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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Illustration for Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park: Dickinson Grist and Saw Mill
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Illustration for Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park: Dickinson Grist and Saw Mill

Artifact IDMO 1956.152
Object Type Drawing
Artist (American painter and printmaker, 1904-1981)
Date1949
Mediumpaper (illustration paper, cardboard, matboard), ink, paint (gouache), pencil
Dimensionsmat H 18 in x W 28 in (45.7 cm x 71.1 cm )
sheet H 10 1/2 in x W 20 3/4 in (26.7 cm x 52.7 cm )

Physical DescriptionAn original pen and ink and ink wash drawing with gouache highlights of the Dickinson grist and saw mill built pre-1797 by Dr. John Bard. Three various-sized buildings are laid out in a row along the bank of a body of water. A horse-drawn wagon is pulled up in front of the center building, while out on the water a person is fishing from a rowboat. The drawing is signed by the artist in ink in the lower right below the image: Olin Dows © 1949.

The drawing is mounted to a piece of cardboard and comes with a window mat.
Historical NoteThis 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 141 of the book.

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 1955.
Credit LineGift of Olin Dows
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
Not on view