Henry Branford

Henry Branford’s interest in history began when he was a boy in England just starting school.  Even at such a young age he was fascinated by the early people of Europe and Asia.  However, when Henry was almost seven years old his family moved to the United States.  The year was 1957, and the Vermont of small villages and rural countryside–where the family put down roots–was beautiful and slow-paced and full of small farms.  In many ways, the change of pace and different landscape was completely opposite to what Henry had previously known, but he adapted well, and it was in his new home that he began to observe the rural world around him and also rediscover his love of history.  This time it was American history, and it was easier to reach back one or two centuries and feel a connection with people and events that happened in New England and the United States than trying to understand people and events two thousand years ago in Europe.

Henry’s early years in Vermont were filled with the usual weekday studying in school and playing on the weekends–baseball, swimming, riding a bike, sledding in the winters–these were all activities that many children enjoyed.  However, Vermont was a working landscape and as such, many youngsters would find themselves helping out with the “chores.”  Haying, gardening, berrying, maple sugaring, tending to animals, shoveling snow or whatever help was needed and expected, was the norm in many families.  But changes were coming to a slow-to-change State.

Back in the 1960’s, as the federal interstate highway system was pushing its way north from the Massachusetts border into Vermont, Henry was attending high school and working weekends and summers at a local family farm.  He could begin to see and feel the changes that were coming to northern New England, and not just an increase in car and truck traffic.  Also, at a time when the people of Vermont were starting to be affected by the intrusive changes, the discouraging economics of dairy farms necessitated the VT Whole Herd Buyout Program, and so many small family farms closed their barn doors for good.

Henry realized he was living in Vermont at a time of historical change and   before this way of life completely vanished, he would use this unique opportunity to talk to many old Vermonters about times gone by.  They told him stories about the “old days,” about parents and grandparents and extended families of aunts and uncles living together, on the family farm, and, of a time before automobiles, electricity, and government programs.  They told him that the family and the community were the support systems, and everyone worked and socialized together in order to get through the hard times–of which there were many.  But there were fun times, too.  Simple pleasures such as fishing, swimming, family picnics, going to a dance or the county fair–or just having the day off–were enjoyed at a time when the world moved at a different pace.  And this Vermont, the one that was described by the elders, was not all that different from the one Henry had moved to and discovered as a boy in 1957.

So these stories, along with many old sepia photographs, became the foundation for Henry Branford’s folk-style paintings.  In 1992, he began to paint seriously in acrylic on wood and to sell successfully in shops and galleries as well as exhibiting in juried shows.  Since the year 2000, he has begun using oils and acrylics on clayboard, gessoed board or primed canvas.  These mediums produce excellent results on an acid-free, Ph neutral surface that provide the best investment for collectors of these unique images.  He also has Giclee prints in a limited edition produced from the original painting.

Henry Branford is a self-taught painter who has had some training in fine furniture making, sculpture and drawing.  He is an accomplished artist who has developed his own signature style in which he creates a scene that represents a moment in time.  Combining images from vintage photographs and using his own imagination, he develops a picture of an earlier Vermont: drawing people and buildings in a changed setting in order to make an original composition.

Henry has recently expanded his offering to include images of a more contemporary view of Vermont.  These beautiful paintings and prints still reflect the changing nature of the State but show equally the versatility of the artist.  Henry Branford’s paintings and giclee prints are found in collections throughout the United States as well as New Zealand and Japan.