"As a classic medium, painting has given me the chance to celebrate
classics of American culture. I’ve painted the fabled mansion of Elvis Presley, the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge and
the skyline of San Francisco. I’ve even set up my easel in theme parks and palaces of American sports in my search
to commemorate bits of history.Boston’s Fenway Park™ is an example of history in the making — it is one of the ultimate shrines of baseball.
Fenway Park, the oldest Major League™ ballpark, opened in 1912. The towering Green Monster™ wall looms over a short left field; Pesky Pole in right field yields the shortest homers in the majors. A lone red seat in right field marks the landing place of Ted Williams’ mighty 1946 shot.
I brought my watercolors to the park for the clinching Game 7 of the 2007
ALCS™. Returning to California, I translated the original study into a colorful suggestion of energy and
detail. Then with layer upon delicate layer I built up the painting. First acrylic to add texture and toning, then
transparent glazes of oil color followed by broad impasto strokes.
I hope the final result captures the energy of the moment. Though there is nothing like being there in person, hopefully my Fenway Park can remind many baseball fans of the historic 2007 World Series™."
- Thomas KinkadeInteresting Facts:
1. Thom has incorporated a total of sixteen N’s in Fenway Park™, as a symbol
of love for his wife, Nanette.
2. Fenway Park hosted its first professional baseball game the day it opened
on April 20, 1912. The Red Sox™ defeated the New York Highlanders (later
named the Yankees™) 7-6 in 11 innings before 27,000 fans. Tris Speaker drove
in the winning run. Fenway Park was actually due to open two days earlier,
on April 18; however, there were two postponements due to rain. The opening
of Fenway Park was pushed off the front pages of Boston newspapers by news
of the Titanic sinking.
3. The team's owner, a Civil War veteran and Boston Globe owner, General
Charles Henry Taylor, bought the team for his son John I. Taylor in 1904. In
1907,owner Taylor changed the club's name from the Pilgrims to the Red Sox.
In 1910, tired of the leasing arrangement for the Huntington Avenue Grounds,
Taylor made a big announcement: he would build a new ballpark for his Red
Sox. Taylor dubbed the new ballpark Fenway Park because of its location in
the Fenway section of Boston.
4. Fenway Park measures 310 feet down the left field line: 379 feet in left
center field; 390 feet in center field; 420 feet in deep center field; 380
feet in deep right field; and 302 feet down the right field line. Its
peculiar dimensions were not intended to provide a tempting target for home
run hitters, but to keep nonpaying customers out of the park.
5. Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox™, resounds with the echoes of
great baseball players: Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Jimmy Collins, Duffy Lewis,
Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper, Joe Cronin, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, Ted
Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski, to name
just a few.
6. The biggest baseball crowd ever at Fenway was 47,627 for a Yankees
doubleheader on September 22, 1935. Those crowds will never be equaled under
Fenway's current dimensions. After World War II, more stringent fire laws
and league rules prohibited the overcrowding that was so common in the
1930s. The current capacity of Fenway Park is 36,108 for night games and
35,692 for day games.
7. Fenway Park has one of the last hand-operated scoreboards in the Major
Leagues™ in the left field wall. Green and red lights are used to signal
balls, strikes, and outs. Each scoreboard number used to indicate runs and
hits measures 16 inches by 16 inches and weighs three pounds. The numbers
used for errors, innings, and pitcher's numbers measure 12 inches by 16
inches, and weigh two pounds each.
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