When a representative from Georgetown University contacted me this spring to commission a watercolor illustration of the historic Healy Hall, I knew it would be a memorable project.
I'm no stranger to noteworthy commissions for Washington DC clients, so I was excited to start on this next painting endeavor! Besides being immediately overwhelmed by the reference photo—just look at all those windows!—I did a little research about iconic building. If you've ever seen The Exorcist, you might find it eerily familiar as it was prominently featured in the 1973 film.
Healy Hall was constructed between 1877-1879 and is on the US National Register of Historic Places. The flagship campus building was named after Patrick F. Healy S.J., the 27th president of Georgetown, which itself was founded in 1789 and is the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in the United States.
I learned that just as we (University of Michigan alumni) have a superstition about the block M in the Diag, there's a mosaic Georgetown seal at the entrance of Healy Hall and it is said that students who stand or walk on it will never graduate.
There's also a decades old tradition of pranksters stealing the clock hands from the 200-foot tall clocktower. The clock hands are among one of my favorite tiny details in the watercolor painting, which as expected turned out to be a favorite commission of mine.
As they say at GU, Hoya Saxa!
To commission a custom watercolor painting, please visit JennyPaintsByHand.etsy.com
Comments