“Examination of Witnesses in a Trial for Witchcraft”

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

This sketch was a preliminary study for a painting by the Deerfield, Massachusetts, painter George Fuller (1822-1884). The oil painting, now at the Art Institute of Chicago, was a rare effort by Fuller to create a historical scene, the interrogation of witnesses during the Salem witchcraft trial of 1692. He was ultimately unsuccessful. Composed and partially painted in the last year of his life, one critic wrote that Fuller abandoned it because of his “aversion or inability to illustrate an historical fact,” that rather than “controlling the subject, it was controlling him.” The great successes of Fuller’s career were, in fact, either taken from life or from contemporary impressions.

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Details

Item typeArtwork
CreatorFuller, George
Date1884
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicArt, Music, Literature, Crafts
EraRise of Industrial America, 1878–1899
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatOil; Pastel, chalk
Dimension detailsHeight: 36.00 in Width: 55.00 in
Catalog #1986.08.01
View this item in our curatorial database →
Fuller, George. Examination of Witnesses in a Trial for Witchcraft. 1884. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1986-08-01/. Accessed on December 6, 2024.

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