quite similar to Two Children with Doll, but in this one the children are holding a cat between them. Because of the similarity, the auction firm attributed this second pastel to Peckham as well. Unusual examples of Peckham's work include The Woes of Liquor and The Happy Abstemious Family, both of which are signed "R. Peckham." The former depicts a sick and suffering family whose troubles have been brought about by liquor; the second shows a happy nondrinking family. The backs of these works are painted light gray. These small "temperance" paintings were probably executed in the 1840s and are now in the collection of the Worcester Historical Museum. Other Peckham paintings can be viewed in various museums and private collections. A private owner in Massachusetts has half-length portraits of three of Peckham's children'° done in the manner of Peckham's portraits of adults, with dark clothing and
dark backgrounds, as well as one painting of two children that is probably by Peckham. The Bolton, Massachusetts, Historical Society has two paintings of adults said to be by Peckham. Fruitlands Museums in Harvard, Massachusetts, owns a portrait of a young boy named Clinton Hager that was given to them by the Forbush Memorial Library. A museum in Maine has one portrait of a__woman. Photographs of other Peckham portraits can be seen in catalogs of the Tillou collection" and an exhibition at Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts.'2 And an article in a 1983 issue of The Magazine Antiques" shows a
painting of five children that is probably by Peckham. Was Peckham a good artist? On the basis of whether he produced an excellent likeness, who is to say? One favorite quotation of almost everyone who writes about Peckham comes from Peckham's most famous sitter, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier: "The picture was painted when I was 23, painted by Deacon Peckham of Westminster while he was on a visit to Haverhill. I only recall sitting for him two or three times, but how it looked I have no idea. If it was a good picture, it was a miracle, for the Deacon was eminently artless."4 In 1833 Peckham traveled by wagon from Westminster to Haverhill—what must have been a two-day trip—where he produced a painting of Whittier. The artist greatly admired the poet, and had undoubtedly wanted to do a good job. As Whittier's comment came nearly fifty years after the portrait was completed, Peckham probably never heard his sitter's criticism.
Peckham's signature from the back of The Woes of Liquor. There is a similar signature on the back of The Happy Abstemious Family.
THE WOES OF LIQUOR (INTEMPERANCE) 1840-1850 Oil on panel 5% 7/ 1 4" From the Collections of the Worcester Historical Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts. 1977.664
44 SPRING 1996 FOLK ART