The Spirit of a Man Within a Mysterious Painting Stored Away for Years Returns Home
Rendering of local Tim Drinkwater in 1952 by Ruth Carson
Several years ago, a civil war reenactor entered Old Nottoway Antiques in Nottoway Courthouse, VA, to sell two civil war prints and a unique painting. Mark Derr, the owner of the antique store, was immediately intrigued by the latter because it was local and just a cool piece of folk art. He stared at it for a bit and realized it was signed R. Carson and dated 1952. The name immediately got his attention because Bob and Ruth Carson once owned his store and the property around it between 1931-1981. They eventually sold it at auction.
Even more intrigued, he started looking at the painting in more detail. The rendering includes an older, well-dressed gentleman sitting on a bench in front of a brick building. He noticed the vertical lines of the window frame in the painting, and suddenly it struck him that it was his store!
Old Nottoway Antiques March 2016
He turned to the seller sharply, eyes wide open and said, “Where did you get this?
The seller stepped back, hearing the intensity in Mark’s voice, probably thinking that he was being accused of stealing it.
“I’m sorry,” Mark said softening his tone. “I didn’t mean to react like that, but this is a painting of my store.”
Painting of Tim Drinkwater in 1952 in front of store as it appears today in 2016
However, he did some further investigation. In a small town, that meant crossing the street and talking to the neighbor, Emma Crane, who has since passed on and once owned an antique store in Nottoway Courthouse for many years which was torn down when the new highway went in in the 1990’s. She explained to Mark that Bob Carson never painted and that it was his wife, Ruth, who was the painter.
From locals who have visited the shop since, Mark learned that the man in the painting was known as Tim Drinkwater.He researched the name in the census records and found out that in 1950 Drinkwater was 82 years old, making him 84 years old in the painting. Well known in the area, Drinkwater was born in the county in 1868 and spent his career in the city (Richmond) as a butler in a hotel. He returned to Nottoway Courthouse area upon his retirement. As a result, he was always nicely dressed (just as he appears in the painting), and had a saying everyone knew when he opened a door and entered, “Wellllll, people!”
Drinkwater must have meant something to Ruth Carson for her to take the time to paint him. Recently, Mark learned from a local lawyer that Tim Drinkwater’s head stone is on private property near Crystal Lake, his headstone overturned.
The painting is not for sale and will remain in Old Nottoway Antiques as long as Mark owns it. Eventually, he plans to donate it to the Nottoway Historical Association. The painting is the oldest known rendition of the antique store building in existence, and the only piece of Ruth Carson’s work known in the county.
It’s as if Tim Drinkwater’s spirit came home.