Boston Celebration

Artists seek to present a distinctive vision of the world, which means that there are favorite themes, color harmonies, and subjects that repeat themselves in our work.

In Boston Celebration, I make a virtue of necessity by returning to a favorite subject at a different time of day and year. My first painting of historic Boston Commons on a damp fall day nearly fifteen years ago, was a great success. Now, when the birthplace of liberty is celebrating the dizzying triumph of a curse-breaking World Series followed by a second consecutive Super Bowl Championship, it seemed the ideal time for a fresh look at this favorite historic destination.

With this painting, we stroll the Commons at a very special moment in time – a chilly winter’s evening in the weeks following the 2005 Super Bowl triumph. Flags celebrating both the champion Red Sox, as well as the victorious Patriots festoon the square. Blazing lights seem to herald the celebration; the glowing façade of Park Street Church looms like a victory torch, while a chestnut vendor adds to the festive air. Does the couple walking under the church spire conjure memories of John and Jackie Kennedy? I’ll leave that to you.