Baby in Red Chair - A New Year Begins

The beginning of any new year is often characterized by an image of a baby being welcomed by an old bearded adult from the previous year. Keeping this tradition alive is today's January 1st post of Baby in Red Chair, an oil on canvass painting attributed to an unknown artist possibly from Pennsylvania during the period 1800 to 1830.

Baby in Red Chair is an example of American folk art. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, was a pioneer in the realization of this art form as both creative and historic. She spent much of her time and family's resources to collect and preserve art. Today her expansive collection can be seen at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum in Williamsburg, Virginia. While the painting is just one example of many, the plans for the museum includes expansion of the neighboring DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum in 2010 and 2011 allowing for possible more room for the Rockefeller collection.

Baby in Red Chair is one of the most popular paintings in this collection. However visitors will also recognize other works of early American life displayed in the exhibit. Abby's foresight to preserve folk art allows the two hundred year old "baby" to both welcome the viewer into the past and also into the present with a timeless pose. Know that.

The Haunting of Colonial Williamsburg

Ghost tours are a popular events at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia especially in the fall when the conditions seem right to properly frame the stories. This week while the 42N blogger was in the 18th-century living-history park we heard two new reports of super natural sightings not part of the regular ghost tours in Colonial Williamsburg.

A Williamsburg worker told us that people can occasionally see small orb-shaped glowing clouds floating down the Duke of Gloucester Street at night. She described these clouds as the size of small children which move along the street and at times move from side to side in the street.

The second report came from a woman working the gift shop at the DeWitt Wallace Art Museum and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. The woman told us about encounters when she worked in the nearby Celebrations shop (110 S Henry St.) In the basement after Celebrations closed she would tidy the place up and organize it for the next day. In the morning she and others would find items moved from where they were placed the night before. She also reports hearing footsteps after all people were out of the building. She claims that this is a male entity who is just messing with them and is doing no harm. Our visit to Celebrations yielded no brushes with ghosts but we did talk to the sales people.

This week during our night strolls on the streets of Colonial Williamsburg we encountered no mysterious vapors but did observe the ever popular ghost tours in progress. Coincidentally, the Bruton Parish Church, located on the Colonial Williamsburg property, conducted an evening music performance which allowed for its cemetery grounds to be visited at night - another place of many reported sightings.

One thing is for certain, the interest in ghosts especially at such a historic place like Williamsburg is a big draw for the property and privately guided groups. People enjoy hearing a good ghost story, getting scared and trying their luck in seeing or capturing a photo of a colonial spirit. Know that.