Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!
What better way to celebrate the season then surveying the
colorful autumn foliage during a brisk walk with the dog…
Photos by KS&D.
Showing posts with label Country Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Country Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Impressionist Landscape Oil Paintings
Knickerbocker is pleased to add these new American
landscapes to our online gallery of original fine art.
This contemporary landscape painting vividly depicts a quiet
county canal near the artist’s home in a modern impressionist style.
Lush coloring and bold brushwork capture the play of
sunlight on the leaves of the trees as well as the rippling shadows and
reflections on the water.
Another contemporary landscape painting depicts an early
spring sunset over the fields and forests of a farm in Bucks County,
Pennsylvania.
The artist has again utilized bold brushwork, this time with
a deeper color palate to render a traditional sunset landscape in a fresh and
modern way.
Click HERE for more original fine art.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Art History and Architecture on the Delaware Canal
The beautiful spring weather is perfect for exploring the canals and towpaths along the Delaware River. Last year we took a short stroll through a time-forgotten village in Upper Bucks County, this time we’re heading south to explore the history and architecture rich stretch between Centre Bridge and New Hope, Pennsylvania.
This pastoral complex of quintessential Bucks county fieldstone buildings makes up the historic Burgess Lea Farm. Built in the 18th century by Isaiah Paxson, a gentleman farmer, businessman, and partner in the company that built the bridge across the river in 1814 giving Centre Bridge its name. The farm is remarkably well preserved due to the fact that only two families owned it until 1978.
The large window on this stately stone Georgian once illuminated the studio of Edward Willis Redfield, the American Impressionist painter often credited with co-founding the New Hope Art Colony, as the group of artists who came to live and work along the river came to be known, when he moved to this house in 1898.
Redfield’s most famous work "The Burning of Center Bridge" was painted from memory to depict the dramatic night in 1923 when Isaiah Paxson’s original 112-year old wooden covered bridge was struck by lightening.
The rebuilt bridge as seen today connecting the village to the quaint town of Stockton, New Jersey, where the Stockton Inn immortalized in song by Broadway composers Rogers and Hart in the 1930’s was so popular with writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald their table was nicknamed the Algonquin Round Table after their famed New York City haunt.
Just north of the Redfield house an elegant formal garden guarded by lions lies along the canal.
Peaking out from the vegetation are the unmistakable salmon stucco walls and red tile roof of a 1920’s Mediterranean villa, a type more commonly associated with locales like Beverly Hills or Palm Beach than the banks of the Delaware River.
This is Playwicky, the Morris L. Cooke house designed in the 1920’s by renowned architect William Lawrence Bottomley. Cooke, who was appointed director of the Rural Electrification Administration by FDR, built the house for weekends in the country.
Topped by a picturesque combination chimney bell tower, the house also boasts the work of the master blacksmith Samuel Yellin.
One of the most charming features of this unique property has to be this delightful two-story octagonal garden tower retreat. Such fairy tale details make it easy to understand House and Garden’s description of Playwicki as the “playhouse of two traveled grownups”.
Next door to one unusual Jazz Age villa is oddly enough an even grander one. The Frederick L. Miller house was also designed in the 1920’s by Bottomley. A 1929 House and Garden article aptly titled “The House By The Canal” declared “Some of yesterday’s architecture and some from foreign lands are found in this country house…set against a background of woods, in a meadow through which flow the quiet waters of an old canal.”
Like something to be found along the shores of Lake Como, the house has been expanded and altered from its original design. Three sets of French doors for example now line the terrace where once a huge Palladian window added a curvilinear focal point to this long wing.
A 1926 photo of the nearly 40 foot long drawing room taken shortly after completion shows the original Palladian window looking out to the river. The large space was simply furnished with informal wicker and a comfortable upholstered wing chair and rolled arm sofa that speak to the casual country house vibe.
A 1927 image from The House Beautiful shows Bottomley’s original entrance before renovations. The simple arched doorway surmounted by a charmingly canopied wrought iron balcony was in keeping with the Italian farmhouse vernacular the architect originally intended. What look to be fruit trees planted close to the house again speak to the rustic farmhouse sensibility the estate once had.
The main façade is now far grander with a monumental entrance lording over a massive gravel forecourt transforming Bottomley’s Italian country farmhouse into an imposing mansion. While quiet a beautiful showplace one can’t help but wonder if a future owner might restore some of architects’ original scheme.
Flat-bottomed canal boats wait under the bridge behind the Centre Bridge Inn; an Inn has operated at this site for over two hundred years.
A cathedral-like alley of trees leading down to the river dramatically frames this elegant antique house of stucco over stone.
Tucked on the hillside just behind the white stucco house is this interesting structure with a huge multi-paned window that was no doubt once the studio of another local artist.
A classic Pennsylvania fieldstone farmhouse comfortably sited in a large clearing in the woods.
Yet another beautifully restored antique stone manor, this time situated on a tiny sliver of land between the canal and River Road. A tall trellis fence gives the place an air of mystery while lending privacy to the small but lavish garden.
At one end of the narrow garden sits this quaint slate roofed shed topped with a charming metal flower finial.
The American impressionist landscape painter William Langson Lathrop founded the New Hope Art Colony when he moved to this house at Phillips Mill in 1899. The early years of the twentieth century saw a cache of like-minded artists known as the Pennsylvania Impressionists flocking to join Lathrop and Redfield in capturing the local landscapes.
The Tow Path as painted by Lathrop who kept a boat to shuttle students along the canal from New Hope to his studio at Philips Mill.
Of course even with all the history and architecture to savor it’s impossible to stroll along the Delaware and not stop to appreciate the wonders of nature around you.
Photos 1-3, 5-11, 15-21, and 23 by KS&D.
Photo 12 via Library of Congress.
Photo 13 from The House Beautiful.
Photo 14 via Zillow more photos here.
This pastoral complex of quintessential Bucks county fieldstone buildings makes up the historic Burgess Lea Farm. Built in the 18th century by Isaiah Paxson, a gentleman farmer, businessman, and partner in the company that built the bridge across the river in 1814 giving Centre Bridge its name. The farm is remarkably well preserved due to the fact that only two families owned it until 1978.
The large window on this stately stone Georgian once illuminated the studio of Edward Willis Redfield, the American Impressionist painter often credited with co-founding the New Hope Art Colony, as the group of artists who came to live and work along the river came to be known, when he moved to this house in 1898.
Redfield’s most famous work "The Burning of Center Bridge" was painted from memory to depict the dramatic night in 1923 when Isaiah Paxson’s original 112-year old wooden covered bridge was struck by lightening.
The rebuilt bridge as seen today connecting the village to the quaint town of Stockton, New Jersey, where the Stockton Inn immortalized in song by Broadway composers Rogers and Hart in the 1930’s was so popular with writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald their table was nicknamed the Algonquin Round Table after their famed New York City haunt.
Just north of the Redfield house an elegant formal garden guarded by lions lies along the canal.
Peaking out from the vegetation are the unmistakable salmon stucco walls and red tile roof of a 1920’s Mediterranean villa, a type more commonly associated with locales like Beverly Hills or Palm Beach than the banks of the Delaware River.
This is Playwicky, the Morris L. Cooke house designed in the 1920’s by renowned architect William Lawrence Bottomley. Cooke, who was appointed director of the Rural Electrification Administration by FDR, built the house for weekends in the country.
Topped by a picturesque combination chimney bell tower, the house also boasts the work of the master blacksmith Samuel Yellin.
One of the most charming features of this unique property has to be this delightful two-story octagonal garden tower retreat. Such fairy tale details make it easy to understand House and Garden’s description of Playwicki as the “playhouse of two traveled grownups”.
Next door to one unusual Jazz Age villa is oddly enough an even grander one. The Frederick L. Miller house was also designed in the 1920’s by Bottomley. A 1929 House and Garden article aptly titled “The House By The Canal” declared “Some of yesterday’s architecture and some from foreign lands are found in this country house…set against a background of woods, in a meadow through which flow the quiet waters of an old canal.”
Like something to be found along the shores of Lake Como, the house has been expanded and altered from its original design. Three sets of French doors for example now line the terrace where once a huge Palladian window added a curvilinear focal point to this long wing.
A 1926 photo of the nearly 40 foot long drawing room taken shortly after completion shows the original Palladian window looking out to the river. The large space was simply furnished with informal wicker and a comfortable upholstered wing chair and rolled arm sofa that speak to the casual country house vibe.
A 1927 image from The House Beautiful shows Bottomley’s original entrance before renovations. The simple arched doorway surmounted by a charmingly canopied wrought iron balcony was in keeping with the Italian farmhouse vernacular the architect originally intended. What look to be fruit trees planted close to the house again speak to the rustic farmhouse sensibility the estate once had.
The main façade is now far grander with a monumental entrance lording over a massive gravel forecourt transforming Bottomley’s Italian country farmhouse into an imposing mansion. While quiet a beautiful showplace one can’t help but wonder if a future owner might restore some of architects’ original scheme.
Flat-bottomed canal boats wait under the bridge behind the Centre Bridge Inn; an Inn has operated at this site for over two hundred years.
A cathedral-like alley of trees leading down to the river dramatically frames this elegant antique house of stucco over stone.
Tucked on the hillside just behind the white stucco house is this interesting structure with a huge multi-paned window that was no doubt once the studio of another local artist.
A classic Pennsylvania fieldstone farmhouse comfortably sited in a large clearing in the woods.
Yet another beautifully restored antique stone manor, this time situated on a tiny sliver of land between the canal and River Road. A tall trellis fence gives the place an air of mystery while lending privacy to the small but lavish garden.
At one end of the narrow garden sits this quaint slate roofed shed topped with a charming metal flower finial.
The American impressionist landscape painter William Langson Lathrop founded the New Hope Art Colony when he moved to this house at Phillips Mill in 1899. The early years of the twentieth century saw a cache of like-minded artists known as the Pennsylvania Impressionists flocking to join Lathrop and Redfield in capturing the local landscapes.
The Tow Path as painted by Lathrop who kept a boat to shuttle students along the canal from New Hope to his studio at Philips Mill.
Of course even with all the history and architecture to savor it’s impossible to stroll along the Delaware and not stop to appreciate the wonders of nature around you.
Photos 1-3, 5-11, 15-21, and 23 by KS&D.
Photo 12 via Library of Congress.
Photo 13 from The House Beautiful.
Photo 14 via Zillow more photos here.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A Very Vintage Christmas
For our first Christmas in the country we’ve decided to trade the tabletop trees of years past for a towering conifer freshly cut from a local grower.
This grower doesn’t shape his trees, as most do today, making for a naturally shaped tree with more space between the boughs like those seen in old movies from the 40’s and 50’s. This gave us the idea to go for a full out vintage theme complete with loads of blown glass ornaments, icicle tinsel, and even a charming snow village spread out beneath.
To really get the look of a true retro Christmas tree we made sure to have the big old-fashioned multicolored lights that cast such a wonderfully warm glow, and of course yards of traditional popcorn and cranberry garlands to lend that final homey touch.
Nearby an elaborate Italian nativity finished with moss, straw, and greens is displayed below a three-tier wooden German Christmas pyramid surrounded by a squat pair of nutcrackers and a cheerful collection of Santa figures.
A bowl of clove-studded oranges is a simple and inexpensive project that not only makes an elegant display but also has a wonderful aroma that adds much to the holiday ambiance.
Outside greeting guests an old cast iron grotesque mask is transformed into the Ghost of Christmas Past with a sumptuous halo of holly and pine.
The old carriage house door gets into the spirit with a simple country display of a weathered copper barn star generously decked out with pine and holly.
Decor and photos by KS&D.
This grower doesn’t shape his trees, as most do today, making for a naturally shaped tree with more space between the boughs like those seen in old movies from the 40’s and 50’s. This gave us the idea to go for a full out vintage theme complete with loads of blown glass ornaments, icicle tinsel, and even a charming snow village spread out beneath.
To really get the look of a true retro Christmas tree we made sure to have the big old-fashioned multicolored lights that cast such a wonderfully warm glow, and of course yards of traditional popcorn and cranberry garlands to lend that final homey touch.
Nearby an elaborate Italian nativity finished with moss, straw, and greens is displayed below a three-tier wooden German Christmas pyramid surrounded by a squat pair of nutcrackers and a cheerful collection of Santa figures.
A bowl of clove-studded oranges is a simple and inexpensive project that not only makes an elegant display but also has a wonderful aroma that adds much to the holiday ambiance.
Outside greeting guests an old cast iron grotesque mask is transformed into the Ghost of Christmas Past with a sumptuous halo of holly and pine.
The old carriage house door gets into the spirit with a simple country display of a weathered copper barn star generously decked out with pine and holly.
Decor and photos by KS&D.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Architectural Americana Part II: Colonial Revival Interiors
As promised in our earlier post on Robert J. Collier’s country estate here are some interior views of the Colonial Revival mansion at Rest Hill originally published mere weeks after Mrs. Collier’s uncle John Jacob Astor perished the richest man aboard the RMS Titanic.
Architect John Russell Pope, better known for lavish Beaux-Arts projects like the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art, maintained the simplistic theme of the façade in his interiors. The floor plan centers on a wide hall running the depth of the house and dominated by a dramatic double flight staircase that meets at a landing above the front door.
At the far end of the hall French doors flanked by built-in arched corner cabinets lead out to the Mount Vernon inspired porch with its commanding view of the countryside. Wide archways at the foot of each stairway open into the dining room on the left and the drawing room on the right.
A view of the archway to the drawing room shows the acres of simple rag rugs that were spread across the floors of all the main rooms lending a homey country feel in keeping with the Colonial Revival theme. Further unifying the hall, dining, and drawing rooms was the lush foliage of hand-painted scenic wallpaper lit by cut glass light fixtures.
From the drawing room a passage connecting the vestibule with the west wing leads into an intimate library cum smoking room cluttered with antique prints and exotic hunting trophies. The door next to the fireplace leads to a hall with two guest rooms and a bath as well as a staircase to the family rooms above.
The dining room mantle features a simple marble surround flanked by narrow fluted pilasters supporting a high ledge. Another expansive rag rug provides an informal foil for the elegant Chippendale furnishings.
A view from the dining room into the hall shows more of the lovely scenic wallpaper that envelopes the spaces as well as the clean lined moldings that help define them. In 1927 Mrs. Collier donated Rest Hill to the Sisters of the Good Shepard to establish a home for troubled girls, the organization continues to maintain the estate now open to children of all ages as Collier Youth Services.
Photos from Architectural Record June 1912
Architect John Russell Pope, better known for lavish Beaux-Arts projects like the Jefferson Memorial and the National Gallery of Art, maintained the simplistic theme of the façade in his interiors. The floor plan centers on a wide hall running the depth of the house and dominated by a dramatic double flight staircase that meets at a landing above the front door.
At the far end of the hall French doors flanked by built-in arched corner cabinets lead out to the Mount Vernon inspired porch with its commanding view of the countryside. Wide archways at the foot of each stairway open into the dining room on the left and the drawing room on the right.
A view of the archway to the drawing room shows the acres of simple rag rugs that were spread across the floors of all the main rooms lending a homey country feel in keeping with the Colonial Revival theme. Further unifying the hall, dining, and drawing rooms was the lush foliage of hand-painted scenic wallpaper lit by cut glass light fixtures.
From the drawing room a passage connecting the vestibule with the west wing leads into an intimate library cum smoking room cluttered with antique prints and exotic hunting trophies. The door next to the fireplace leads to a hall with two guest rooms and a bath as well as a staircase to the family rooms above.
The dining room mantle features a simple marble surround flanked by narrow fluted pilasters supporting a high ledge. Another expansive rag rug provides an informal foil for the elegant Chippendale furnishings.
A view from the dining room into the hall shows more of the lovely scenic wallpaper that envelopes the spaces as well as the clean lined moldings that help define them. In 1927 Mrs. Collier donated Rest Hill to the Sisters of the Good Shepard to establish a home for troubled girls, the organization continues to maintain the estate now open to children of all ages as Collier Youth Services.
Photos from Architectural Record June 1912
Friday, August 5, 2011
Architectural Americana: The Mount Vernon Deluxe
Lazy days on the porch are a beloved symbol of summer in America, call it a piazza or veranda if you will, but whether it’s on a southern plantation or seaside bungalow no piece of architecture is more quintessential Americana than the slender columns of Mount Vernon.
Architect John Russell Pope clearly had this in mind when he designed Rest Hill the Robert J. Collier residence in Wickatunk, New Jersey in 1911. Robert Collier, editor of Collier’s Weekly magazine, inherited the dramatic hilltop site from his father, publisher Peter F. Collier, who acquired the estate to pursue a passion for foxhunting that remains a Monmouth County tradition to this day.
Enormous size and extreme simplicity seem to have been the architect’s main guidelines in this restraint Colonial Revival design, making the massive yet wholly unpretentious house unique among gilded age mansions. Approached through an old orchard rambling right up to the facade provided a perfectly patriotic country setting while helping to conceal the buildings vast scale. The simple elements of cypress shingles, louvered shutters, and basic moldings echo those seen on local farmhouses throughout the region.
The cavernous recessed entrance porch overlooking the orchard was charmingly furnished with high backed chairs and potted trees while a huge pair of hunting trophies flanked the Chinese Chippendale balcony over the front door. From here one could look out over the orchard toward Collier’s private polo field and the landing strip for the private biplane this aeronautical pioneer purchased from Orville Wright, a friend and guest at Rest Hill.
The Mount Vernon porch sprawls along the rear façade commanding a spectacular view down the hillside to the valley below. From this vantage point Collier would host legendary entertainments, most notably a three-day housewarming extravaganza attended by thousands that combined the old money pastimes of polo and foxhunting with stunning displays of the latest in aviation technology.
Another view of the rear façade showing one of the wings that flank the central block gives some idea of the scale of this massive house, nearly three times the size of Mount Vernon itself. Be sure to check back soon for an interior tour of Rest Hill, domestic domain of Mrs. Collier nee Sarah Van Alen, a granddaughter of the legendary Caroline Astor.
Photos 1, 3, and 5 from here, photo 2 from here, and photo 4 from here.
Click here to read more on Collier's wild housewarming including how he accidentally scared of one of J.D. Rockefeller's horses to death.
Architect John Russell Pope clearly had this in mind when he designed Rest Hill the Robert J. Collier residence in Wickatunk, New Jersey in 1911. Robert Collier, editor of Collier’s Weekly magazine, inherited the dramatic hilltop site from his father, publisher Peter F. Collier, who acquired the estate to pursue a passion for foxhunting that remains a Monmouth County tradition to this day.
Enormous size and extreme simplicity seem to have been the architect’s main guidelines in this restraint Colonial Revival design, making the massive yet wholly unpretentious house unique among gilded age mansions. Approached through an old orchard rambling right up to the facade provided a perfectly patriotic country setting while helping to conceal the buildings vast scale. The simple elements of cypress shingles, louvered shutters, and basic moldings echo those seen on local farmhouses throughout the region.
The cavernous recessed entrance porch overlooking the orchard was charmingly furnished with high backed chairs and potted trees while a huge pair of hunting trophies flanked the Chinese Chippendale balcony over the front door. From here one could look out over the orchard toward Collier’s private polo field and the landing strip for the private biplane this aeronautical pioneer purchased from Orville Wright, a friend and guest at Rest Hill.
The Mount Vernon porch sprawls along the rear façade commanding a spectacular view down the hillside to the valley below. From this vantage point Collier would host legendary entertainments, most notably a three-day housewarming extravaganza attended by thousands that combined the old money pastimes of polo and foxhunting with stunning displays of the latest in aviation technology.
Another view of the rear façade showing one of the wings that flank the central block gives some idea of the scale of this massive house, nearly three times the size of Mount Vernon itself. Be sure to check back soon for an interior tour of Rest Hill, domestic domain of Mrs. Collier nee Sarah Van Alen, a granddaughter of the legendary Caroline Astor.
Photos 1, 3, and 5 from here, photo 2 from here, and photo 4 from here.
Click here to read more on Collier's wild housewarming including how he accidentally scared of one of J.D. Rockefeller's horses to death.
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