National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Weir Farm National Historic Site Wilton, Connecticut AN ARTISTS’ RETREAT J. ALDEN WEIR’S FARM IN CONNECTICUT WEIR FARM NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY AN ARTISTS’ RETREAT J. Alden Weir, The Fishing Party, ca. 1915, oil on canvas, 28”x23 1/8”, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. In 1896, Weir created a large pond on his Branchville, Connecticut farm. Here he depicts a group on the rustic bridge leading to the pond. AN ARTISTS’ RETREAT J. ALDEN WEIR’S FARM IN CONNECTICUT HISTORIC RESOURCE STUDY Deborah S. Gardner Christine G. McKay National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Printed 2009 Cover illustration: In front of the Weir House, Branchville, Connecticut, October, 1901. Left to Right: Caroline Weir Ely, Cora Weir Burlingham, unidentified friend, Ella Baker Weir, John Ferguson Weir, Dorothy Weir Young, Julian Alden Weir. (WEFA 9445) This report was completed in 2005 but not edited and formatted for printing until 2009. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Illustrations ................................................................................................................................... ix Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ xi List of Acronyms .....................................................................................................................................xiii Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................... xv Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Part One: Julian Alden Weir, His Life and Career Chapter One: Preparation for a Career in the Arts, 1852-1877 ....................................... 9 Family Background Art Studies Chapter Two: Beginnings in the Art World, 1877-1881 .................................................. 15 Studios in New York The Community of Artists and Their Organizations First Exhibitions Continuing Studies and Travel Teaching at Cooper Union Chapter Three: Courtship, Marriage and Places in the Country, 1881-1883 .......... 35 Courtship of Anna Dwight Baker The Adirondack Venture The Farm at Branchville Marriage Chapter Four: Family Life and Career Development, 1883-1893 ............................ 63 Family Routines, Children, and the Friendship of John Twachtman Household and Farm Employees Teaching at the Art Students League Widower Renewal at the Chicago Fair and Remarriage Growing Recognition Chapter Five: Branchville, the Art Colony Movement, and New Directions in Art, 1893-1900 ......................................................... 85 Branchville and a New Personal Life Art Colonies and Retreats: The Place of Branchville Friends of Field and Stream The Ten and Other Art Activities v Chapter Six: Friendships, the Marketplace, and the End of a Career, 1900-1919 .................................................................................................. 109 Some Life Changes Significant Friendships: Hassam, White, and Wood The Gallery System and the Market The War and the Last Years Financial Resources for the Next Generation Part Two: The Second Generation at Branchville Chapter Seven: Dorothy Weir: Daughter, Artist and Independent Young Woman, 1890-1931 ....................................................................................... 141 Childhood and Education Social Life and Becoming an Artist War Efforts and Father’s Death Estate Responsibilities Artistic Debut, Courtship, and Marriage Chapter Eight: Mahonri Mackintosh Young: the Making of an Artist’s Career, 1877-1931 .................................................................................. 163 An Artist’s Education in Utah, New York, and Paris Starting a Family and a Career Professional Recognition Chapter Nine: Dorothy and Mahonri Young: Life Together, 1931-1947, and Mahonri Alone, 1947-1957 .............................................................................. 175 Settling into Married Life at Branchville Researching and Writing J. Alden Weir’s Biography Managing the Weir Estate and Artistic Legacy Travels and Mahonri’s Major Projects Life at Branchville, the War, and Dorothy’s Death Mahonri’s Years Alone Part Three: The Legacy of J. Alden Weir and Weir Farm Chapter Ten: Assessing J. Alden Weir’s Reputation, 1947-2003 ............................ 205 From Obscurity to a Biography, 1947-1960 Changing Attitudes Towards Impressionism, 1960-1983 A New Historical Framework Emerges, 1983-2003 The Art Market vi Chapter Eleven: The Preservation Campaign, 1957-2003 ..................................... 221 Introduction Summary of Ownership by Weir and Young Families The Andrews Family in Residence The Preservation Movement Conclusion Recommendations for Further Research ........................................................................................ 231 Repositories Consulted ........................................................................................................................ 233 Appendix: Weir Family Genealogy ................................................................................................... 239 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................... 243 vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1 Robert Weir house, New York City ............................................................................ 18 Figure 2 Benedick Building, New York City ............................................................................. 20 Figure 3 Baker family house, Windham, Connecticut ............................................................. 37 Figure 4 Baker sisters .................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 5 Anna Baker [Weir] and Julian Alden Weir ................................................................. 39 Figure 6 Weir studio, Keene Valley, New York ........................................................................ 55 Figure 7 Church of the Ascension, New York City .................................................................. 61 Figure 8 J. Alden Weir house, New York City .......................................................................... 65 Figure 9 Julian, John, and Susan Weir, Branchville ................................................................ 101 Figure 10 Weir memorial window, Church of the Ascension ................................................. 105 Figure 11 St. Paul’s Church, Windham, Connecticut ............................................................... 105 Figure 12 Childe Hassam and J. Alden Weir, Branchville ....................................................... 115 Figure 13 John S. Sargent and J. Alden Weir, Branchville ....................................................... 133 Figure 14 Childe and Maud Hassam and Julian and Ella Weir, Branchville ......................... 133 Figure 15 J. Alden Weir and Dorothy Weir, Windham ............................................................ 149 Figure 16 Dorothy Weir and friend, Branchville ...................................................................... 151 Figure 17 Dorothy Weir, Branchville ......................................................................................... 177 Figure 18 Sperry Andrews and Mahonri Mackintosh Young, Branchville ........................... 226 ix PREFACE The Weir Farm National Historic Site in Ridgefield and Wilton, Connecticut is a significant part of our national heritage. Established in 1990, it is the only national park dedicated to the stewardship of a property associated with an American painter. As the home and workplace of the noted American impressionist painter J. Alden Weir (1852-1919), the landscape of Weir Farm was the subject of many of his paintings and sketches. Other eminent American artists, including Albert Pinkham Ryder, John Twachtman, Theodore Robinson, and Childe Hassam also found inspiration for their art at the farm and in the surrounding countryside. Weir acquired 153 acres in 1882, and by his death in 1919 had expanded it to 238 acres. Weir’s daughter Dorothy inherited the farm, painted in her father’s studio, made improvements to the house, built a new studio for her husband, Mahonri Mackintosh Young, and became the biographer of her father. Mahonri Young, a noted sculptor in the realist tradition, sketched the farm and the countryside, and completed major works in his studio. His children, Mahonri Sharp “Bill” Young, and Cecelia Agnes Young Lay, inherited the property in 1957. They sold a portion of it, including the Weir house, to their father’s friends, the young artists Doris and Sperry Andrews. Additional land was sold to other individuals. The Andrews cared for the property until 1990 when it was acquired by the Trust for Public Land and subsequently the National Park Service. This report was commissioned by the National Park Service to provide information about the social, cultural, and commercial context of Weir’s work as an artist and teacher; the significance of various locations for his work and family life, including Ridgefield (Wilton) and Windham, Connecticut, New York City, and the Adirondack region in New York State; critical and marketplace assessments