Landscape
ARTIST: Research by Jim Melchor and Tom New Bern of the Edenton Historical Commission has identified the artist as young Martha Riddick (b. 1813) of Hertford County, North Carolina. The daughter of James Riddick, she grew up on her father’s plantation outside Ahoskie, North Carolina. She married William Dorey Pruden. Following their marriage the couple lived east of Harrellsville, North Carolina, in Hertford County.
FRAME: Appears to be in its original frame.
DESCRIPTION: A fantasy landscape executed in watercolor depicting a brick church and associated buildings in the background (to the left) and a village or town in the distant background (on the right). At the end of the church path In the foreground are two men, each with a walking stick, and two horses on the left and a river on the right. In the lower right corner are three men with a fishing net; just behind them to the left are two men in a small boat; one of the men holds a red paddle; in front of this man is a small barrel bearing the inscription, “IR.” The molded frame and glass appear to be original; the frame is painted black and may be white pine.
