Name/Title
Tribute to Vermont (study 2)Entry/Object ID
2016.39.3Description
"Tribute to Vermont' by Paul Sample. A mural that measures 50' L x 8' H and depicts three-and-a-half centuries of Vermont history, from Samuel de Champlain's arrival in the Champlain Valley in 1609 to the development of Vermont's ski industry in the late 1950's." Same description as VHS-A-1153, however it is in color using colored pencil.
This is an acrylic study of the above mural, which is now housed in the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier.Type of Painting
PaperContext
When National Life laid the cornerstone of its headquarters on the ridge overlooking Montpelier in 1958, their CEO approached well-known-muralist Paul Sample to create an iconic work of art to evoke the past, present, and future of Vermont as a centerpiece of the new structure. Sample worked closely with National Life to choose scenes and topics that reflected both Vermont's story and that of the company's rich Vermont roots. As he got closer to a final design, Sample produced scale drawings, called cartoons, of the mural in both pencil and paint for company approval. When he was ready to transfer the design to the full eight by fifty-foot canvas, he partitioned the final cartoon into numbered blocks to ease the enlargement of scenes. Notice how the composition and content of the mural changed from the bottom sketch to the top working design.
Paul Starrett Sample (September 14, 1896 – February 26, 1974) was an American artist who portrayed life in New England in the middle of the 20th Century with a style that showed elements of "Social Realism and Regionalism."
Sample was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1896. After having moved across the country with his family on several occasions, Sample attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. There he studied architecture and graduated in 1921 after a year in the Naval Reserve during World War I. While visiting his brother, Donald, at a sanatorium in Saranac Lake, New York, Sample contracted tuberculosis. He stayed for treatment of that disease in Saranac Lake for four years. There he met Sylvia Howland, whom he married in 1928.
At Saranac Lake, Sample studied drawing and painting under Jonas Lie. He then studied at the Art Students League of Los Angeles, and the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California. There his work reflected social issues connected with the Great Depression with two noted paintings in 1931. In 1926 Sample joined the faculty of the University of Southern California in the school of architecture, where he remained until 1938. In 1938, he returned to New Hampshire to become the artist in residence at Dartmouth College, a position which he held until 1962. In addition to his social and regional paintings, Sample produced artwork for various magazines during World War II.Acquisition
Accession
2016.39Source or Donor
The National Life GroupAcquisition Method
GiftMade/Created
Artist
Sample, Paul Starrett (1896-1974)Date made
2016Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
DrawingNomenclature Class
ArtNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Height
14-1/8 inLength
55-3/4 in