First Parish Church, Brunswick, Maine Drawing

Historical architecture lovers will adore this piece of art based on the First Parish Church in Brunswick, Maine. The church was founded in 1717 and this is the third building to stand on the original site, designed in the Gothic Revival style by Richard Upjohn and completed in 1846. Notable visitors and parishioners include Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Governor Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, President Ulysses S. Grant, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and a myriad of others. While sitting in pew 23 in 1851, Harriet Beecher Stowe had an inspiring vision of a scene in her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. First Parish is still thriving as a church in Brunswick today.

Our look at First Parish in this piece of art depicts the way it would have appeared during the Christmas season in the American Civil War (1861-1865). A reference photo from the period was used to make the church, surrounding buildings, trees, etc., as true to the period as possible. Today the church spire no longer exists after being blown apart during an 1866 nor'easter. An addition to the church was built in 1883 that, for obvious reasons, does not appear in this piece. Lastly, artistic liberties took a departure from the reference photo by adding winter weather, snow, and two women making their way into the church. Otherwise, everything was done with as much attention to historical detail as possible.

The original illustration measures approximately 8x10-inches. It was done in Prismacolor colored pencils on thick mixed media paper. This is a print made from the original art on quality cardstock. All art was created by me, Jessica Jewett. I'm a mid-30s artist living in Atlanta. All of my art is completed with the tools utilized in my mouth due to disability.