Cornish Art Colony
Encyclopedia
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
centered in Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish, New Hampshire
Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2010 census. Cornish has three covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair.-History:...
from about 1895 through the years of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Attracted by the natural beauty of the area, about 100 artists, sculptors, writers, designers, and politicians lived there either full time or during the summer months. With views across the Connecticut River Valley to Mount Ascutney
Mount Ascutney
Mount Ascutney, is a 3144 foot monadnock located in southern Vermont. It is not the highest peak in Windsor County, Vermont, however, that honor falling to Gillespie Peak to the west. Particularly noteworthy about Ascutney are its granite outcrops, one of which, near its peak, serves as a...
in Vermont, the bucolic scenery purported to resemble that of an Italian landscape.
The central figure of the Cornish Colony was Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Augustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
. Beginning around 1885, Augustus attracted a summer colony of artists that grew into a single extended social network. Some were related, some were friends, some were promising students from the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
that Saint-Gaudens had co-founded, and some were Saint-Gaudens' assistants who developed significant careers of their own.
After his death in 1907 it slowly dissipated. His house and gardens are now preserved as Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire, preserves the home, gardens, and studios of Augustus Saint-Gaudens , one of America's foremost sculptors. This was his summer residence from 1885 to 1897, his permanent home from 1900 until his death in 1907, and the center of the...
.
Though the colony's name referred to its social center in the village of Cornish, geographically it was spread out over the villages of Windsor, Vermont
Windsor, Vermont
Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,756 at the 2000 census.-History:One of the New Hampshire grants, Windsor was chartered as a town on July 6, 1761 by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. It was first settled in August 1764 by Captain Steele Smith and...
and Plainfield, New Hampshire
Plainfield, New Hampshire
Plainfield is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 2,364. The town is home to the Helen Woodruff Smith Bird Sanctuary and Annie Duncan State Forest....
as well. Windsor was the mailing address for the entire area and the arrival point of most of the colonists, who usually came from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by train.
People associated with the Cornish Colony
- Adeline Pond AdamsAdeline Pond AdamsAdeline Valentine Pond Adams was an American writer and wife of Herbert Adams.The chief subject of her writings were American fine-artist's and art,at least seven published texts were written by her....
, poet and art historian - Herbert Adams, sculptor
- Ethel BarrymoreEthel BarrymoreEthel Barrymore was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors.-Early life:Ethel Barrymore was born Ethel Mae Blythe in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of the actors Maurice Barrymore and Georgiana Drew...
, actress - George de Forest BrushGeorge de Forest BrushGeorge de Forest Brush was an American painter. In collaboration with his friend, the artist Abbott H. Thayer, he made contributions to military camouflage, as did his wife, aviator and artist Mary Taylor Brush, and their son, the sculptor Gerome Brush.-Background:Although Brush was born in...
, painter - Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill (novelist)Winston Churchill was an American novelist.-Biography:Churchill was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Edward Spalding and Emma Bell Churchill. He attended Smith Academy in Missouri and the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1894...
, American novelist - Kenyon CoxKenyon CoxKenyon Cox was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York...
, painter and muralist - Thomas DewingThomas DewingThomas Wilmer Dewing was an American painter working at the turn of the 20th century. He was born in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, and later settled into a studio in New York City...
, painter - Marie DresslerMarie DresslerMarie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
, actress - Isadora DuncanIsadora DuncanIsadora Duncan was a dancer, considered by many to be the creator of modern dance. Born in the United States, she lived in Western Europe and the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50. In the United States she was popular only in New York, and only later in her life...
, dancer - Barry FaulknerBarry FaulknerBarry Faulkner was an American artist who was primarily known for his murals. During World War I, he and sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry organized artists for training as camouflage specialists , an effort that contributed to the founding of the American Camouflage Corps in 1917.-Background:Faulkner...
, muralist and mosaicist - Daniel Chester FrenchDaniel Chester FrenchDaniel Chester French was an American sculptor. His best-known work is the sculpture of a seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.-Life and career:...
, sculptor - Henry Brown FullerHenry Brown FullerHenry Brown Fuller was an American painter of classical and allegorical works. He was the son of painter George Fuller. He married fellow artist Lucia Fairchild in 1893 and had two children, Charles and Clara. From 1897 onwards, he and his family were members of the Cornish Art Colony in...
, painter - Learned HandLearned HandBillings Learned Hand was a United States judge and judicial philosopher. He served on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and later the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...
, judge - Percy MacKayePercy MacKayePercy MacKaye was an American dramatist and poet.-Biography:MacKaye was born in New York City, New York. After graduating from Harvard in 1897, he traveled in Europe for three years, residing in Rome, Switzerland and London, studying at the University of Leipzig in 1899–1900...
, dramatist - Paul ManshipPaul ManshipPaul Howard Manship was an American sculptor.-Life:Manship began his art studies at the St. Paul School of Art in Minnesota. From there he moved to Philadelphia and continued his education at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts...
, sculptor - Maxfield ParrishMaxfield ParrishMaxfield Parrish was an American painter and illustrator active in the first half of the twentieth century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery.-Life:...
, painter and muralist - Stephen ParrishStephen ParrishStephen Parrish was a painter and an etcher from the United States.-Biography:Parrish was engaged in mercantile pursuits until he was 30, when he applied himself to art, studying for a year with a local teacher. In 1878 he first exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy in Philadelphia, and in 1879 at...
, painter and etcher - Maxwell PerkinsMaxwell PerkinsWilliam Maxwell Evarts Perkins , was the editor for Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe. He has been described as the most famous literary editor.-Career:...
, editor - Charles A. PlattCharles A. PlattCharles Adams Platt was a prominent artist, landscape gardener, landscape designer, and architect of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture.-Early career:...
, architect and garden designer - Edith Prellwitz, painter
- Henry Prellwitz, painter
- Frederic RemingtonFrederic RemingtonFrederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
, painter, sculptor and author - Augustus Saint-GaudensAugustus Saint-GaudensAugustus Saint-Gaudens was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance"...
, sculptor - Louis St. GaudensLouis St. GaudensLouis St. Gaudens , was a significant American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation....
, sculptor and Augustus Saint-Gaudens' brother - Everett ShinnEverett ShinnEverett Shinn was an American realist painter and member of the Ashcan School, also known as 'the Eight.' He was the youngest member of the group of modernist painters who explored the depiction of real life...
, painter and illustrator - Florence Scovel ShinnFlorence Scovel ShinnFlorence Scovel Shinn was an American artist and book illustrator who became a New Thought spiritual teacher and metaphysical writer in her middle years...
, illustrator and writer - Ellen Biddle ShipmanEllen Biddle ShipmanEllen Biddle Shipman was an American landscape architect known for her formal gardens and lush planting style.Born in Philadelphia, she spent her childhood in Texas and the Arizona territory. Her father, Colonel James Biddle, was a career Army officer, stationed on the western frontier...
, landscape architect - Bessie Potter VonnohBessie Potter VonnohBessie Potter Vonnoh was an American sculptor best known for her small bronzes, mostly of domestic scenes, and for her garden fountains.- Early years :...
, sculptor - Robert VonnohRobert VonnohRobert William Vonnoh was an American Impressionist painter known for his portraits and landscapes. He traveled extensively between the East Coast and France, more specifically the artists colony Grez-sur-Loing....
, painter - Woodrow WilsonWoodrow WilsonThomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, American president - William ZorachWilliam ZorachWilliam Zorach was a Lithuanian-born American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the arts.-Life and career:...
, sculptor