Nestled in a quiet glen surrounded by tall, lean yet sturdy trees, flowering saplings, and a murmuring brook sits a log cabin at the end of a dirt path. A blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds tops off this picturesque scene of bucolic beauty. It is a scene that conjures up feelings of bygone times and a simpler life, of a quiet and peaceful existence.

This is just one of many nostalgic utopias created by artist and illustrator Hy Whitroy during his tenure on staff at the Brown & Bigelow Calendar Company in St. Paul, Minnesota. Created for use as artwork on one of B&B’s countless advertising calendars, this original oil on canvas painting received its name, “Sylvan Murmurs”, from a contest put on by Brown & Bigelow wherein the contest winner, a local woman from Minnesota, not only got to see her image title printed on calendars, but also received this original painting as a prize.

A beautiful painting; it does display light even, scattered craquelure. Housed in the original gold painted wide profile wood frame.