Painting on Plywood

Painting on Plywood
Norwegian-American
Patricia Edmundson, c.1980
Plywood, paint
Gift of the Village of Mount Horeb
MHAHS 2014.017.0001

Few stories have captured the imagination of successive generations of American children as much as the whimsical nursery rhymes of Mother Goose. Nostalgia for characters like Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep and that athletic cow who jumped over the moon are captured here by Patricia Edmundson. Painted for the Mount Horeb Public Library, this painting speaks to the ability of libraries to transport the imaginations of children into the fantastic, much like the goose ferrying gleeful youth. Plucky little trolls and a heavy robed Nisse greet the children, inviting them to learn the folklore of the town—quite possibly the same stories of their grandparents’ youth.