Ghost Diary -- Artist Book by Maureen Cummins

Detail from Ghost Diary (Art Book from Maureen Cummins)

Ghost Diary (2003) Ghost Diary was inspired by and based upon a handwritten letter found by the artist in the archive of Weir Farm, in Wilton, Connecticut. Written by Colonel Jonathon Rhea in 1807 to his children on the anniversary of their mother’s death, the letter takes the form of a memoir in which Rhea reflects upon his life, as well as his career as an officer in the Revolutionary War. In it he details extraordinary events: the burning of Indian villages, historic battles against the British, and the putting down of rebel insurgents. In odd contrast to these violent scenes are intimate descriptions of Rhea’s courtship of his wife, their wartime marriage, and the birth of their five children. This dichotomy breaks down when his infant son dies of typhoid and his wife is stricken with a fatal brain tumor, as though even the haven of his home were infected with the violence of war.