Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in

Cornish, New Hampshire Cornish is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,616 at the 2020 census. Cornish has four covered bridges. Each August, it is home to the Cornish Fair. History The town was granted in 1763 and containe ...

, preserves the home, gardens, and studios of

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

(1848–1907), one of America's foremost sculptors. The house and grounds of the National Historic Site served as his summer residence from 1885 to 1897, his permanent home from 1900 until his death in 1907, and the center of the

Cornish Art Colony The Cornish Art Colony (or Cornish Artists’ Colony, or Cornish Colony) was a popular art colony centered in Cornish, New Hampshire, from about 1895 through the years of World War I. Attracted by the natural beauty of the area, about 100 artis ...

. There are three hiking trails that explore the park's natural areas. Original sculptures are on exhibit, along with reproductions of his greatest masterpieces. It is located on Saint-Gaudens Road in Cornish, off

New Hampshire Route 12A New Hampshire Route 12 is a long north–south state highway in southwestern New Hampshire. Its southern terminus is at the Massachusetts state line in Fitzwilliam, where it continues south as Massachusetts Route 12. Its northern terminus is ...

History

Saint-Gaudens purchased the property in 1885 at the urging of Charles Cotesworth Beaman Jr., a friend and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

lawyer, who had purchased the nearby Blow-Me-Down Farm (now also part of the historic site) and established it as a summer residence. Saint-Gaudens called his retreat, "Aspet", after the town of his father's birth in France. Saint-Gaudens established a studio, and produced work here every summer, and lived here year-round from 1900 until his death in 1907. After the death of Saint-Gaudens' wife Augusta in 1926, Aspet was transferred to the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, a non-profit organization, established by Augusta Saint-Gaudens in 1919. The Memorial ran the property as a museum from 1927 until it was transferred to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

(NPS) in 1965. The Trustees of the Memorial continue to support the preservation and development of the park and to provide public programming. The estate was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 1962 and administratively listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on October 15, 1966. The Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site was authorized by Congress on August 31, 1964, and established on May 30, 1977. Besides a portion of the

Appalachian National Scenic Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian T ...

, this is the only NPS site in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. The NPS later acquired two adjacent properties associated with Saint-Gaudens and the Cornish Art Colony, which were formally incorporated in the National Historic Site in 2000. In 2010, an adjacent property known as "Blow-Me-Down-Farm", formerly owned by Charles Cotesworth Beaman Jr., was donated to the NPS by the Saint-Gaudens Memorial, a non-profit operating partner of the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park. The

John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

, signed into law March 12, 2019, redesignated the national historic site as a national historical park.

Description

The centerpieces of Aspet are its main house, built 1816–17 with Federal styling, which underwent a series of alterations by Saint-Gaudens, with design work by George Fletcher Babb, and the Little Studio, also designed by Babb and built in 1903–04 to replace earlier studios. The grounds are landscaped with hedges and terraced gardens, in which reproductions of works by Saint-Gaudens are displayed. The gardens were designed by Saint-Gaudens and landscape architect Ellen Shipman. The grounds also include an outdoor room, the Pan Grove, a collaborative design of Babb and Saint-Gaudens, featuring an 8-foot by 4-foot green marble pool set in a birch grove with a statue of the Greek god Pan.

Artists-in-residence

Saint-Gaudens has had a sculptor-in-residence since 1969, the oldest continuous artist residency in the National Park Service. American sculptor Lawrence Nowlan was an artist-in-residence at Saint-Gaudens for five summers from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2001 to 2002. He received his first major commission to design the Wildland Firefighters National Monument while working and studying at Saint-Gaudens. The 2023-2024 Sculptor-in-Residence is Davis Fandiño.

References

* ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington:

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...

External links

Official website

Trustees of the Saint-Gaudens Memorial

* ttp://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/34389/rec/62 ''Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Master Sculptor'' exhibition catalog fully online as PDF from The Metropolitan Museum of Art {{authority control 1964 establishments in New Hampshire Art museums and galleries in New Hampshire Artists' studios in the United States Biographical museums in New Hampshire Cornish, New Hampshire Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Historic house museums in New Hampshire Houses in Sullivan County, New Hampshire Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire McKim, Mead & White buildings Museums devoted to one artist Museums in Sullivan County, New Hampshire National Historic Landmarks in New Hampshire National Historic Sites in New Hampshire National historical parks of the United States National Park Service areas in New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Sullivan County, New Hampshire Protected areas established in 1964 Sculptures by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

History

Description

Artists-in-residence

See also

References

External links