Wallace Nutting (1861-1941) was a minister, photographer, furniture maker, preservationist, and the father of the Colonial Revival movement. From his factory in Framingham, Nutting produced prints and furniture meant to evoke “old New England,” which became must-have decorative items for the growing American middle class. His style influenced design, art, and architecture for half a century.
His photographs included pastoral scenes, gardens, and replicas of colonial interiors (many taken inside historic homes in Framingham), often with women performing domestic work. These photographs were all hand-colored in his studio in downtown Framingham, and were sold in a variety of sizes to fit all budgets.
By 1925 it was estimated that there was one Nutting print in every American home. This Empire State No. 2 camera by Eastman Kodak came from Nutting’s studio in Framingham, and is the only one of his cameras known to survive today.
This camera represents the success of a single local resident to change the way all of America viewed its history...Wallace Nutting was perhaps more than any other person, responsible for the colonial revival in architecture and decorative arts at a time when colonial buildings were being demolished and sold for scrap.