Framed oil painting of the Canterbury Shaker Meetinghouse by Sister Cora Helena Sarle
Sister Cora Helena Sarle (1867-1956)
Canterbury, New Hampshire | 1954
Oil on board
18″ h. x 14″ w.
framed: 20 ⅝” h. x 16 ½” w.
Provenance: H. Phelps Clawson, Old Chatham, NY
Commissioned by H. Phelps Clawson (1892-1975), the first curator of Shaker Museum Old Chatham, this painting of the Canterbury Meetinghouse was completed by Shaker Sister Cora Helena Sarle (1867-1956) in 1954, just two years before her death.
In 1951, Clawson wrote a request to Eldress Emma B. King (1873-1966) and received the following response: “As to the painting it will be all right as far as we are concerned for Sister Helena Sarle, our 87 years old artist, to finish it if she is equal to the task … If she retains her faculties and is physically equal she will be glad to make an oil painting of the Old Church and sign it.”
The artwork depicts the Canterbury Meetinghouse — the oldest Shaker meetinghouse designed by Brother Moses Johnson (1752-1842) in its original location — constructed in 1792.
Oil on board in original wooden frame, unglazed. Signed “C.H. Sarle” in lower right corner. Handwritten label on the back of the piece: “Painted by Sister Cora Helena Sarle, Canterbury N.H. Shakers when 88 years old – 1954. Property of H.P. Clawson, Old Chatham, N.Y.”
Sister Helena joined the Canterbury Shaker community in 1882 at age 15. She had no formal artistic training, but Elder Henry Clay Blinn (1824-1925) tasked her with creating illustrations of native plants for a school textbook as a contribution to the community. In 1886 and 1887, Sarle produced two journals containing more than 180 drawings. She painted extensively to earn money for the Canterbury Shakers and, today, her botanical illustrations can be seen in the book Shaker Sister’s Drawings (1997).
Purchase of this artwork includes a copy of the letter from Emma King to H. Phelps Clawson and one of the two framed photographs documenting Sister Helena at work in her Canterbury studio.
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