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Homeowner finds strange paintings hiding behind her wallpaper
By Michael Hollan
Published April 06, 2021
These walls were literally hiding secrets.
A woman who recently purchased a new house in Massachusetts had no idea what was hidden under her new home’s wallpaper. Apparently, one of the house’s previous owners painted religious scenes onto the walls, which were then hidden away for some reason.
Amber Autry posted about the discovery on Facebook when she first made it in early March. She posted several pictures of her findings on the social media site, where she wrote, "When you’re peeling wallpaper and discover someone is hiding behind it ...ummmm .. didn’t expect that."
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Since then, she’s pulled the wallpaper off the walls in the New Bedford home and found art hidden in several areas, South Coast Today reports. The images all include various religious iconography, such as angels, crosses and even a depiction of the crucifixion.
Autry told the news outlet that the only clue she found for the art’s origins is the number 2/47 written in pencil. Since the house dates back to 1917, it’s possible that the number represents the date the paintings were made.
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South Coast Today spoke with Rev. Thomas Washburn, rector at Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption in Fall River. According to him, he believes the images were painted by an amateur.
He explained, "What I keep wondering is if this might not be connected to women's suffrage of the last century. I know there was a strong movement in New Bedford and each of the images are a then-contemporary interpretation of powerful women. There's certainly no stronger example of a powerful, holy woman than Joan of Arc, and Teresa of Avila was known as a reformer. She holds the distinction of being the first woman to be named a ‘doctor of the church.’"
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Other experts reportedly speculated that the art may have been painted for a private devotional space by one of the previous owners.
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/homeowner-paintings-hiding-behind-wallpaper-massachusetts