Nephosthe weather behind the paintings

The painting is not reproduced here because an image reuse basis has not been established.

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Mary Ethel Dismukes (1870–1952), The Mississippi Farm, c. 1940. Oil on canvas, 12 × 22 in. Huntsville Museum Association Purchase 2008 – Sellars Collection, 2009.06. Sponsored by Dr. John Rison Jones, Jr.

A study against the weather record

Mary Ethel Dismukes

The Mississippi Farm

About 1940 · Likely Biloxi, Mississippi · Huntsville Museum of Art, 2009.06

The curator identifies a likely Biloxi farm. What can nearby weather records show when the picture has no documented season?

3years considered separately: 1939, 1940 and 1941. These provide context around an approximate date; none is established as the painted year.

Place attributed as likelyPainted season unknown

The recordsHuntsville Museum of Art collection

The Nephos method

How this study was read

The method in full

  1. What is written

    Huntsville catalogues the canvas c. 1940. Natalie Mead identifies Biloxi and the family farm as likely; the historical society confirms residence at the address, not the subject. No month, season or making account is documented.

  2. Records of those days

    • Biloxi, USC00220792, NOAA/NCEI GHCN-DailyAll twelve months of 1939, 1940 and 1941, separately. 34 complete monthly temperature means; the two flagged months stay blank. No complete observed rainfall totals.
    • Same-station January comparisonJanuary 1940 averaged 40.7 °F (4.8 °C), coolest of 77 complete Januaries retained from the pinned file. This does not date the painting.

    Not found or not yet searched

    • Farm identification remains likely. The historical instrument site and distance to the depicted place are unverified.
    • Green vegetation and large clouds in a small thumbnail do not establish a season, rain event or measured temperature.

  3. Each claim tested

    • Does the address establish the painted farm? No. The curator proposes it as likely; the historical society confirms residence only.
    • Can the circa date support weather context? Yes. Three separate annual profiles show the local temperature record without choosing a painted year or season.
    • Does the cold January contradict the landscape? No. A circa-dated picture with no month cannot be tested against January weather.

  4. Verdict

    A likely Biloxi subject beside three separate years of thermometer records. The cold January is context; the depicted day and sky remain unknown.

    • UnknownThe painted day and sky No date or observation ties the scene to the station.
    • UnknownWhat Dismukes changed No object-specific account establishes outdoor execution, recollection or studio revision.

What this cannot tell you. 1939–1941 are comparison years, not documentary limits on the circa date. January ranking describes complete archived months, not a climate normal or a homogenized cold record. Missing and quality-flagged readings stay missing. Presumed precipitation zeros do not become measured dry days. No image reuse basis has been established; the supplied thumbnail is not reproduced.

Step 1 · The picture and its place

A likely farm, an approximate date

Mary Ethel Dismukes’s The Mississippi Farm is an oil on canvas, 12 × 22 inches, catalogued c. 1940 by the Huntsville Museum of Art, accession 2009.06. The supplied catalogue card records a Huntsville Museum Association Purchase 2008, Sellars Collection. No object-specific account establishes an outdoor session, a dated sketch or later studio work.

Natalie Mead, the museum’s Chief Curator, writes that it “likely depicts Dismukes's family farm at 113 Lameuse Street in Biloxi, Mississippi” (email to the author, 19 October 2026). The qualification matters. The Biloxi Historical Society biography says “She resided at 113 Lameuse Street with her mother.” It confirms the address as a residence; that does not independently identify the farm in this painting. The family’s ownership into the 1950s has not been established here.

Nephos’s reading of the small supplied thumbnail: green vegetation, a small building, and a broad sky with large pale clouds and darker passages. The reproduction is too small for a reliable plant identification or cloud classification. These features do not fix a month, rain event or season. The thumbnail is not reproduced because image rights remain unresolved.

This study therefore compares all twelve months of 1939, 1940 and 1941 separately. They are comparison years around the approximate date, not documentary bounds on the canvas. No year is selected as the year depicted, and no month is selected as its season.

Step 2 · Read the annual profiles

Three years without choosing a painted season

The Biloxi station, USC00220792, has daily high and low temperatures across these comparison years. It is a named Biloxi record, not a thermometer established at the depicted farm. Its inventory position is 30.3931° N, 89.0008° W; the historical exposure has not been verified, so no farm-to-instrument distance is claimed.

The file supplies 34 complete monthly means out of 36. Each averages the midpoint between a day’s high and low. Both readings must be present and pass NOAA’s quality checks on every day. September 1939 and May 1941 each lose a high-temperature reading to a quality flag; their means stay blank. No values from another month or station fill the gaps.

Biloxi monthly temperatures, three separate years around 1940Each line joins complete monthly means of daily high–low midpoints at Biloxi. January 1940 is colder than the two neighbouring Januaries. Gaps in September 1939 and May 1941 are not filled. All values follow in a table. The picture has no documented season.40 °F50 °F60 °F70 °F80 °F90 °FJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1939-01: 55.3 °F1939-02: 56.2 °F1939-03: 61.9 °F1939-04: 65.8 °F1939-05: 72.7 °F1939-06: 80.0 °F1939-07: 81.1 °F1939-08: 81.5 °F1939-10: 70.1 °F1939-11: 57.6 °F1939-12: 55.2 °F19391940-01: 40.7 °F1940-02: 49.7 °F1940-03: 58.6 °F1940-04: 64.2 °F1940-05: 72.0 °F1940-06: 78.2 °F1940-07: 79.8 °F1940-08: 81.0 °F1940-09: 75.1 °F1940-10: 68.9 °F1940-11: 59.8 °F1940-12: 57.2 °F19401941-01: 53.1 °F1941-02: 50.5 °F1941-03: 54.8 °F1941-04: 67.4 °F1941-06: 79.4 °F1941-07: 81.6 °F1941-08: 83.2 °F1941-09: 79.3 °F1941-10: 76.5 °F1941-11: 59.0 °F1941-12: 56.7 °F1941
One line per year at Biloxi. Missing months break the line. These are whole calendar months, not painting sessions.
Biloxi monthly means of daily high–low midpoints; no years are averaged together.
Month193919401941
January55.3 °F / 13.0 °C40.7 °F / 4.8 °C53.1 °F / 11.7 °C
February56.2 °F / 13.4 °C49.7 °F / 9.8 °C50.5 °F / 10.3 °C
March61.9 °F / 16.6 °C58.6 °F / 14.8 °C54.8 °F / 12.6 °C
April65.8 °F / 18.8 °C64.2 °F / 17.9 °C67.4 °F / 19.6 °C
May72.7 °F / 22.6 °C72.0 °F / 22.2 °CIncomplete: 30/31 days
June80.0 °F / 26.7 °C78.2 °F / 25.7 °C79.4 °F / 26.3 °C
July81.1 °F / 27.3 °C79.8 °F / 26.6 °C81.6 °F / 27.6 °C
August81.5 °F / 27.5 °C81.0 °F / 27.2 °C83.2 °F / 28.5 °C
SeptemberIncomplete: 29/30 days75.1 °F / 24.0 °C79.3 °F / 26.3 °C
October70.1 °F / 21.2 °C68.9 °F / 20.5 °C76.5 °F / 24.7 °C
November57.6 °F / 14.2 °C59.8 °F / 15.5 °C59.0 °F / 15.0 °C
December55.2 °F / 12.9 °C57.2 °F / 14.0 °C56.7 °F / 13.7 °C

Step 3 · A cold month, with limits

January 1940 stands out in the surviving record

January 1940 averaged 40.7 °F (4.8 °C). It is the coolest of 77 complete Januaries retained from the pinned Biloxi file, which was searched across 1893–2026. The comparison includes every qualifying January, with gaps between years; incomplete months are excluded. This is a rank of archived observations, not a homogenized climate record or a modern normal. Changes to instruments, sites and observing practice have not been reconciled.

That cold month does not contradict the green landscape. The picture has no documented month, and its approximate year is not the same thing as a dated view. Choosing January, a warmer month or a particular storm because it seems to fit would create a date the evidence does not supply.

The 77 complete Januaries in the comparison
YearJanuary mean
189647.7 °F / 8.7 °C
189747.9 °F / 8.8 °C
190762.0 °F / 16.7 °C
190852.2 °F / 11.2 °C
190957.8 °F / 14.4 °C
191158.3 °F / 14.6 °C
191248.3 °F / 9.1 °C
191358.7 °F / 14.8 °C
191453.8 °F / 12.1 °C
191550.4 °F / 10.2 °C
192358.6 °F / 14.8 °C
192954.5 °F / 12.5 °C
193052.0 °F / 11.1 °C
193150.8 °F / 10.4 °C
193258.9 °F / 14.9 °C
193356.5 °F / 13.6 °C
193456.0 °F / 13.3 °C
193553.4 °F / 11.9 °C
193652.5 °F / 11.4 °C
193763.0 °F / 17.2 °C
193852.6 °F / 11.5 °C
193955.3 °F / 13.0 °C
194040.7 °F / 4.8 °C
194153.1 °F / 11.7 °C
194249.1 °F / 9.5 °C
194351.8 °F / 11.0 °C
194552.8 °F / 11.6 °C
194652.1 °F / 11.2 °C
194755.7 °F / 13.2 °C
194846.3 °F / 7.9 °C
195065.8 °F / 18.8 °C
195154.3 °F / 12.4 °C
195260.5 °F / 15.8 °C
195355.3 °F / 13.0 °C
195455.0 °F / 12.8 °C
195650.4 °F / 10.2 °C
195846.8 °F / 8.2 °C
195948.4 °F / 9.1 °C
196050.3 °F / 10.2 °C
196147.8 °F / 8.8 °C
196347.6 °F / 8.6 °C
196449.9 °F / 9.9 °C
196554.6 °F / 12.6 °C
196648.6 °F / 9.2 °C
196753.4 °F / 11.9 °C
196851.1 °F / 10.6 °C
196952.6 °F / 11.4 °C
197046.9 °F / 8.3 °C
197153.9 °F / 12.1 °C
197257.8 °F / 14.3 °C
197350.9 °F / 10.5 °C
197650.3 °F / 10.2 °C
197844.8 °F / 7.1 °C
197946.9 °F / 8.3 °C
198056.5 °F / 13.6 °C
198147.6 °F / 8.7 °C
198651.5 °F / 10.8 °C
198847.8 °F / 8.8 °C
199249.6 °F / 9.8 °C
199447.9 °F / 8.9 °C
199854.3 °F / 12.4 °C
200451.0 °F / 10.6 °C
200555.6 °F / 13.1 °C
200657.9 °F / 14.4 °C
200953.2 °F / 11.8 °C
201046.5 °F / 8.1 °C
201256.8 °F / 13.8 °C
201354.6 °F / 12.6 °C
201445.5 °F / 7.5 °C
201550.8 °F / 10.4 °C
201756.9 °F / 13.9 °C
202055.0 °F / 12.8 °C
202152.3 °F / 11.3 °C
202248.9 °F / 9.4 °C
202451.1 °F / 10.6 °C
202548.0 °F / 8.9 °C
202652.7 °F / 11.5 °C

The rain columns need a separate caution. Across the three selected years, 643 entries carry NOAA’s “missing presumed zero” measurement flag. These are not measured dry days. No complete observed rainfall totals or hurricane identification are published. NOAA’s format guide explains the flags; the linked data preserve the daily values and reasons for exclusions.

Step 4 · Return to the painting

Weather context, an untested painted sky

The useful comparison is between kinds of evidence: the catalogue’s approximate date, the curator’s likely place, the picture’s visible forms, and an independently recorded sequence of temperatures. They do not combine into a known painting day. If the subject is confirmed elsewhere, Biloxi’s record would need to be replaced.

No artist letter, diary or original local weather narrative inspected for this study links the canvas to an observation. The records cannot determine whether its clouds were observed, remembered or composed, or establish what Dismukes changed. For gallery discussion: what does the title suggest, what does the curator identify as likely, and what additional evidence would turn that suggestion into a documented place?

Sources

Every source on this page

Weather values are rebuilt from NOAA downloads checked against their sha256 fingerprints. Other receipts identify supplied correspondence, a visually checked catalogue transcription, saved web-tool excerpts and rights-search notes. The catalogue card and email are private; their links point to this study’s metadata rather than original documents. A fingerprint preserves the evidence used; it does not independently validate its interpretation.

  1. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USC00220792Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Selected Biloxi record; others are rejected coverage candidates retained for auditsha256 d3ccaf632d71c295b95de1c7753d9d089affb99736707d9a2c729d468d9e7780
  2. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USC00220801Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Coverage candidate only; no temperature record in 1939–1941sha256 03f0aafa4aa0def63fd93efdc2b4649ae54780d79c5f4cd71ffe442676009a0e
  3. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USC00220805Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Coverage candidate only; no temperature record in 1939–1941sha256 46c0ee20f09fbf3cd55815725c7e1fd7645e24416a91a2ba19cea187d706b4a1
  4. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USW00013820Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Coverage candidate only; no temperature record in 1939–1941sha256 574ee3d0fac463c957c3966d3f775ef3b2eb3c0c6acfafdc5a1a0efed6b0142b
  5. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USW00093874Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Coverage candidate only; no temperature record in 1939–1941sha256 5fde9c09e96b437eb5231996daa60cc83af8849e16910ed66067e70b488857e0
  6. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USC00223667Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Coverage candidate only; no temperature record in 1939–1941sha256 2be6c619ad77bc838b1098dc3770cfd746d13461d6be0b221909d985fe852e6e
  7. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily station cataloguePublic federal weather metadata · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Inventory coordinates, not verified historical exposuressha256 428eabc955883187935bce283766d5646e3ed7484b92eb0803874c0e8dd9b342
  8. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily format and flagsPublic federal documentation · retrieved 24 October 2026 · TMAX/TMIN units, QFLAG, precipitation MFLAG P and Tsha256 0e4e6f0e6947cf1add884c328a01760f31c56ef5fb86b85ed57dd5dc4c4aeaa6
  9. Natalie Mead, Chief Curator, email to the author, 19 October 2026Private correspondence; short attributed excerpt; no image grant · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Author-supplied excerpt. Email is private; link points to the quoted phrases in this study data, not the original emailsha256 6d0a02f26617042014be3c89059abb6cfdd71cf10dc4053e785a00be0494e2ba
  10. Huntsville Museum of Art, catalogue card for 2009.06Museum object metadata; supplied card not reproduced · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Manual transcription checked against supplied inline-09.png. Link points to study metadata; card has no public URLsha256 bb5cd8a24a80f3d47fce712cbc920822a09cb1e8de9613f9dcf0bebbc9247d23
  11. Ray L. Bellande, Biloxi Historical Society, Dismukes, Mary EthelCopyright retained; short excerpt and factual paraphrase · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Saved web-tool excerpt; original newspaper cited by historian not inspectedsha256 a2a6a700034e76e2d367ebd6f1e5e0ece16ed08ee4b3a7d91bc44ad9c1761f98
  12. Huntsville Museum of Art, Art Resources + FAQs, rights searchCopyright retained; factual access/status note · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Researcher note: no open image grant located; not a museum licence quotationsha256 0fa36f34b1cecc1257839065c196e966237acf0328e0e12a1a6d12bcf454fa56
  13. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USW00013832Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Rejected coverage candidate; no temperature record in 1939–1941sha256 8dced59509686deec2efe6da952baf8e875c7cdadcde4056c1aa5755bf4770cb
  14. NOAA/NCEI GHCN-Daily, USC00223671Public federal weather data; credit GHCN-Daily v3 · retrieved 24 October 2026 · Rejected coverage candidate; no temperature record in 1939–1941sha256 7382ce2c3859404a2d59e5674f2a203ea248362d9a2417a9743db89b70bc5b5d
  15. Huntsville Museum of Art, supplied catalogue card, 2009.06Museum-supplied card for inspection only; no publication grant; not reproduced · Inspected 24 October 2026; original supply date unknown. Private card has no public URL; link is to the transcribed study metadatasha256 2db19aaf2a6ae96f6abbcbd9f998e08c6534b608cd92a28d3d972a835e73e7f4

The numbers on this page, as JSONThe method card, as JSON