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Drab by any other name is still awfully drab
When it came time to choose the color to paint the Borden house after the sale to the current owners, there was much discussion as to what shade to select. Newspaper descriptions and other sources cite the house color as “drab”- a popular Victorian catch-all term for a gray-brown-olive nondescript color. Army khaki fatigue uniforms may come close to the color. The current shade of green on the house is very snappy, but a little greener than was probably found in 1892. However, if you have a good look at the underside of the floorboards in the cellar of the house, a very convincing drab shade can still be seen which is probably the right shade. The trim was said to be painted a darker shade of the same color.
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Our Lady of Second Street
When Lizzie went abroad for her 30th birthday in 1890, she returned home with so many souvenirs that she had to switch rooms with her older sister Emma so as to have a place to display her mementos. Being a Congregationalist, it seems unusual that Lizzie had a fondness for Madonna and Child paintings and particularly liked one by Raphael. The house currently has Madonna of the Chair displayed in Lizzie’s room on the second floor, but it is the Sistine Madonna which is said to be her favorite. Both are by Raphael but this is the one called the Sistine Madonna.
This is Madonna of the Chair which can be found in Lizzie’s Room.
The first painting is probably the correct one- the Sistine Madonna. Another “Madonna” found in Lizzie’s room is a tender portrait of Lizzie’s real mother, Sarah Morse and Lizzie’s sister Emma as a baby. Was Lizzie yearning for her own mother?
