The Trustees’ Building, c.1831, is a prime example of Shaker brick architecture.  It was constructed for Shaker Trustees (business managers) to conduct trade with the outside world and as accommodation for visitors to the Village.    

This one-day workshop will include a history of painted surfaces in America, especially as used by the Shakers.  Focus will be placed on the categorization of buildings by color according to 19th century Shaker Millennial Laws, how paints and finishes are made, how Shakers followed (or didn’t) the fashion of the day, and the changing of finishes and color through time.       

A walking tour will show early 19th century finishes (chrome yellow, varnishes, whitewashes, painted floors, etc.) to the Victorian era (tin ceilings and walls, multi-colored schemes, linoleum), to the 20th century and the imprint of the sisters and Eldresses who lived there (pink wall paint).

The instructor is John Thompson a building convservator and former staff painter at the Village.  He is currently operating a painting contracting business, has worked in the toxic material abatement business and was a middle school science teacher.

The cost is $40 per person which includes light snacks at breaks.  This workshop is funded in part by the National Park Service, Northeast Region.

Founded in 1792, Canterbury is one of 18 religious communities established by the United Society of Believers, or Shakers. The Village’s last Shaker Sister died in 1992. The Village today is National Historic Landmark with 25 historic Shaker buildings, 4 reconstructed buildings, an internationally significant collection of Shaker materials, and 694 acres of fields, forest, gardens and ponds. The Village is open to the public from mid-May through November.