NOTES
Townspeople eat supper, converse with friends, rest, and feed table scraps to their pets in this painting of a church social. James Turnbull included a representation of himself at the right, leaning against a tree. This particular gathering took place at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, Missouri. Longtime church members recall fondly the many afternoon picnics held outdoors because the church lacked a basement fellowship hall. Such depictions of everyday life were in favor in the 1930s and 1940s. Their popularity helped to bring recognition to similar everyday scenes pictured by self-taught artists in memory paintings.
