Paintings of history are ‘a treasure’

SHARON — Although he did not begin painting until he was in his 50s, Cornwall’s Charles Besozzi continued creating folk paintings in oil until his death in 1997 at the age of 92. The passion he felt for American history is continued by his granddaughter, Elysia Magazzi, who has set out to share his works with an ever-widening audience.

An exhibit of his work at Sharon Town Hall is titled, “The Heart and Soul American History Initiative.” It features 18 paintings and was curated by Town Hall Gallery Exhibit Co-ordinator Zelina Blagden.

The paintings depict in meticulous detail scenes of American history from the 1600s through the 1800s. They are pretty much arranged in chronological order.

“He loved to paint,” Magazzi recalled of her grandfather, noting that his medium was mostly oil on board. 

“His art is so with the times; it is still right here with us,” she said.

When Besozzi began painting, his early works were mainly allegorical, Magazzi explained. The national bicentennial celebration in 1976 got him started with depicting historical moments.  

Blagden calls the result “a local treasure”: works by an artist who lived in the area presenting historical context.”

She has timed it so that Region One schoolchildren can visit before school ends.  It offers magnificent color and detail, Blagden said, and arresting movement in every painting.

Blagden pointed to the painting of the Lincoln funeral train stopped in the center of a town to enable mourners to pay respects, saying that it breaks her heart. After waving good-bye to Lincoln, they are returning to trackside tenements. 

“They feel patriotism in an authentic way,” she said, summing up the “sweet, human quality” that Besozzi brought to his brushwork.

Subject matter in the show includes Bunker Hill, Thomas Hooker’s emigration to Connecticut, a retreat from Concord, a grist mill, the Battle of Sag Harbor, Lincoln at Gettysburg and more.

Besozzi settled in Cornwall after his marriage to Mabel Locke, raising three children there and helping to raise two granddaughters.

A reception will be held at Sharon Town Hall on Friday, May 4, from 4 to 6 p.m.  The exhibit is already open whenever Town Hall is open (8 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m. on weekdays).