Stunning gouache on cardboard painting by American Artist Harry Bennett (1919 - 2012). This early hyperrealist design features a church or school in the middle of nowhere in the countryside. The artist signed the composition in the bottom right corner. 
The Hyperrealism Movement is the identical reproduction of an image in the painting, so realistic that the viewer comes to wonder whether the nature of the artistic work is a painting or a photograph. 
Here you could almost think the painting is a true photograph.
The hyperrealist painters seek neutrality and do not intend to denounce anything. They show the world objectively.
Open to interpretation, this enigmatic painting reminds me of the iconic scene from the film "North by Northwest" (1959), too quiet to be true. Something has to happen, but we don't know what yet.
A contemporary dark wood frame with a white liner compliments the painting.
Measurements: 
With frame: 30 in. wide (76 cm) x 20 in. high (51 cm)
Painting view: 23.5 in. wide (59.5 cm) x 13.75 in. high (35 cm).
About:
Harry R. Bennett  (1919-2012)
Award-winning painter and illustrator Harry R. Bennett, formerly of Ridgefield, Connecticut, died Thursday, November 29, 2012, from complications of pneumonia at The VA Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. He had lived with his daughter, Pamela Bennett, and his wife, Margaret Shean, in Towson, Maryland.
Mr. Bennett was a commercial artist when he enlisted in the Army in November 1940. He graduated from the Infantry Officer Candidate School in May 1942. Major Bennett was a veteran of the Hollandia operation, in which Gen. Douglas MacArthur's forces cut off the entire Japanese 18th Army, and in which Major Bennett himself won the Bronze Star.
In 1945, Mr. Bennett married Margaret Shean in Ridgefield, CT, where they lived until 1985. His wife encouraged him to follow his passion for painting. He attended The Art Institute of Chicago and The American Academy of Art Chicago. Over the years, he would use his family and neighbors as models for over 1000 book covers and illustrations.
Mr. Bennett was best known as an internationally published illustrator who painted large-scale covers for the big publishers of the paperback industry at the time, including Simon and Schuster, Western Printing, and Avon Press. He painted covers for various authors, including Jude Deveraux, Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, and Victoria Holt. He also illustrated the first paperback edition of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather."
He received a bronze medal from the New York Society of Illustrators for the ink paintings he created to illustrate a boxed collector's edition of Dante's "Divine Comedy," published in 1966. That same year, the New York Public Library offered a solo exhibition of his works.
In 1986, Mr. Bennett retired from commercial work and traveled West, settling in Astoria, OR, where his work continues to be exhibited. Jeannine Grafton, director of the RiverSea Gallery, remembers Bennett as a passionate, enthusiastic artist with a "youthful zest for life."
Harry was compassionate, warm, and interested in engaging with new people. Teri Sund, a good friend of Mr. Bennett's and who helped run RiverSea Gallery before opening her gallery, recalls, "He was the most honorable and graciously sincere human I have ever had the privilege to know. When Harry was in the room, there were no worries. We all felt safe and cared for when he was around."
Harry had a strong work ethic and always wanted to be painting or ready for it. He was an excellent mentor to young artists, including his daughter Deborah and Thomas, who also paint.
In 2008, he and his wife moved to Towson, MD.
Source:  Taken in part from the obituary on the Legacy website.
(Credit: AskART)