Fenway Studios
Encyclopedia
The Fenway Studios are artists' studios located at 30 Ipswich Street, Boston
, Massachusetts
, now listed as a National Historic Landmark
.
The studios were built after a disastrous 1904 fire at Harcourt Studios in which many artists lost their homes, studios, and work. Business and civic leaders promptly acquired the land, hired architects, and began construction. Architects Parker and Thomas designed Fenway Studios with north light for all 46 studios, 12 foot windows, 14 foot ceilings, and fireplaces in the end studios. The exterior was built with clinker brick
in the Arts and Crafts style
. In 1905 artists returned.
Numerous Boston artists and teachers worked in the studios, including Marion B. Allen, Lila Perry Cabot, Joseph Decamp
, Philip Hale
, Lillian Wescot Hale, Charles Hopkinson
, György Kepes
, George Loftus Noyes
, William Kaula, Lee Lufkin Kaula, Lillian and Leslie Prince Thompson, William Paxton
, Marion L. Pooke, Edmund Charles Tarbell, and Mary Bradish Titcomb.
By 1974 ownership shares had passed to heirs, the studios were not being maintained, and they owed nearly $200,000 in back taxes. The "Artists for the Preservation of the Fenway Studios" was formed to save the studios, and in 1981 a mortgage paid for back taxes and building improvements. In 1982, after renovations were completed, the studios were converted into an early limited-equity cooperative. In 1998 façade structural issues were discovered, requiring emergency repairs costing $1.6 million, which required additional fund raising through the Friends of Fenway Studios. As of 2007, the studios are currently home to 25 artists working in a wide range of media.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, now listed as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
The studios were built after a disastrous 1904 fire at Harcourt Studios in which many artists lost their homes, studios, and work. Business and civic leaders promptly acquired the land, hired architects, and began construction. Architects Parker and Thomas designed Fenway Studios with north light for all 46 studios, 12 foot windows, 14 foot ceilings, and fireplaces in the end studios. The exterior was built with clinker brick
Clinker brick
Clinker bricks are partially vitrified brick stones used in the construction of buildings.Clinkers are burnt under temperatures so high that the pores of the fuel property are closed by the beginning sinter process. Thus they are considerably denser and therefore heavier than regular bricks...
in the Arts and Crafts style
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
. In 1905 artists returned.
Numerous Boston artists and teachers worked in the studios, including Marion B. Allen, Lila Perry Cabot, Joseph Decamp
Joseph DeCamp
Joseph Rodefer DeCamp was an American painter.-Biography:Born in Cincinnati, Ohio where he studied with Frank Duveneck. In the second half of the 1870s he went with Duveneck and fellow students to the Royal Academy of Munich...
, Philip Hale
Philip Hale
Philip Hale was an American music critic.An 1876 graduate of Yale University, Hale practiced law upon leaving college, also studying piano with John Kautz and playing the organ in a church...
, Lillian Wescot Hale, Charles Hopkinson
Charles Hopkinson
Charles Sydney Hopkinson was an American portrait painter and landscape watercolorist. He maintained a studio in the Fenway Studios building in Boston from 1906 to 1962. He painted over 800 portraits in a direct style with a palette gradually lightening through his career. Many of his paintings...
, György Kepes
György Kepes
György Kepes was a Hungarian-born painter, designer, educator and art theorist. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1937, he taught design at the New Bauhaus in Chicago...
, George Loftus Noyes
George Loftus Noyes
George Loftus Noyes was a Canadian born artist who gained fame in the early 20th century as an American Impressionist. Noyes was born in Bothwell, Ontario and died in Petersborough, New Hampshire. Noyes' parents were both American citizens...
, William Kaula, Lee Lufkin Kaula, Lillian and Leslie Prince Thompson, William Paxton
William Paxton
William Paxton may refer to:* William Paxton , cellist* William McGregor Paxton , American painter* Bill Paxton , actor* William F. Paxton III , politician...
, Marion L. Pooke, Edmund Charles Tarbell, and Mary Bradish Titcomb.
By 1974 ownership shares had passed to heirs, the studios were not being maintained, and they owed nearly $200,000 in back taxes. The "Artists for the Preservation of the Fenway Studios" was formed to save the studios, and in 1981 a mortgage paid for back taxes and building improvements. In 1982, after renovations were completed, the studios were converted into an early limited-equity cooperative. In 1998 façade structural issues were discovered, requiring emergency repairs costing $1.6 million, which required additional fund raising through the Friends of Fenway Studios. As of 2007, the studios are currently home to 25 artists working in a wide range of media.
External links
- http://MelodyTheArtist.com/ Melody Phaneuf, Studio 201
- Friends of Fenway Studios
- A Studio of Custodians: meeting with an art conservator and his staff ArtsEditor.com