Moses Kent House
About This Tour
There is a lot to see at the Moses Kent House! Restored murals flow continuously from the parlor, through the two-story stair hall, and into the bedchamber. The murals exhibit painting styles and motifs attributed to both Rufus Porter and J. D. Poor, suggesting that uncle and nephew worked collaboratively.
The Moses Kent House has a boxy form, symmetrical facade, an elliptical louvered fan over the entry door, and delicate, reeded pilasters between the door and its sidelights.
The Moses Kent House
The Moses Kent House was built in 1811 in Lyme, New Hampshire — a region that would later become an epicenter of Rufus Porter murals. Moses Kent’s father, Abel, originally hailed from Newburyport, Massachusetts. After serving in the Revolutionary War, Abel Kent purchased land and settled in Lyme in 1782. It was on his father’s land that Moses built this Federal house where he lived with his wife Mary until his death in 1838. The house remained in the Kent family until 1901. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) documented the murals in 1959. At that time, the dwelling was known as the Wittenborn-Wagner House.
The significance of the property and its murals was recognized when the Moses Kent House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Like Georgian houses, Federal houses are often box-like structures with symmetrical facades. In the Kent House, the two chimneys are placed in the rooms on either side of a center hall. The elliptical louvered fan over the entry door and the delicate, reeded pilasters between the door and its sidelights are typical of the refined details that define the Federal style.
The parlor overmantel has stenciled houses and a tower, elements often found in Porter School murals. Also notable is that the same stenciled houses, with the same placement, are found on many J. D. Poor overmantels.
About the Artist — or Artists?
The lower and upper halls, parlor, and bedchamber of the Moses Kent House retain murals painted sometime around 1830 by an artist or artists of the Rufus Porter School. The Porter School includes works by artists painting in the style of muralist and inventor Rufus Porter (1782-1884). In 1847, Porter published his formulaic approach to mural painting for other painters to follow. One of the best-known Porter School muralists was Porter’s nephew, Jonathan D. Poor (1807-45). While Poor trained under Porter, he developed unique elements and a painting style that distinguish his work from that of his uncle.
The Kent House murals are not signed and incorporate motifs and elements characteristic of both Porter and Poor. While it is certainly possible that an unidentified artist utilized details attributed to each painter, the presence of both Porter and Poor elements suggests that the uncle and nephew worked on these murals together. The artist (or artists) also chose to repeat certain elements in these murals — how many examples of each Porter School motif can you find throughout the house?
When the present owners acquired the Moses Kent House, it had been abandoned and vacant for many years. The painted plaster walls had poorly executed repairs and areas of missing plaster. Extensive conservation work restored the walls for future generations to enjoy.
This scene shows stenciled houses on an island, an element not typical of Porter or Poor.
As with many Porter School murals, a water scene in the house’s entry hall greets a visitor entering through the front door. The murals follow the rise of the stair and include a two-story tree, another typical Porter School element. Even more scenes are found in the second-floor hall.
In the front parlor, the sitter is surrounded completely by painted walls. Notice how the mural is broken up by the house’s architectural elements, but there is still a general cohesion and continuity as the scene wraps around the room’s perimeter. The murals in the front bedroom are laid out similarly to those of the parlor, with a water scene to the right of the doorway and a village scene on the overmantel.
The Moses Kent House recently underwent significant restoration in efforts to bring the house closer to its original state and is an excellent example of effective preservation and stewardship. Since the 1980s, the house has been protected by a conservation easement with the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance that protects the exterior, the windows, murals, woodwork, and fireplaces from alteration or removal.
About the Art
The restored water wall scene has a “feather duster” elm in the foreground, an island with no reflections in the surrounding water, and two ships — motifs typical of Porter School murals.