarters / by / Maude S. Moreau / 150 West Main St. / Freehold N. J."

SignedSigned lower right, "Maude S. Moreau, '33."

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineBequest of Mrs. Maude Applegate Smith Moreau, 1964

Object number1994.586

DescriptionA three-quarter view of the two-story Covenhoven House from the southeast in morning light. The house, partly obscured by a large tree, is white-painted with green shutters. A pent roof covers the main entrance, flanked by two benches. The gable end has three windows per floor, with a single window in the center of the attic gable. A single chimney rises above the roof line on the gable end. A two-story, flat-roofed kitchen wing extends beyond the main entrance. To its right is a garage painted brown. Another large tree stands to the right in front of the house. Foundation plantings includes shrubs and other low-growing flowers.A driveway entering from the left makes a circle around the right hand tree.
Curatorial RemarksW. Rhea Moreau (1891 - 1964) studied painting and drawing at the Art Students League of New York from 1911 to 1915. He later became a farmer, author and historian while retaining his earlier interest in art. Moreau's wife, Maude Applegate Smith (1890 - 1964), also became a painter, and, like her husband, was a prominent member of the Associated Artists of Freehold during the 1930s. Her impressionist-inspired depiction of the Covenhoven House shows the stately English Georgian building as it looked by 1933.NotesThe Covenhoven House, located at 150 West Main Street in Freehold Borough, Monmouth County, was built in 1752 - 1753. It was considered one of the more important houses in the area, and was used by British General Henry Clinton as his headquarters prior to and during the Battle of Monmouth, which occured on 28 June 1778. Alterations that took place in the 19th century included the installation of exterior windows on the first and second floors of gable end, and raising the early kitchen wing to two stories with a flat roof. The Association purchased the house from the estate of Maude S. Moreau in 1964. It underwent a restoration between 1968 and 1970, and has been furnished and opened seasonally to the public since 1978.

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