When the Belle’s Catering property became Continental Organics, the new partners discovered a mural hidden behind a wall. Not knowing the value of the painting, they contacted Paul Gould for help.
Mr. Gould examined the mural, which shows members of the Continental Army on a grassy slope that leads to the Hudson River. He theorized that the work had been commissioned for a mansion in Newburgh, and he determined that the landscape had been hand painted in oil on blank wallpaper.
As for its value, Mr. Gould came up with an appraisal of $330,000. But it would be hard to find a buyer, unless the person was willing to take the wall with the painting. So the owners of Continental Organics designed a room around the wall.
What was supposed to be a modest-sized conference room was transformed into a spacious boardroom with the mural as a backdrop. The depiction of the Continental Army influenced the naming of the new business on Mount Airy Road, which is not far from the Revolutionary Cantonment.
And, by chance, the partners acquired a table that fit the room perfectly. The late Pat Harding Jr. (one of the Continental founders) had built the table for a company in the Hudson Valley. When the company didn’t need the table any more, they gave it back to Mr. Harding for his new enterprise. Sixteen people can easily sit around the table, and admire the 18th century artwork.
