Stuart G. Stearns (1916-2012)

Peabody & Stearns and Real Estate! York Hall!!

In keeping with my tradition of highlighting Peabody & Stearns designed homes that are listed for sale, I am pleased to be able to tell you that the Swan Agency has just listed York Hall, located in Bath, Maine, for sale.  It is a wonderful Georgian Revival home, built in 1897 for banker and shipbuilder William Sewall.  Over 7,000 square feet of interior space, with six bedrooms and 5 baths....PLUS the Carriage House (1901) restored and repurposed for office space, on the property.   Don't know what you would do with a library, a reception hall, AND a billiards room?  I'm sure that we could figure that out!!!

Feel free to contact me for more information about York Hall.  Are you in the market to purchase a Peabody & Stearns home?  I would be happy to make arrangements for a showing!  Email me at arobinson@MaineRE.com

(drawing from the Boston Public Library's Peabody & Stearns Collection)

More Photos of Ravenscleft!

Kimberly Swan, President of the Swan Agency Sotheby's International, has just shared some more wonderful photographs of Ravenscleft with me.....and has given permission for me to share them with you!  So, follow this link http://www.ravenscleft.com/ and indulge yourself--wonderful interior and exterior shots.
Thanks, Kimberly!!

RAVENSCLEFT, SEAL HARBOR, MAINE

RAVENSCLEFT is still for sale.....I just saw it advertised in the September issue of Maine Home and Design magazine.
The weblink is
http://www.swanagency.com/IDXDetail.aspx?mlsnum=1023534&city=Mount-Desert&page=1&mlstableid=MREISMEMLSRES&sp=y&segmentid=5023690&uid=94062&htmlfile=http://www.swanagency.com/Search.aspx?segmentid=5023686,property-search.html

Edward Hopper's Maine

Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Brunswick, Maine

July 15-October 16, 2011.

This is a very special exhibition.  Really.  I visited three times in the first three weeks that it was open, and each time I saw something different in the paintings and drawings on display.  Just when you think you know Edward Hopper---Night Hawks, etc., etc.---someone (like Kevin Salatina, Director of the BCMA) does a show that totally expands your perception and understanding of Hopper’s work. 

The first room of the exhibition is given over to 30 oil sketches painted by the artist on Monhegan Island between 1916 and 1919.  They are small—averaging about 9”x12” or so, and at first appear almost lost on the walls of the room.  But don’t let physical size deceive you---these are the artist’s concentrated focus on one theme, and the brushwork and range of color in these paintings is a surprise and a delight.  Who knew that Hopper could do this?  On my first visit, I was tempted to rush by these, but later realized that these are perhaps the most amazing part of the show.  Not to discount the Maine watercolors, large-scale drawings, and Maine-themed etchings.  Two of Hopper’s iconic lighthouse paintings are included as well, and are a treat.  The 30-minute video narrated by Steve Martin is not to be missed.

The exhibition catalogue is exquisite, with luscious enlargements of Hopper’s surprising brush and palette knife work, reproductions of many of the works in the show, and 6 excellent essays. 

The show runs through mid-October, and I know that I will be back several more times, and that with each visit, I will discover something new about Edward Hopper, and the Maine landscape that he captured.  For more information, visit the Bowdoin Museum of Art website:  http://www.bowdoin.edu/art-museum/exhibitions/2011/edward-hoppers-maine.shtml

Janice Chadbourne, Curator of Fine Arts for Boston Public Library

I was saddened to learn of the loss of Janice Chadbourne earlier this week.  She was Curator of Fine Arts for the Boston Public Library for 35 years---she was a knowledgeable, creative, and generous curator and will be greatly missed.  Janice was a great mentor to me in the researching and writing of my Peabody & Stearns book, and I feel a great personal loss.  Thank you to her family for sharing this wonderful woman with me.

Click below for the on-line notice from the Boston Globe:

 http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary-print.aspx?n=janice-h-chadbourne-hynes&pid=153490147

Savannah Chapter of Victorian Society in America

I was happy to read a note in the Davenport House Facebook page that mentions Peabody & Stearns:  Country Houses and Seaside Cottages, as well as my connection with this wonderful Savannah house museum.  Take a look:  http://www.facebook.com/notes/davenport-house-museum/new-savannah-chapter-for-victorians-forms/10150219238737259?ref=nf

The Davenport House certainly deserves a second look if you are not familiar with it!!