Help Conserve the Falls and Roses

We are requesting donations to help with the conservation of two historically significant oil paintings in our collection. The PCHS recently was granted $450 from the Greater Pike Community Foundation to help with the cost of cleaning and stabilizing "Milford Rose" by Ada Cecere and "Sawkill Falls" by George Bensell. Our conservator estimated the cost at around $1500. Once cleaned and repaired, we would like to obtain proper lighting to display them at their best, at an additional cost. These paintings are just a few in our collection that need attention. Our portrait collection is next on the list - so all contributions are welcome and appreciated!

Ada Rasario Cecere (1898-1983) was a painter, muralist, and designer active in New York City, New York, and Rome, Italy. Ada Rasario was born in New York and studied art in Paris and Rome. She married Gaetano Cecere, a Roman sculptor and together they settled in Manhattan and Milford. She was president of the Pen and Brush Society and an active member and teacher of Pike County Arts and Crafts. Cecere died in New York in 1983.

Bensell (1837-1879)was primarily a painter, specializing in portraits, landscapes, historical and "poetical genre" subjects for a wealthy clientele. His secondary occupation was that of illustrator in the magazines and books of his day, in which he often collaborated with his brother. In 1860, while still students, the two brothers joined with four other students to form the Philadelphia Sketch Club, one of America's oldest existing artists' clubs. The brothers' enthusiastic abolitionist feelings influenced its early political sentiments, and many of their early sketches were published in its popular publication, the Sketch Club Portfolio. George married Josephine Crissman of Milford in 1871.