Farwell Carriage House

Name/Title

Farwell Carriage House

Entry/Object ID

NU 2024.268

Description

A watercolor painting of the Farwell Carriage House, also known as the Lyndon Carriage House. The carriage house, depicting the cupola on top, is surrounded by trees. The painting has a white matte, and is inside of a thin wooden frame underneath glass.

Type of Painting

Paper

Artwork Details

Medium

Watercolor

Subject Place

Location

Lyndon Heights

City

Los Gatos

Region

Central California

Continent

North America

Collection

Art Collection

Cataloged By

registrar@numulosgatos.org

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Vida McCracken

Role

Painter

Date made

1966

Time Period

20th Century

Place

City

Los Gatos

Region

Central California

Continent

North America

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Label

Location

On back of frame

Transcription

Received of Leonard McKay one watercolor original painting and frame of the Farwell Carriage House. The estate was located off Broadway Ave in Los Gatos and was home of the Lyndon Farwell family. For many years the Carriage House was the home of Boy Scout Troop 2, which in 1991 was the oldest troop in existence in the Santa Clara County Council. The Carriage House was moved to make way for "The Meadows," Senior Housing Complex, and over the years has been stored and disintegrated until only the tower remains. The painting was done in 1966 by Vida McCracken, one of the twin McCracken Sisters. Appraised value of the painting is $300.00 In 1938 the Farwell family allotted land to each of the three patrols to build patrol huts on the property where the Toll House Hotel is now located. The middle hut was the home of the Fox Patrol, Leonard McKay, patrol leader. All construction materials were scrounged goods, used lumber, electrical wire and fixtures and each nail had to be straightened before use, as it had been removed from old lumber. The inside had bunks for each patrol member, and a final artistic touch was achieved by painting with calcamine paint, which brushed off on one's clothing whenever touched and was purchased from Los Gatos Hardware at $0.50 per gallon. The manager of the hardware store was Gilbert Becker, scoutmaster of Troop 2.

Language

English

Material/Technique

Printed

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Painting

Nomenclature Class

Art

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Width

29 in

Length

22 in

Dimension Notes

Measurements are for frame.

Condition

Overall Condition

Very Good

Provenance

Provenance Detail

Gift of Leonard McKay

Owner/Agent

Leonard McKay

Acquisition Method

Gift

Acquisition Date

Apr 30, 1992