Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Illustration for Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park: Val-Kill from the Pond
Object numberMO 1960.38
Name
Drawing
Artist
Olin Dows
(American painter and printmaker, 1904-1981)
Date1949
Mediumpaper (illustration paper, cardboard) ink, paint (gouache), pencil
Dimensionsoverall H 12 in x W 22 in (30.5 cm x 55.9 cm )
DescriptionAn original pen and ink and ink wash drawing with gouache highlights showing a view of cottages and the pond on the Roosevelts' Val-Kill property in Hyde Park, New York. Val-Kill Pond is in the forefront of the scene with a small bridge on the right side. Stone Cottage, the first structure built at Val-Kill, is visible in the center background and Val-Kill Cottage is on the left with the picnic fireplace in front of it. The drawing is signed by the artist in ink in the lower left below the image: Olin Dows © 1949.
On the reverse of the drawing is a handwritten note in ink describing the image: Val Kil [sic] Cottage and Pond. F.D.R. sketched the building and Henry Toombs drafted the drawings. He . . . at the subcontracts (i.e. acted as contractor) when he found that the bids were too high. He saved several thousand dollars on the job? To the left is Mrs. R's first cottage and to the right the swimming pool, while on the far left of the picture can be seen the chimney used for the Val Kil picknicks [sic].
The drawing is mounted to a piece of cardboard.
Label TextThis drawing is one in a series of original ink wash drawings created by Olin Dows for his book, "Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park," published in 1949 by American Artists Group, Inc. Olin Dows spent two years writing the text and drawing the book's 174 illustrations. This illustration appears on page 104 of the book.On the reverse of the drawing is a handwritten note in ink describing the image: Val Kil [sic] Cottage and Pond. F.D.R. sketched the building and Henry Toombs drafted the drawings. He . . . at the subcontracts (i.e. acted as contractor) when he found that the bids were too high. He saved several thousand dollars on the job? To the left is Mrs. R's first cottage and to the right the swimming pool, while on the far left of the picture can be seen the chimney used for the Val Kil picknicks [sic].
The drawing is mounted to a piece of cardboard.
The Dows family had been lifelong friends and neighbors of the Roosevelts and were frequent guests at events at Hyde Park, NY and in Washington, DC, both before and during the presidency. In 1939, Olin Dows received a commission to design and paint the murals in the Rhinebeck, NY Post Office. In 1941, at the suggestion of President Roosevelt, Dows was commissioned to design and paint the murals in the Hyde Park Post Office as well, and worked closely with FDR in the conception and design of the murals.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Olin Dows in 1956.
Credit LineGift of Olin Dows
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesHudson River Valley Materials (National Archives Identifier 778818)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.Collections
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