For many years the beautiful book, entitled “Christmas Decorations in Williamsburg” (1), has been part of our coffee table library in our family home in Connecticut. Of particular interest are the fireplace decorations on page 47 of that book. Over the mantle on that page is one of Jesse France’s paintings. In 2005, we investigated the actual location of this painting which is shown below. The first picture is the mantle piece photo from the book, the second picture is of the room, courtesy of the owner, and the third photo is an enlarged photo, again courtesy of the owner as it appears in this web site as Image CWp47.

Details of this painting are listed along with Image CWp47 in the Watercolor Section of Jesse France’s paintings. The painting is signed on the lower left, and although the creation date is not shown, it was painted in Holland, circa 1888.

The France family very much appreciates the assistance that the authors and the publishers of this book provided to us as we sought information about this painting. We are particularly indebted to the owners of the painting which resides in a Private Collection.

(1) “Christmas Decorations in Williamsburg”, by Susan Hight Rountree, drawings by Elizabeth Hundley Babb, Photography by David M. Doody and Tom Green, et al, published by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1991 with a Fourth Printing in 1992.