Friday, May 1, 2020

Photo of the Day: Studio Garden, Chesterwood, Stockbridge, MA


Last week, I wrote a post on the life and career of Daniel Chester French, the great sculptor of the Lincoln and Minute Man memorials. But a bit more can be said about Chesterwood, the estate in Western Massachusetts where he lived and worked in the summer.

French’s art focused on the human body, but his vision of beauty also took in the natural landscape, and he designed his house and studio with this in mind. From one side of his house, he could look out on Monument Mountain. But next to his studio, he planted the flower beds and walkway you see here (which I photographed on my last visit to this National Historic Landmark).

I toured the house and grounds in late August 2017—when the flowers were not at their peak or most beautiful. Even so, I think you can sense how these surroundings buoyed French’s spirit. After hours molding clay, he must have delighted in ordering seeds and plants, then working with his wife Mary in planting and seeding the border. 

This “Studio Garden,” as French called it, segued to the woods beyond. Here, along this walkway, the French family held costume balls, often under Chinese paper lanterns, and parties where the sculptor displayed his latest work-in-progress.

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