The painting: This oil on canvas painting depicts the Syracuse Savings Bank was designed by local architect Joseph Silsbee and completed in 1876. At the time, it was the tallest building in Syracuse. Now occupied by the Bank of America, it still prominently sits at the eastern end of Clinton Square. It is currently on display as part of A Life in Art: Women Artists of OHA’s Collection.
The Artist: Born in 1923, Bolduc is still actively painting and exhibiting. She has a studio in Delmar, New York and specializes in landscapes of New England and the northeast. Bolduc learned to paint in oils in the 1970s and 1980s by studying with various local artists. She paints for her own pleasure, stating on the Bethlehem Businesswomen blog that she “simply loves to paint.”
How it got to OHA: This painting was created by the artist as a gift to her brother-in-law, John Fancher, who became Syracuse Savings Bank’s Senior Vice-President. The painting hung in his office until his retirement in 1982. His wife, Bertha, donated the painting to OHA following his death in 1993.