Did you know…?
The stained glass window on the left side of the sanctuary was designed by Gertrude F. Sanderson commemorating her grandmother Asenath Sanderson. Gertrude also designed the Littleton town seal.
Gertrude lived with her sister, Fannie Adams Sanderson, in the Sanderson Homestead at 2 King Street for her entire life.
A graduate of the Boston Art School and the Juilan Academy of Art in Paris, she was a prolific painter. Reflecting her lifelong residence in Littleton, she produced numerous oil and watercolor depictions of familiar views of landscapes, often including readily identifiable buildings. She was also the author of many poems on nature, for both adults and children, some of which were published in Paris, some of which were set to music.
She was the subject of an elegant portrait by Mary Earl Wood, a contemporary artist. The story is that Mrs. Wood encountered Gertrude on the Boston Common, dressed as shown in the portrait, and carrying pussy willows, and was inspired to paint her portrait in that regalia. The portrait remains a treasured remembrance of an artist who was also an activist, foreshadowing the greater public role which women would take in the future.
(From the exhibit catalogue “The Art of Gertrude F. Sanderson” a 2001 exhibit of the Littleton Historical Society.)
Did you know … ?
The Parish News was formerly known as the Bell Rope?