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Rufus Porter mural, Joshua Eaton House (1804), Boxford, Massachusetts. Photo credit: Brian Vanden Brink for Yankee Magazine's NewEngland.com

   Few men in American history can honestly be given the title "Renaissance Man." One individual however, deserves to be called "a man-before-his-time," "a forward thinker," "an innovator." His name is Rufus Porter. Born in 1792, Rufus Porter lived an active, interesting life until his death at age 92 in 1884 while living in Hartford, Connecticut.
   Born to a prosperous farmer in West Boxford, Massachusetts, Rufus Porter led a comfortable early life. His higher education consisted of six months at Fryeburg Academy in Maine when he was 12. At the age of 23, he followed what would later develop into an insatiable desire for travel, (which included a trip to Hawaii) by journeying from town to town working as a musician, a dance instructor, a painter of houses, signs, gunboats, sleighs and drums; he built wind-mills, gristmills, and later taught school and portrait painting. All of these trades laid the ground work for Porter's venture, in the 1830's-1840's, as a decorative artist in the New England region. The last 45 years of his life he devoted almost exclusively to inventing, teaching and writing. He founded and edited several scientific journals including Scientific American, New York Mechanic, and American Mechanic. He secured patents for 23 of his inventions which included a design for an automobile, an elevated train, the revolving rifle (of which he sold the design idea to Samuel Colt for a nominal fee) and a passenger plane ­ all before Henry Ford or the Wright Brothers were born. He also found time to father 16 children by two wives!
Porter's achievements are monumental and unique though none had the impact on redefining the direction of American decorative painting quite like his New England murals. Touted as "healthier than imported papers" (due to the fact that bugs often feasted on the wheat paste used in hanging wallpaper), Porter's murals appealed to the less-wealthy who desired the "look" of the popular picturesque landscape papers hanging in more affluent homes of the period. His designs were unique in that they utilized the surrounding New England countryside as a backdrop ­ not the foreign scenes popular in the wallpaper versions. Porter also borrowed techniques common in furniture decoration such as stenciling and stippling and used them within his mural design applications. Porter applied time-saving practices in his mural execution by working rapidly with stock stencils, and repeating the same elements over and over. (Lipman 1950, 1968, 1972, 1980)
   His larger frescoes include harbor scenes, views with houses, ships and islands. Mountains placed in the distance are common with elm trees dominating the foreground. His smaller overmantle works include farm scenes, villages, fields, fences, roads and his trademark foreground elm trees. Houses and boats were executed rapidly using stencils and the leaves of trees were produced using the stippling effect. (Beard 1995, Lipman 1968)
   Porter later published detailed descriptions on how he painted his murals in Scientific American magazine during the years 1845 to 1846. Entitled, "Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms" the work provides step-by-step instructions for laying out the design, perspective, colors used, creating foliage, and using stencils He also devotes an article exclusively to his monochromatic style murals of which he calls "clara obscuro." (Jones 1969, Porter 1845-1846)
   Because of his rigid and formulated style for producing murals, Porter's work is easy to distinguish. His rapid technique allowed him to produce a great number of works throughout New England. Jean Lipman, an authority on early American painted decoration and a specialist on Porter, has documented over 130 Porter murals during her lifetime of research. (Lipman 1968) Unfortunately many of these murals are now obscured by wallpaper or have been destroyed at the hands of careless homeowners and restorers. As of 1995, there are approximately 30 murals believed to be in good condition in Massachusetts. (Beard 1995) Several have been located for this report and are listed under "Mural Locations."
Finding conservators familiar with Porter's work was more difficult. Three were found with one having definitively worked on a Porter fresco in New Hampshire in 1982. Restoring Porter murals is a costly and painstaking process. Porter used mainly water based paints and for today's conservator, careful selection of products which are sensitive to water is important to consider when undertaking restoration. Wallpaper, paint and careless restoration jobs using oil paints has done irreparable damage to many existing murals. A consensus among many mural conservators in general is that the murals should, at all costs, be left alone in their original condition. (Mangum 1998)
   In reviewing the long list of Porter's achievements, it seems inconceivable that this true "Renaissance man" should escape for centuries his due recognition in the field of art and science. Part of this may be due to the man himself. Many of his murals were left unsigned and most of his inventions were sold without patents. But perhaps the biggest contributor to Rufus Porter's obscurity in American history is the fact that he was so advanced for his time that he was not taken seriously.
Of greater concern is the fact that fewer and fewer of his murals exist today due to demolition, painting, wallpaper and careless restoration attempts using incorrect methods.

Bibliography — Primary Sources

Porter, Rufus. Select Collection of Approved, Genuine, Secret, and Modern Receipts, for the Preparation and Execution of Various, Valuable and Curious Arts, as practiced by the Best Artists of the Present Age. Concord, MA.: J. T. Peters, 1824. 29
    Page 29 is entitled, "Cheap Method of Painting Walls of Rooms." Porter describes method for painting walls‹not landscapes but this is key to understanding how he prepared his walls for painting. Porter also describes various methods for doing household "helpful hints" such as polishing brass, varnishes, rendering wood and cloth to be fireproof, etc. He also includes instructions for unusual recipes such as dying a horses hair color white to black, rendering a persons hands fireproof, etc.

Porter, Rufus. A Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts, And Interesting Experiments, which are well explained and warranted genuine, and may be performed easily, safely and at little expense. Concord: J. B. Moore, 1825. 27
   A Porter helpful hints guide designed to make the readers life easier. A more detailed writing than his Valuable and Curious Arts book. Chapter 33 includes explanation on landscape painting on walls. Also includes various other recipes for graining, guilding, writing with invisible ink, making machine copies of work, secret writing, kindle fire under water, etc. Interesting and forward ideas. Appendix of supplies used in recipes.

Jones, Louis C. "The Art of Painting. Essays on Various Kinds of Paintings by Rufus Porter as they appeared in 'Scientific American,' September 11, 1845 to April 9, 1846." (Photocopy) Special Collections, Old Sturbridge Village Research Library, Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
    A photocopy from original Porter articles in magazine includes basics of painting, carriage painting, sign painting, guilding, bronzing, painting on glass, portrait painting with several articles on landscape painting. For this annotated, only the landscape articles have been recorded and are listed as follows:

"The Art of Painting." September 11, 1845, pg.2
   General principles on painting and methods used for all types of painting by Porter. Here he begins his series on painting and landscape painting.:

"The Art of Painting." October 2, 1845. Pg. 2
   Discussion continues on basic painting techniques. Compounding colors is discussed to create new shades and hard to achieve colorations.

"The Art of Painting." September 18, 1845. Pg. 2.
   Article on basic painting is continued with discussion on oil painting and color mixing.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting." December 11, 1845. Pg. 2.
   Article starts series with discussion on perspective and distance measuring to achieve proper perspective. One drawing illustrates how one sees perspective. Painting on canvas is focus here yet this is helpful for understanding Porter's theories on perspective and how he applied this to his work.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting." December 18, 1845. Pg. 2.
   Continuation of landscape painting discussion with focus on instruments that help measure perspective. Drawings include sextant use along with home-made device useful to achieve same effect.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." February 5, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Introduction to Landscape Painting on walls series. Porter jumps in with how to prepare walls and beginning process. He mentions materials needed and execution of background design.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." February 12, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Discussion of how design is set into background. Perspective and size of each element: trees, houses, etc. in each distance and how to achieve perspective for each distance is discussed. Porter outlines his breakdown of mural into "distances." Includes line drawing of mural.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." February 19, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Color and paint mixing discussed to achieve "look." Proper shading and colors used in various "distances" also discussed. Use of certain types of brushes mentioned with drawing of type used to achieve look of tree leaves, and bushes.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." February 26, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Defining landscape details ­ water, shores, trees in foreground (includes sketch of "proper" foreground trees), shading, branches, coloring, tree types and their location, etc.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." March 5, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Finishing trees by adding leaves and discussion on proper leaf placement, color and design for each species. Engraving of trees included.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." March 12, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Discussion on details of houses (using stencils for rapid application) ships, fences, stone walls, shrubbery, etc.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." March 19, 1846. Pg. 1.
   Details of mural continued: roads and proper coloration, seasonal coloration, distance variations in color details, light effects and coloration of details. Engraving included.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." March 26, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Foreground shrubbery discussed with engraving showing details. Colors, shading and different species noted. Flowers are also highlighted. Materials focus on types of brushes and paint colors used.

"The Art of Painting ­ Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms." April 2, 1846. Pg. 2.
   Last article on landscape painting in color. Porter provides reader with two drawings for use in designing your own mural. Re-cap of distancing and using these sketches and ideas for improving murals and making them your own work of art.

"The Art of Painting ­ Clara Obscuro, or Light and Shade Painting on Walls." April 9, 1846. Pg. 2.
    Porter discusses his one-of-a-kind technique for creating monochromatic murals. Colors are discussed (grays, taupe, Prussian blue, etc.) and how to achieve perspective and distance using the monochromatic theme. Engravings of mural sketches are included.

Secondary Sources

Allen, Edward B. Early American Wall Paintings, 1710-1850. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1926.
   Early compilation of wall mural painting and stenciling in the New England. Black and white photos document many works now lost. Pages 81-19 highlight murals that are in Porter style. However, Allen does not definitively attribute these murals to Porter. Jean Lipman, in her later books does, however confirm Porters authorship of several murals.

Beard, Christine. "House Painter," The Boston Globe, Your Home, Special Section. October 1, 1995. 80-81, 90-92.
   Color pictures of Porter murals with text descriptions of Porters techniques. Includes quotes from original Porter writings. Also gives current locations for viewing Porter's murals with addresses and phone numbers for contact.

Doty, Robert M. By Good Hands: New Hampshire Folk Art. Hanover: The Currier Gallery of Art and the University Art Galleries, University of New Hampshire, 1989: 52-56.
   Exhibition catalog of New Hampshire Folk Art exhibit featuring New Hampshire art. Shows black and white photos of New Hampshire murals by Porter. Location, size and materials used for each mural are given in text.

Handler, Mimi. "Scenery on the Walls," Early American Life 22, no. 4 (August 1991): 54-63.
   Color photos of Porter murals with never before seen mural pictures found in private homes. Brief write-up of Porter's life and techniques in mural painting. Features 2 houses in New England.

Lipman, Jean. American Primitive Painting. London/New York: Oxford University Press, 1942.
   Discussion of various early decorative painting techniques with chapter devoted to "Wall Decoration" Focus on Rufus Porter and his techniques. Direct quotes from his writings on mural painting. Black and white photos of existing murals taken in the 1940's.

Lipman, Jean. Rufus Porter Rediscovered: Artist, Inventor, Journalist, 1792-1884. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1980.
   Extensive study of Porter's life. A re-work of earlier "Yankee Pioneer." Detailed description of Porter's many careers and adventures with pictures of his many inventions and numerous black and white/color photos of murals. Bibliography.

Lipman, Jean. Rufus Porter, Yankee Pioneer. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1968.
   Comprehensive study of Porter's life. Includes many pictures of his inventions, murals and various activities. Also includes chapter study on Porter's mural techniques and his writings on the subject. Bibliography and list of private and public buildings which contain murals.

Lipman, Jean. Rufus Porter, Yankee Wall Painter. Springfield, MA: Pond-Ekberg Company, 1950.
   Lipman's first published work on Porter focusing exclusively on his mural work. Includes Introduction on his life, his method of painting, a checklist of location of frescoes, plate pictures of work. Bibliography.

Lipman, Jean and Alice Winchester. Primitive Painters in America, 1750-1950. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1950.
   An anthology of American folk painters. Chapter 7 describes Rufus Porter and his life. Some black and white photos are included highlighting his mural activity. Bibliography.

Lipman, Jean and Eve Meulendyke. Techniques in American Folk Decoration. 1st ed. 1951 New York: Dover, 1972. 103-104, 120-123.
   Comprehensive guide to early painting techniques. Includes 2 page excerpt from Porter's book, "Landscape Painting on Walls of Rooms," 1846. Some early photos of murals are also included. Color guide is also given‹a helpful resource in determining original paint colors used. Bibliography.

Lipman, Jean and Alice Winchester. The Flowering of American Folk Art, 1776-1876. New York: Viking Press, 1974.
   Collection of various folk artists and their work produced. Large photos, color, black and white. Discussion of Porter and his work with Moses Eaton found within stenciling chapter. Bibliography.

Lipman, Jean, Elizabeth V. Warren and Robert Bishop. Young America: A Folk Art History. 1st ed. New York: Museum of American Folk Art, 1986.
   History of folk art and it's inventors, designers and promoters. Records development of ideas and products produced. Porter is mentioned in several chapters with a focus on his murals and inventions and how they influenced folk art in general. Bibliography.

McClelland, Nancy. Historic Wall-Papers from their Inception to the Introduction of Machinery. Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1924.
   Large, comprehensive volume on wallpaper. Includes chapters on landscape papers and their origin, design and use. Good volume to study what Porter was tying to copy in his mural designs for the less affluent New England public. Includes black and white and color plates. The years 1500 through 1840 are covered.

The Conservation of Wall Paintings. Proceedings of a Symposium organized by the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Getty Conservation Institute, London, July 13 ­ 16, 1987. Singapore: The J. Paul Getty Trust, 1987.
   Writings for a symposium by European conservators of the worlds greatest murals. No Porter murals mentioned. However, this volume contains vital information on mural conservation with valuable reference to treatment and preservation methods used on ancient mural works. Photos, drawings, and charts enhance writing. Biography included for each chapter.

Waring, Janet. Early American Stencils on Walls and Furniture. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1968: 62-65.
   Brief descriptions of Rufus Porter and his murals. Highlights his brief period of work with itinerant stencil artist, Moses Eaton. Mural pictures show their work and combinations of stenciling and murals. Bibliography

Mural Locations ­ Public (open for viewing) and Private

Public

Westwood Public Library, Westwood, Massachusetts Phone: 1.781.326.7562
   The Westwood Public Library has on display in the main lobby, a vivid, colorful wall section of a Porter mural removed from a home in Westwood. Call ahead for library hours.

Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, Massachusetts 1.978.456.3924
   Porter mural (rescued from house slated for demolition) in monochrome (Clara Obscuro) in good condition and available for viewing May through October. Call for hours open to public.

(former) Weeks Memorial Library, North Reading, Massachusetts 1.978.664.4942
   Rescued Porter mural on display. Hours for this library are unusual. Call for dates and time open to public.

Marriot Hotel ­ Long Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts 1.617.227.0800
   Another rescued Porter mural on display in upper lobby. Preferred hours for viewing: 11 a.m. ­ 3 p.m.

Maine State Museum, Augusta, Maine 1.207.287.2301
   Several excellent Porter murals on display in monochrome (clara obscuro) style. Call for hours.

Reed Mansion, Townsend, Massachusetts 1.978.597.2106
   An almost intact example of Porter's mural work. The colors in this mural retain their original brightness due to protection from natural light and everyday wear. By appointment only.

Private Houses

Four Westwood homes ­ Barbara Beale, Curator, Westwood Historical Society, Westwood, Massachusetts (Library phone # 1.781.326. 7562)
   Ms. Beale is extremely knowledgeable on Rufus Porter and in particular, the four murals located in private homes within Westwood. Discussions with Ms. Beale were helpful in discovering information about Porter's activities in Westwood in the 1830's.

Coburn Tavern, Pepperell, Massachusetts.
   Owned by Hayes family since the 1830's, this building contains one of Porter's earliest commissions. A third floor dance hall is decorated with murals on all the walls, two overmantels and a fiddler's stand.

Ingalls-Colby House, East Haverhill, Massachusetts.
   A well-preserved example of Porter's monochromatic (clara obscuro) style found here.

Mural Conservators

Barbara Mangum, Conservation Technician, Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, Boston, Massachusetts 1.617.566.1401 Phone conversation with author, 3.31.98.
   Ms. Mangum while employed as a Summer Intern in 1982, worked on a Porter mural in New Hampshire. The mural was covered with a pink wash and wallpaper. She devised an extensive system to remove paper and the water-base pink wash using a methyl cellulose gel (not sodium base). The mural was finished with a light spray of matte finish varnish. Ms. Mangum mentioned that oil paint and re-painting has damaged many murals throughout the area. Wallpaper is also "terrible" because people just rip off the paper, taking layers of paint with the paper. She also found that Porter often painted many different styles of trees and that, many times, he left a tree half-done without leaves. He also painted a lot of birch trees without leaves.

Gianfranco Poco Bono, Gianfranco Poco Bono Studios, Conservator of Fine Art. 1.781.397.7616
   According to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, this individual has done work on Porter murals. Mr. Poco Bono and this researcher were unable to connect via telephone. Contact with this individual would prove helpful to a mural conservator.

Christine Beard, Principle ­ Art Historian/Preservationist, Tremont Preservation Services, Topsfield, Massachusetts 1.978.887.0700
   This researcher was unable to reach Ms. Beard. However, Ms. Beard wrote the article on Porter featured in the Boston Globe in 1995 (referenced in this report) and as stated is familiar with his work and has participated in Porter mural restoration.