This sketch for Torchin’ was among the artist’s preliminary
works found in his studio at the time of his death in 1971.
A 2-hour oral history has been obtained from Sherman and Barbara Stanley who described their recollections of their friend, James Fitzgerald. These memories date back to Fitzgerald’s early days on Monhegan in the late 1930’s, and included both personal stories of the artist’s friendship and humor, as well as invaluable descriptions of his creative process. Captain Stanley recalled the nights he and his brother Alfred, both renowned Monhegan lobstermen, moored their dory in the Monhegan harbor and torched for herring while Fitzgerald watched from above on the porch of the Influence, the 1826 Trefethren house that overlooks the harbor. A large oil painting entitled Torchin’ is part of the permanent collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum.