Frank Townsend Lent (1855–1919) was a residential

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. Lent designed many suburban and ''summer cottage'' homes in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

around the turn of the century in the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

and

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

architectural period. Several of these homes are protected by their town's

historical society A historical society is non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and promoting the history of a particular place, group of people, or topic. They play a crucial role in promoting historical awareness and understan ...

. Lent lived in

Cranford, New Jersey Cranford is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increas ...

with his wife and children in the 1890s. He published "A Souvenir of Cranford, NJ" in 1894 to showcase his architectural works including his personal home, the Cranford Opera House Block, the Peter Dumont House, Imhorst, Rodgers, Banker, Cochran Houses, Hampton Hall, and Country Club. It depicts the Cranford Opera House on its cover, later destroyed by fire. Lent wrote three books, still in print, about architecture during the 1890s. ''Sound Sense in Suburban Architecture: containing Hints, Suggestions, and Bits of Practical Information for the Building of Inexpensive Country Houses'' (Frank T. Lent,

, 1893); ''Sensible Suburban Architecture: containing Suggestions, Hints, and Practical Ideas, Sketches, Plans, etc., for the Building of Country Homes'' (Frank T. Lent, Tremont Building,

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 1894); ''Summer Homes and Camps: containing Suggestions, Hints, and Practical Ideas, Sketches, Plans, etc., for the Building of Summer Homes'' (Frank T. Lent, Tremont Building, Boston, 1899). Lent studied at the Poughkeepsie Military Institute and then attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, and graduated in 1878 with a master's degree in science. Lent apprenticed to architect

William Appleton Potter William Appleton Potter (December 10, 1842 – February 19, 1909) was an American architect who designed numerous buildings for Princeton University, as well as municipal offices and churches. He served as a Office of the Supervising Architect, ...

(1842-1909),who designed several imposing buildings at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

including the Chancellor Green Library completed in 1873 and Alexander Hall completed in 1894. Lent was also a landscape painter of the

plein-air ''En plein air'' (; French language, French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein ai ...

school. Lent is thought to have possibly traveled up to Cranford to sketch the

Rahway River The Rahway River is a river in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex, Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex, and Union County, New Jersey, Union Counties, New Jersey, United States, The Rahway flows into the Arthur Kill, the tidal channel between ...

while he was a student at

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

. In "Souvenir of Cranford" (1894), Lent discusses his experiences with other landscape artists depicting the

such as

Bruce Crane Robert Bruce Crane (October 17, 1857CRAIG, (Robert) Bruce
in ''

Hugh Bolton Jones:

The first the writer ever heard of Cranford was back in 1880, when his artist friend
Bruce Crane Robert Bruce Crane (October 17, 1857CRAIG, (Robert) Bruce
in ''
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
, as well as other metropolitan art exhibitions, have contained many charming landscapes by such men as
Bruce Crane Robert Bruce Crane (October 17, 1857CRAIG, (Robert) Bruce
in ''
Hugh Bolton Jones, the material for which was gathered in Union County." J. T. White Company, 1909 - United States. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography: Being the History of the United States as Illustrated in the Lives of the Founders, Builders, and Defenders of the Republic, and of the Men and Women who are Doing the Work and Moulding the Thought of the Present Time, Volume 11 (noting that
Bruce Crane Robert Bruce Crane (October 17, 1857CRAIG, (Robert) Bruce
in ''
Cranford, New Jersey Cranford is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increas ...
) American Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: A catalogue of works. Edited by Kathleen Luhrs (noting that Hugh Bolton Jones used the Rahway River as a subject)

References

External links

* https://archive.org/stream/soundsenseinsub00lentgoog#page/n7/mode/2up * https://books.google.com/books?id=etsDAAAAYAAJ& {{DEFAULTSORT:Lent, Frank Townsend 1855 births 1919 deaths 19th-century American architects