County Legislature accepts bicentennial painting of Courthouse Square, log cabin

Photos by Tom Rivers: Carol Culhane, center, presented a painting of the County Courthouse and Clerks Building, and a log cabin, to the County Legislature earlier this week. Legislature Chair Lynne Johnson is at left and Legislator Bill Eick is at right. Culhane created the current scene and imagined how it was when pioneer settlers lived at the now prominent location.

ALBION – Creating beautiful pictures and giving them away is nothing new to Carol Culhane.

A talented, self-taught artist, Culhane recently painted a poster to commemorate Orleans County’s 200th anniversary.

At the Orleans County Legislature’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, Culhane presented the poster to Legislative chair Lynne Johnson and vice chair Bill Eick.

“It was an honor to accept artist Carol Culhane’s tremendous painting in honor of the Orleans County bicentennial,” Johnson said. “It really is quite beautiful with stunning detail. We look forward to having it on display at the county administration building for the public to enjoy.”

This wasn’t the first time Culhane has donated one of her artworks to the county. In 1990 she painted a poster depicting historical aspects of Orleans County and donated the design to Orleans County Chamber of Commerce for a coverlet.

Culhane has been painting since she was seven years old and came home from school one day and painted her portrait from a wallet-size school picture on a piece of onionskin.

“I’ve had so many blessings in my life, helping people and touching their lives with my art,” she said.

Her first professional attempt was painting a sandwich board in the early 1970s for Charles Nesbitt when he decided to enter politics and ran for town councilman.

She has never had an art lesson, she said, yet she can paint portraits (even Elvis), landscapes or animals.

The late Capurso, who was president of the Orleans County Historical Association, had the idea for the poster. Capurso often spoke of how a pioneer lived on the Courthouse Square. He pushed to have a historical marker on the lawn in 2013 for William McAllister and his wife, who were Albion’s first settlers in 1811.

Culhane’s father was a decorated Rochester policeman, and her first husband, now deceased was a Vietnam veteran, as is her current husband, Jerry Culhane. This has resulted in her having tremendous respect for police officers, military people and the injured or ill.

She has painted signs for extra money and names on boats. She has created commemorative coins and painted vehicles for members of Ducks Unlimited. Designing and painting Wounded Warrior ornaments for patients at Walter Reed Hospital and traveling there to present them became a passion for a number of years. Twenty-seven years ago, she began buying, painting and donating ornaments to raise money for Hospice of Orleans County.

In Rochester, a memorial paying tribute to Rochester area veterans lost in Vietnam is lined with their portraits painted by Culhane.  She also has designed a Challenge commemorative coin for Lockheed Martin.

In spite of all the honors accorded her through the years, she is particularly proud of the poster she recently presented to the Orleans County Legislature. She explained the idea was the result of a meeting she attended in 2017 of the Orleans County Historical Association. Al Capurso was president and distributed his end-of-the-year annual report. On the cover was a simple image of a log cabin, dense forest, the Courthouse and the clerk’s building.

“He explained that before the county buildings were built there was just a cabin in the woods,” Culhane recalled. “After the meeting he approached me and said, ‘Some day I wish you could do a painting that shows the pioneer’s cabin to the present time.’”

Carol Culhane is hugged by Lynne Johnson after Culhane donated the painting to the county. It will be displayed in the County Administration Building.

In 2013, Capurso commissioned a historical marker for the courthouse lawn to commemorate the first settlers of Albion – pioneers William McAllister and his wife, who built the cabin in 1811, situated where the clerks’ building now stands. I kept his design all these years in hopes I would have the opportunity to recreate Al’s vision.”

Culhane explained Capurso was a kind and giving man who devoted his time and efforts to serve his community. Although he has passed away, his influence and love for history of this county lives on, she said.

Last fall Culhane learned there was a committee tasked with planning the county bicentennial.

“I thought this would be a great opportunity to share Al’s vision and finally fulfill his request,” Culhane said. “I presented the story to the committee and showed them the cover of the report. I suggested how fitting it would be to commemorate the bicentennial and Al’s legacy. The committee saw Al’s vision and agreed to allow me to do the painting.”

In creating the design, Culhane said it was obvious the majestic county courthouse and the fireproof clerk’s office would be perfect to spotlight the architecture displayed in many parts of our county. The cabin is the style built by the pioneers in the early 1800s, which includes the oxen. The animals were used by the settlers to pull their wagons as they traveled here to settle, and they were strong enough to use to build their cabins and work the land. The buildings are painted on a background of a streetscape of Albion in the mid 1800s, facing north.

Proceeds from the sale of prints of the painting will be donated to the Orleans County Historical Association to continue preserving the county’s history, Culhane said.

Culhane has 500 prints of the posters at 18 inches by 24 inches. They are $10 each. For more information about acquiring one, contact her at (585) 738-3016 or by email, cecjcculhane@gmail.com.