P. Finney
Pair of Doors from an Independent Order of Odd Fellows Meetinghouse

Pair of Doors from an Independent Order of Odd Fellows Meetinghouse

Public Domain

Pair of Doors from an Independent Order of Odd Fellows Meetinghouse
MakerAmerican, active 19th century
MakerAmerican, active 19th century
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Pair of Doors from an Independent Order of Odd Fellows Meetinghouse
Datec. 1850–1860
Possible placeSaugerties, New York, United States
Probable placeSchroon Lake, New York, United States
MediumUnidentified wood, paint, iron
DimensionsEach: 77 3/4 × 29 3/4 × 1 1/4 in. (197.5 × 75.6 × 3.2 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by Mrs. James Anderson, Jr.
Object numberB.2009.10.1,.2
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Folk Art Room
Exposé

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Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
DescriptionThese painted doors were found in an Odd Fellows lodge in New York State. Signed by the painters P. Finney and John Serey, the exuberant abstraction of the framed elements sharply contrasts with the landscape panels—a silhouette of trees, stripped of their leaves, one upright and the other having been struck down. Given the Odd Fellows’ roots in Christian ideology, a plausible source for this imagery may be found in Matthew 3:10, “and now also the axe is laid onto the root of the trees: therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” Thus, the broken tree may serve as a warning against sin, with the intact one functioning as an omen of what is to come.
Provenance Research Ongoing Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Signed on door B.2009.10.2: P. Finney / Painter / FLT / John Serey / FLT / IOOF

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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