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Fitchburg Couple DiscoversBi NICHOLAS ZOOK•ou HAVE HEARD and read about hidden doors, secret hiding places and boarded-up rooms. If you are living in a house steeped in history, it'spossible you have ex-•plored the rooms of that house. with such stories in mind.You have good cause to undertake such exploration. Such things do exist. Take the case of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Howard of Fitchbiirg. It wasn’t a hidden ro^m they found, but a hidden painting.And it took them almost half a century of living in their Cape Cod home on one of Fitchburg’s oldest streets to 0nd It.Enter one of their two front rooms without warning and the murals that meet your eye take your breath away. They cover the four walls in rich color.Mrs. Howard says people who enter for the first time invariably exclaim, “Ah!”And then they add in hushed tones, “Aren’t they beautiful.”They are not only beautiful, they are unique. Their origin is shrouded in mystery. The exact paint formula is unknown. The artist used a paint of his own mixing to brush on luminous textures and clear, un-0muddied tones.THE NAME OF THE artist is known. The picture panel over the fireplace mantel holds a balanced design of two Grecian vases containing roses, and ♦several books in each comer. And the replica of a scroll gives you the man and the time.It reads, “J. H. Warner, August, 1840.”A second panel portrays that famed ship of the Revolutionary War, the Constitution, with billowed sails and smaller vessels In the background.A knight on a white steed, presumed to be King James of England, tilts a lance in a large mural. A lion, that symbol of the British monarchy, is in one corner.Other paneli depict a stag With a serpent nearby and an #Id-time Bible box used as a prop to hold a delicata plateWith melons in * still-life study.After Living In House 48 YearsCenter panel of historic morals, hidden by snug-fitting wallpaper in room of 200-year-old Fitchburg home, coversarea over fireplace. Owners of home. Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Howard, Indicate name of artist, J, H. Warner, on scroll.Crimson drapes have been painted in to form an artistic frame for each panel.Mr. and Mrs. Howard uncovered the paintings by accident and have restored them expertly.MRS. HOWARD SAID, “We have lived in the house for 43 years and papered the room a number of times. But the last coat of wallapaper was so smooth, it covered the plasterwalls so snugly, we never took -t off.“When we finally decided to get down to the wall, we went at It with sponges and warm water.”Mr. Howard uncovered the first portion of the paintings. He remarked, “I’ve got a pretty picture here ”Engrossed in her own portion of the room, Mrs. Howard retorted, “Never mind it. Let'* get the paper off.”A few minutes later, he said,“It’s really getting to be quite a picture”IShe left her work, approached the area on which her husband was applying his sponge. She marveled, “It certainly is a pretty picture.”And the Howards knew they had uncovered a find.Mrs. Howard said, “We continued to take the paper off very carefully. We spent all our spare time on it. We were intrigued to learn what we would next find”WORD OF THE painting got out and, for some six weeks, 12 to 15 persons a day dropped by to see, exclaim and admire.“We finally called a halt to the stream of visitors,” Mrs. Howard said. “We wanted to get back to normal.”The 13-room house has a history of more than 200 years. The Howards did a lot of re search on past owners and occupants in an effort to learn something about the artist.“We even went to the cemeteries,” Mrs. Howard recalled with a smile. “But we didn’t learn a thing. We are certain that the artist, Warner, wasn’t an owner or a tenant in the house. We finally came to the conclusion he was an itinerant painter.”MR. HOWARD retired from work as a letter carrier for the Fitchburg Post Office 17 years ago.A half century ago, he delivered mail by horse and buggy over a rural free delivery route.“We were living in Lunenburg at the time,” said Mrs. Howard, “and decided it would be more practical to move in town nearer my husband’s work. We learned this old house was up for sale, looked It over and liked It”The Howards for many yearsdid their own wallpapering andpainting. They replaced flooring with hard wood In all room* but that which has the murals.“Wa liked the wide floor boards in that room and decidedto preserve them,” said Mrs. Howard.The Howards opened up two fireplaces, bricked-irv'by former tenants. They also added a front dormer to provide additional room and light on the second floor.In the popular fashion of a previous decade, the ceiling of the mural room is wallpapered.Many who visit to admire the paintings stay long enough to praise the fluted woodwork with which the doors, windows and fireplaces are framed. They also remark on the wide floor boards and the existence of fiva fireplaces in the home, two still sealed.But the biggest attraction remains the series of murals.“We’re proud of them,” Mrs. Howard said. “And we intend to preserve them as best as wecan.ftNICHOLAS ZOOK U t pmbar of ths mA I tori ml dopmrimoniof ih* Tmiegrmm-Cmmmtu,FEATURE PARADE 8EOTIONWORCESTER 8UNDAY TELEQRAM, JURE 7, 1953PAGE 11
Newspaper Details
Worcester Telegram
Worcester, Massachusetts, US
Sat, Jun 06, 1953
Page 7
Full Page
Clipped by
Wilfred R.
USA 27 Jul 2021
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