After Shapleigh’s 1870 marriage to Mary A. Studley, who hailed from the Cohasset-Scituate area, the coves and beaches of the South Shore of Massachusetts came to feature prominently in his work. These paintings were rendered with the same attention to detail and interest in capturing the inherent charm of the region, whether depicting a sandy coastline or an interior scene of a barn or kitchen, as seen in Old Kitchen in Duxbury, Massachusetts. In this work, one is immediately absorbed with Shapleigh’s meticulous rendering of the various objects arranged in the modest dwelling, from the momentarily vacant chair facing the hearth to the housewares lining the mantel. A fire glows in the fireplace, heating an iron pot and providing a warm napping spot for the cat, and our attention is also drawn to the family of chickens and an old-fashioned well just beyond the open door. Shapleigh’s interiors were undoubtedly inspired by his own appreciation for antiques, a quality noted by fellow artist Benjamin Champney in his 1900 autobiography: “[Shapleigh] has a natural love for the surroundings, of the furniture of past days, the quaint old bits our grandfather delighted in, and knows how to select what is most artistic and beautiful.”

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