Ata-Du-Sills Mill, Stonington, 1898
Oil on canvas over masonite, 10 1/4 x 14 1/8”
Unsigned
The exotic name in the title is puzzling. The only mill here is the Atwood Machine Company, which made equipment for the manufacture of silk goods. It occupied the dormered red building, the one with the cupola, and the nearby sheds. The firm began its Water Street operation in 1876 and had about 150 employees when Beal painted this scene, which already shows an influx of pleasure boats into the harbor of this commercial fishing village.