Name/Title
Fist FightEntry/Object ID
2014.60.1322Description
Print of drawing commissioned by National Life Insurance Company entitle "Fist Fight."
Two men in the foreground are engaged in a fight. Two groups of men in 18th-century clothing appear in the background observing the contest. A clapboarded building and shingled building are in the background and set the scene as a townscape.Artwork Details
Medium
PaperSubject
Fight to name BarreSubject Place
City
Barre CityCounty
Washington CountyState/Province
VermontCountry
United States of AmericaContinent
North AmericaContext
From 1934 to 1946, National Life Insurance Company embarked on a long-term marketing program that used stories from Vermont History to represent company values. A series of artists were engaged to create black and white artwork for a broad, nationwide campaign. National Life published the prints and associated stories as an educational resource for Vermont Schools. Many of the original drawings were the highlight of the Vermont Pavilion at the 1939-40 World's Fair.
This particular print depicts a fictional story, once thought as fact, of two men engaging in a fight/wrestling match for the right to name the current municipality of Barre. The area that we now know as Barre City and Barre Town was originally incorporated as Wildersburgh in 1780. In 1793 the citizens of the town voted to create a new house of worship. To raise the needed funds they offered the rights to rename the town to the person committing the most funds to the meeting house construction. Ezekiel Dodge Wheeler offered £62 and named the town Barre after Barre, Massachusetts.Acquisition
Accession
2014.60Source or Donor
Barre Historical Society, Inc.Acquisition Method
TransferMade/Created
Artist
Heinrich, Roy Frederic (1881-1943)Date made
1938Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
PrintNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Height
17-1/2 inWidth
21-1/2 in