The Story of the Poestenkill Lion

Poestenkill Lion after conservation. 2011.2 Gift of Hughes and Eva Gemmill.

This wonderful portrait of a lion was discovered a number of years ago by Hughes and Eva Gemmill during demolition of a summer kitchen in a house in Poestenkill.

The walls may have been painted with other animals, but they did not survive. The image of this lion is likely based on a printed or painted source in an illustration from a Bible or from one of a number of popular depictions of The Peaceable Kingdom, such as the ones done by American artist Edward Hicks (1780-1849).

The painting, done on four wide boards, is thinly painted with milk paint on unfinished wood. The Hart Cluett Museum received a Greater Hudson Heritage Network Conservation Treatment grant in 2014 to allow painting conservator Anne O’Connell to treat the image and to design and make a special frame to hold the wood boards together while allowing for natural expansion and contraction without further splitting. 

Given the location where the painting was found, it is possible that this image is an early effort of the well-known Rensselaer County folk artist, Joseph H. Hidley (1830-1872), who decorated a number of houses in Poestenkill and is better known today for his townscapes. Further research is needed to make an attribution to him. For now we can enjoy the exuberant expression of the artist depicting a rare wild beast.