Thursday, September 15, 2016

 

Oh well it was worth a try...

This painting belonged to my parents.   I've been sorting through many old photos so I can put them onto one of those USB thingies to give to my siblings when I came across this painting of our Ancestor's home at Rodd Point.  Barnstable Manor was built about 1838 by our Great Great Grandfather Brent Clements Rodd who arrived from Tasmania in 1822 aged 13 years.   I looked closely at this photo and noted the signature was a 'Amy Vale'!  So I decided to see if Amy was still out there because I knew she hadn't painted this in the 1800's but wasn't exactly sure when.

 I did a search and the discovered an Amy Vale living in Hereford, England exactly where our Ancestors came from almost 200 years ago!  I messaged her on Face Book see below...


Hello! I know this is probably a long shot but I was just looking for an Artist called Amy Vale who painted my Great Grandfathers home at Rodd Point in Sydney called 'Barnstable Manor'. The painting is signed by Amy Vale and says Circa 1820  I konw it wasn't painted back then because that was the same time John Rodd and his young three sons arrived from England. I know my family came from Prestigne in Hereford, where there is an Artists Retreat called 'The Rodd', bought from the Rodd's by Sir Sidney Nolan and donated by him on his death. There are just too many connections in my search so that's why I decided to write to you to see if it was you or a relative of yours. I will enclose a scan of the said painting. cheers Pennie Rodd Griffiths.

I received a prompt reply...

 Hello!  What a fascinating story, I'm afraid it wasn't me nor any relative of mine who painted it, but it is beautiful. Sorry I can't help you any more but good luck with your search! Amy x     http://www.amyvale.com/ 

From Amy's Website...


Oh well, as I've already said... it was worth a try  :-) 

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# posted by Pennie @ September 15, 2016
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