Treasures in Brainerd Library: Sibyl’s Painting

By Kate Branstetter.

You never know what you are going to find at the library. One evening I was working at the circulation desk at Brainerd Memorial Library and a patron asked me about the painting hanging above us. I had passed under this painting hundreds of times but, sadly, I had always treated it with the same carelessness as the art in a non-descript hotel room. This painting was in plain sight and yet I never really looked at it. As it turns out, the painting hanging over the main circulation desk at Brainerd Memorial Library has a deep and interesting history.

In 1633 (a mere 13 years after the Mayflower landed) a child named Simon Huntington emigrated from England to the “New World.” New England was in the difficult early stages of British colonization. One can imagine men clearing trees without the aid of machinery and breaking their backs to build a modest life.

The colony that Sibyl grew up in was more established than the one to which her great grandfather had emigrated. She was born to a prosperous family in 1734. Her father was Deacon Samuel Huntington of Lebanon, Connecticut, and although her community was still under British rule, the properties around her home had been tilled and sectioned. The earliest members of her family had worked the soil and removed the rocks, stacking them in declared property lines through town. Her family had been in New England long enough to understand what would grow in the garden and what to expect from the long winters. This time-honored lifestyle allowed Sybil to explore her creative side and her parents did not suppress her desire to paint.

In November 1757, Sibyl Huntington married Reverend Eleazor May of Wethersfield, a Yale graduate who had recently been ordained pastor of the first Congregational Church of Haddam, Connecticut. Shortly after their marriage, the couple found out they were expecting their first child. It was while the couple was building their house in Haddam that Sybil decided to paint a large, decorative piece for their new home.

Eventually, Sibyl found the site along the river that she would render in her painting. The painting would become significant in Connecticut history because it is one of the earliest representations of a specific site in the Connecticut Valley–the second meeting house of Haddam, built in 1721 and used until 1771.

Chances are, Sibyl Huntington May invented the scene portrayed in the painting. It is rather large and illustrates a cluster of buildings on the far side of the river. There are trees, people, and domesticated animals (cows, horses, dogs) in the foreground. It is a strong and colorful piece that Sibyl and Eleazor hung in their “Red House” shortly before their son John was born. The couple went on to have 9 more children, all of whom, amazingly, survived and lived to have their own families.

When United States became a country in 1783 Sibyl was still living in Haddam. She died in 1798 and is buried in the old Haddam Cemetery. Sybil’s painting, a little worn and with several tiny burns from a candle’s flame, stayed in their “keeping room” until the “Old Red House” was torn down. The painting was saved from the demolition and was presented to Sybil’s great granddaughter, Statira Emma May (1840-1910) on her wedding day.

The painting stayed in the family until 1934 when it was presented to the Brainerd Memorial Library by Mrs. Dorothy Mesplay Hazen (d. 1984) at the request of Phila Parmelee (d. 1948), the librarian at the time.

Presumably that would be the end of the story, but it turns out that the painting that is currently hanging at Brainerd Memorial Library is a fake! There was a fair amount of debate when Brainerd Memorial Library decided to sell Mrs. Huntington May’s original painting in 1994 in order to fund their much-needed addition. Brainerd Memorial Library sold the painting to the Connecticut Historical Society and replaced it with the replica that hangs over the circulation desk to this day.

The story of Sybil’s painting is a romantic one, but it is incredible to know that after 236 years her endeavor had a massive effect on Brainerd Memorial Library. It would be HER painting, and her work that would help fund the very building that I hold nearest to my heart. The place where I go when I need solace. The place I go when I need a rest from the wild world.