Mural and Maker

Preliminary Sketches

Baker developed his ideas for the mural in several different stages. In Sketch A, Baker first attempted to represent income and non-income producing industries, and to symbolize Narragansett society's "rise and decline." On the extreme left, Baker romantically depicted "Indians" aiding the early settlers; on the extreme right, he depicts what he considered to be the cause of the planters' "decline": the emancipation of slaves. Across the bottom, Baker created a series of small images of leisure activities.

Baker later felt that Sketch A was too cluttered with forms and not representative of the hardships endured by the settlers. In Sketch B, he reduced the pictorial elements, particularly the images of the helpful "Indians" and freed slaves. Aimed at increasing feelings of power and struggle, Baker emphasized asymetry and dramatic diagonals.