Hey! Check this out! My artwork has a cameo in Hubie Halloween! The set designers borrowed one of my painted figureheads from its lamppost in Salem and placed it in Marblehead during filming, and it survived the cutting room! Does this make me part of the Hollywood elite?
The figurehead is part of the Salem Beautification Committee’s Ladies of Salem initiative. Businesses can sponsor an artist to paint a Jenny Lind figurehead to grace a lamppost in Downtown Salem, both as an advertisement for their company and as a lovely way to make Salem even more beautiful and historical. The Jenny Lind figurehead memorializes the hand-carved figure that graced the bow of the Salem ship, Nightingale.
I have been selected to paint five Ladies of Salem. The first, which is the one chosen by the Hubie Halloween set designers, was done for Cabot Wealth Management. She is done in the colors of the company: blues and greens. Her skirt features a map of the world to signify the company’s origins in the Salem shipping trade, and her cameo is painted with a compass rose.
The next three were done for The Village Tavern, a wonderful restaurant on the Essex Street Mall. One of the Ladies is mounted over the restaurant door, right by the Salem Harbor fountain on Essex Street; the other two are displayed inside the restaurant. These figureheads’ dresses are painted in colors shown on the company’s logo: red, brown, black and white. The outside Lady features part of the restauranteur’s collection of tap handles.
My fifth Lady of Salem was commissioned by the Beautification Committee. Salem has a well-known history in the China Trade. But the city was also a major trader in the Caribbean, some of it was regrettably and shamefully during the Triangle Trade. Some of the trade was regular shipping of fish, lumber, etc. The beautiful Caribbean Lady of Salem has a blouse which reflects the pink and coral island sunset, and her skirt is painted in the blues and greens of the warm tropical waters with schools of fish spiraling across it.
Come to Salem and find all the Ladies of Salem done by local artists for many businesses all over the Downtown area. This is a fun way to see the city and learn about Salem’s history.