Description

“At the end of May 1941 a custom made mural, executed in egg tempera, was hung in the Oxford Post Office. Mordi Gassner, a mural and portrait artist from New York was awarded a contract to paint a mural on (gesso primed) linen. The painting titled, “Family Reunion on Clark Island: Spring 1791″, (probably refers to Cork or Packer Island), was his interpretation of an historic local event. It depicted the arrival of the (older) Blackman children coming from Unadilla, after an extremely difficult, two-day journey by ox-sled. In the painting, two young men, Elijah, Jr. and Jabez Blackman, along with their 11-year-old foster sister, Polly Knapp, arrive in 1791, to join their father, Elijah Blackman, Sr. and his friend, James Phelps. They all came from CT, however, circumstances forced them to split up. They are struck with awe by the river and the vast acres of forest, and the only inhabitants are the Native Americans.”

(www.oxfordny.com)