Mayberry - Mount Airy, NC

In the 1750s, a stagecoach stop was established and named Mount Airy for a nearby estate. Over the years the industries of granite quarrying, tobacco growing, and furniture making ensured growth of the town. In 1926, a young man named Andy Samuel Griffith was born, and he would grow up in the town, be mentored by ministers and teachers there, and then go on to be a performer. In 1960, he helped produce and starred in a television show about his home town, and he named the fictional town Mayberry. The iconic Andy Griffith show went on to become part of Americana. This painting is homage to Mr. Griffith/Taylor, and a home town we all share that exists only on television. Still, I miss Mayberry.