This painting is based on the ballroom upstairs in the Barrett and Bullard-Barr House in New Ipswitch, New Hampshire, owned by The Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA).
I first saw this room in the 80's in the Merchant-Ivory film The Europeans. Living in NH at the time, I drove to New Ipswitch and took the 50 cent tour (it actually cost 50 cents). They did not allow photographs, but gave me an application for permission to photograph. I wrote a letter and sent photos of my work along with the application to SPNEA. They never responded to my request.
Years later, when I noticed the film was available on DVD, the painting became a possibility. I was able to capture snapshots of the room off the DVD with Snagit software. From these snapshots I was able to recreate the room, raise the ceiling and add a window.
The Degas does not hang in the room nor is there a piano on a carpet.
