Travis Louie, Hillary and Sam, 2011, acrylic on board, 16 x 20"  • Sold


Hillary Smithson, of the Cobble Hill Smithsons, inherited Sam from her great aunt Mabel.
Sam was sort of a family tradition. Some families had a particular breed of dog or cat that they liked to have
from generation to generation. The Smithson family had beetles, particularly, the giant Carpenter Beetles from the Christmas Islands.

They were known to have a lifespan of over 200 years and became highly fashionable sometime after the civil war. No one knew for sure how old Sam was. The lawyer at the reading of Auntie Mabel's will, claimed that Sam had been a witness to the French revolution. Sam was actually acquired during a poker game in North Dakota in 1897.

Hillary kept Sam in her hat box and often walked around town with him perched on her head, as it was very common for people in her town to do so.
He enjoyed the theater and would sing along with his squeaky little voice during performances at the local opera house each Saturday night.  When there was a round of applause, he seemed to smile as if it were for him, and he would take a bow as well.

 

 

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