Which Way The Heart

I first spotted this weathervane in an antique show many years ago and shot a few photos of it, knowing it would be really fun to paint some day. A few years later I saw this same weathervane in a magazine, accompanied by a wonderful story about it. During routine conservation of a crack in the wood, a hidden compartment was found inside the heart with a letter inside. It was addressed “To The Finder,” and dated “June 5th, 1839; Chelsea, Massachusetts.”(Can you IMAGINE finding that?!). The letter went on to state that the weathervane was carved by Ezra Ames (a housewright (carpenter)), painted by Bela Dexter (a stone cutter) and made for Read Taft, of Roxbury, made to adorn the Taft Hotel in Roxbury.

When I read this history I knew that I had to do a painting of this incredible piece of folk art, so I dug through my photo files and went to work. I took some liberties (artistic license!), added a white finial, juiced up the color a bit, and added the blue background. It was always one of Sam’s favorite paintings.

Original
$3200

Giclee Print on Mounted Canvas
Edition of 300 S/N
Image: 16″ x 20″
$250