The Croscups' Painted Parlour

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Sometime between 1846 and 1848, an artist appeared at a modest home in
Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley and painted the parlor. The result is
one of Canada’s most unusual art treasures. The unknown artist painted
all the woodwork to resemble either more-expensive grained wood or
marble. Then he turned to the walls. Every inch, from floor to ceiling,
became his “canvas.” He filled the parlor with 11 murals, unified by
a border of tromp l’oeil drapery.

Baker examines the paintings in their historic, social, and artistic
context. Exploring each mural individually, she discusses the artist’s
probable sources, compares his work to similar paintings in the United
States, probes the reasons for adaptations and changes, and looks at the
artistic skill evident or lacking in the execution.

She also gives us something of the history of the Croscup family (the
owners of the painted parlor), the circumstances that led to the room
surviving more than 125 years without redecoration, and its restoration
in the 1970s. The book is generously illustrated with black-and-white
photos of the artist’s sources and of similar works, and with color
plates of the murals. Unfortunately, except for those on the book’s
covers, the color plates are too small to permit full appreciation of
the detailed murals.

Baker’s fascination with the painted parlor, her meticulous research,
and her readable style make this a thoroughly informative, enjoyable
book.