@misc{Medlicott2025,
       author = "Medlicott, Carol",
       title =  {{"God loves such a building": Three Diagrammatic Shaker Drawings at Library of Congress}},
       howpublished = "\url{https://ir.hamilton.edu/do/196f1e2d-9805-4037-ae65-a71d3959678a}",
       publisher = {Richard W. Couper Press and Hamilton College Library Special Collections},
       journal = {American Communal Societies Quarterly},
       year = 2025,
       month = jan,
       volumen = {19},
       number = {1},
       pages = {3--26},
       issn = {1939-473X},
}

Creator

Date

January 1st, 2025

Available After

2028-01-01

Description

Stored in a large folder containing Maine Shaker Joshua Bussell's 1845 map titled "A plan of Alfred, Maine” at the Library of Congress is a drawing of three separate highly detailed ink and watercolor renderings of Shaker buildings. This trio of drawings is arresting for the vivid colors, assertive lines, and the artist’s meticulous attention to detail. The composition is an enigma among all known Shaker drawings. Neither map nor spirit drawing, architectural plan nor fanciful depiction, the purpose of this set is mysterious. The artist neither identified the buildings nor signed his/ her work. But the trio invites further examination, and some focused effort yields several insights.

Source Title

American Communal Societies Quarterly

ISSN

1939-473X

Volume

19

Issue

1

First Page

3

Last Page

26

Publisher

Richard W. Couper Press

Hamilton College Library Special Collections

Part Of

Rights Statement

The copyright for this work is held by its creators and Hamilton College. More information