This folk art oil painting is based on a black and white etching of Valley Forge as it appeared about 1843 "as seen from the west." The small village of Valley Forge is located west of Valley Forge National Park and many of these buildings still stand. The etching is found in Sherman Day's "Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania" that was published in 1843.
The oil painting is done on a modern, pine raised panel. The frame is a taupe color (not gray as shown in the photograph) chalk paint. Mounted on the back is a copy of the etching.
The painting measures:
overall: 8" x 11"
image size: 8" x 5"
To get a better sense of scale, I've included a photo of the painting hanging in the dining room of my ca. 1790 house in Cape May County.
About me: I am an architectural historian with 40 years of experience researching and writing about historic buildings in southern New Jersey. Many years ago, I took art lessons from my mom who was an Early American decorator. Semi-retired, I am now painting scenes of villages and towns as they appeared in the 1800s and early 1900s, often basing my paintings on black and white etchings or historic photographs from that time period. To get as much detail as possible on these small paintings I use brushes that range from size 2 to 10-0. My studio is located in an addition to our ca. 1790 South Jersey farmhouse where I live with my husband and two cats.
Product code: Valley Forge PA, ca. 1843 historic popular townscape etching oil painting