Chandler Farm

James J. Sawyer (1813–1888)
Pomfret, Connecticut, 1858
Oil on canvas
41 ½ x 55 in.
Gift of Mary B. Holt
1990.193

Chandler Farm is typical of the productive farms that dotted the New England landscape in the mid-nineteenth century when 90 percent of the population was still engaged in some form of agricultural work. When this was painted the farm’s owner, John Chandler, was the fourth generation of his family to work the 100-acre plot of land. Well-maintained stone walls and fences separate specific areas, including the piggery and the tidy kitchen garden.