The Charter Oak at Hartford, c.1846
Oil on canvas, mounted on masonite,
24 x 34 1/4”
Signed lower left
The Charter Oak is a symbol of the spirit of independence that began the American Revolution. In 1687 Connecticut stood alone in New England in defying James II’s orders to relinquish a 1662 charter that had given the colonies a degree of self-government. Legend has it that candles went out suddenly at the showdown meeting and the charter vanished – into a hole in the ancient oak down the street – and so the king’s deputies were foiled. Frederic Church of Hartford, Thomas Cole’s only student, became the leading American landscape painter of the mid-19th century. He painted this Connecticut icon early in his career and chose not to show the famous cavity or the Wyllys family mansion at the site. His tree dominates a flourishing Connecticut landscape, like those that would soon be celebrated by other artists.