(Q125923710)

one of several variations on the theme of the burning of Troy, New York, painted by Moses between 1939 and 1959. The artist drew her inspiration for these works from a story and illustration that she had clipped from a 1939 Troy newspaper. The story recounted the dramatic tale of the historic fire of May 10, 1862, which started with the burning of a covered bridge crossing the Hudson River. Having occurred just miles away from her childhood home, the catastrophe had been the subject of local lore and evidently captured the imagination of the artist. Adding a few pencil lines, Moses embellished the newspaper illustration, transforming its oval shape into a rectangular format, after which she composed her paintings of the subject. She held on to the clipping for years, revisiting the theme and recreating her own imaginative interpretation of this storied event.