and Weir painted a portrait of Quartley , The Marine , showing him wearing the big straw hat he had acquired on the summer trip to Long Island in 1878 .
The Tilers celebrated the Fourth of July in Schuylerville , where the mayor turned out to pay them the honor of a visit , as did local residents who delighted in trying on various costumes including a mandarin ’ s crape robe , Mongolian pagoda hats , and Frans Hals ruffs . In honor of the holiday , the Tilers visited local sights dating back to Colonial times , being transported about in carriages provided by the town fathers , “ each of which had thoughtfully been furnished with … an elderly and communicative native ” who supplied more than adequate details . 67 The artists then continued along the Northern Canal where they were greeted with gifts of flowers and fruits and , in turn , invited the locals aboard their floating museum and curiosity shop . They then proceeded to Whitehall , where a little cutter was placed at their disposal to sail on Lake Champlain , touching upon the shore of Vermont before returning for the trip home on July 9 . At Whitehall they met the daughter of Parson William Miller ( 1782 – 1849 ), a minister who had mistakenly declared the end of the world and the coming of Christ would occur in 1843 . “ The ancient dame moved with difficulty down the padded stairs …. Then , to the astonishment of everyone … she noticed the cello ... And soon she was actually tuning and managing the instrument , playing and singing ‘ Come to the sunset tree ’ and other lyrics of a long-gone time ” ( fig . 13 ). 68 Along the way , they had the opportunity of actually visiting a tileworks , where “… as tilers should [ they ] made themselves at home . The kiln , the mill that ground the clay , the heaps of tubes like crimson macaroni , the boy that minded the fire , all were food for artistic reflection .” 69 Gifford documented the visit in a sketch , The Tile Bakery
Figure 13 . Charles Stanley Reinhart ( American , 1844 – 1896 ), Come to the Sunset Tree , 1880 , pen and ink on paper , 7 1/2 x 3 3/4 in ., Heckscher Museum of Art , gift of the Baker / Pisano Collection , 2001.9.207
( location unknown ). 70
The return trip down the Hudson was described as “ pure delight .” 71 Little detail is provided except that the same crew of the boats in their tow up the river accompanied them on their voyage home ; all of them brought their friends to see the “ wonders of the sailing studio .” 72 After twenty days of cruising their journey came to an end : “ The era of uneasiness , of bag
Decorative Age or Decorative Craze ? 19