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Belmont Mansion

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File Name	shades_chee_0005.tif
Title	Belmont Mansion
Alternate Title	Belmont
Date	circa 1859
Genre	Paintings
Material/Technique	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	39-1/2 in. x 53-1/2 in.
Description	Landscape showing lush greenery in foreground, with a brick house on a hill in background, and a tall brick tower on left. Three figures, two men on horseback, and a large African American man emerging to meet them, dominate the composition at lower center. A diminutive figure is visible outside the green house and a horse and carriage travels down the path from the house.
Historical note	This painting, by an unknown artist, depicts a distant view of Belmont Mansion, which is featured prominently at top center. The scene in the foreground includes what looks like a vineyard, while greenhouses and a water tower can be seen at left and center, and the curving paths of formal gardens with gazebos and statuary leads up to the house itself. Engineer/Architect Adolphus Heiman remodeled the house for Adelicia and Joseph Acklen just before the Civil War to give the impression of an Italian villa. The oversized figures in the foreground allude to the wealth of the gardens at Belmont as the African American worker extending an out-of-scale bunch of grapes to two men on horseback might be seen as a symbol of hospitality. Produce was an important part of the hostess' reputation but vegetable and fruit gardens tended to be placed on the perimeter of the grounds, so as to not distract from the formal beauty as one approached the home.
Subject	Belmont (Nashville, Tenn.); Acklen, Adelicia, -- 1817-1887 -- Homes and haunts -- Tennessee -- Nashville; Gardens
Theme	Holding Fast to Beauty Taking Care of Business
Story	Lucy Virginia Smith French Adelicia Acklen
Tags	Heiman, Adolphus
Geographic Location	United States--Tennessee--Nashville
Time period	1850-1859
Contributing Institution	Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
Credit line	Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art, gift of Naomi M. Kanaf in memory of her husband Max Tendle, 1978.3.13
Type	Still image
Format	image/jp2
Digital Publisher	Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
Reference URL	http://content.mtsu.edu/u?/shades,204
Archival file	shades3/shades_chee_0005.tif