The scene in this painting is the quintessential New England village: the Congregational church on a hillside overlooking venerable old clapboarded houses, with cows peacefully grazing ina field nearby.  This is the image in our mind’s eye when we read Henry James’s description of a New England scene:  “Here were kindness, comfort, safety, the warming voice of duty, the perfect absence of temptation.”  In fact, it was not until the nineteenth century that town commons with nearby church buildings came to be understood as the symbolic center of a community. 

Carlisle, Nancy.  Cherished Possessions, A New England Legacy.  Boston: Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA), 2003.