Paine Art Center and Gardens
Encyclopedia
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
As of the census of 2000, there were 62,916 people, 24,082 households, and 13,654 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,662.2 people per square mile . There were 25,420 housing units at an average density of 1,075.6 per square mile...
. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It is open Tuesday-Sunday throughout the year; an admission fee is charged.
The house was built for lumber baron Nathan Paine and his wife, Jessie Kimberly Paine. Construction of the Tudor Revival mansion began in 1927, and all work was halted in 1932 as the Great Depression crippled the Paine Lumber Company. The Paines returned to the project in 1946 and established a non-profit organization to own and manage the estate for public benefit. The mansion was originally built as a home for the Paine's but workers of the lumber company threatened to bomb the building should they move in. Nathan Paine died in 1947 at the age of 77. Jessie oversaw remaining work on the estate, and the property opened to the public in 1948. The Paines never lived in the house.
The house features an art gallery and is surrounded by gardens. The house contains French Barbizon school
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
and American paintings, sculptures, and decorative woodworkings, Persian rugs, tapestries, and English and American silver and china. The property has twenty garden areas in various traditional and contemporary designs featuring thousands of plant specimens. The Paine also hosts changing exhibitions and offers educational programs related to historic architecture, art and nature.