Rare Carved and Painted Pine Architectural Figures of Peace and Plenty, Attributed to Joseph Wilson, Newburyport, Massachusetts

the draped allegorical figures of Peace and Plenty, each carrying the symbols of olive branch and fruit-filled cornucopia respectively, garlands of flower in their hair, now with coat of garish paint; the figures chisel-gouge-carved on the back, some damages and losses.



Together with a 1838 copy of The Life of Dexter, Embracing Sketches of the Eccentric Character by Samuel L. Knapp, published by G.N. Thomson, Boston, 1838; and 1954 reprint of Lord Timothy Dexter, A Pickle for the Knowing Ones. (4 pieces)

William R. Kelson, Newburyport, Massachusetts
Mr. and Mrs. R. Mazzur, Rhode Island, 1959.

The Providence Sunday Journal, March 5, 1939, "Federal Art Project Offers Rare Display - Project of the WPA - The Index of American Design - Federal Art Project," Illustrated; Yankee Magazine, September, 1985

These carvings are thought to come from the home of Lord Timothy Dexter, an eccentric unschooled but extremely successful businessman of Newburyport, Massachusetts (1748-1806).  Following the Revolutionary War, having made a huge fortune, he purchased the Jonathan Jackson mansion on High Street in Newburyport and decorated the lawn and facade with approximately 40 wood statues of famous men, including George Washington, William Pitt, Napoleon Bonaparte and Thomas Jefferson, executed by Newburyport ship and figurative carved Joseph Wilson.  It is thought that Peace and Plenty flanked the arch at the entrance to the Dexter residence.