Wilton, CT
August 1, 2019
I have to admit that I wasn’t keen on visiting this site. After reading a bit about Julian Alden Weir ahead of time, my feelings were that this place became a NHS because a wealthy white guy bought a summer home and then turned it into a retreat for his wealthy friends, and together they contributed to American art. Without money and without his whiteness, Weir wouldn’t have been able to do what he did. I guess one could say that about many prominent people throughout American and European history, and I know my summary above is an extreme simplification,…but still. How many talented people out there will never be recognized or considered important simply because they don’t have the money it takes to secure their influence?
Now that I’ve got that off my chest, on to the photos…it’s a beautiful property, and the house is beautifully furnished, as one would expect…
After visiting the house (the tour guide, Ranger Tom Barberi, was excellent), visitors were directed to the artists’ studios. There are two — one was the Weir studio, and the other was the Young studio (more on that one later).
After a look at the Weir studio, I visited the Young studio. Mahonri Mackintosh Young was grandson to Bringham Young and husband to Dorothy Weir (artist and daughter to Julian Alden Weir).
Please note that both studios, the house, and the Visitor Center (see below) have many many many more pieces of art than I am including here! Visit the Weir Farm NHS website to see more. https://www.nps.gov/wefa/index.htm
The Visitor Center is also filled with artwork — the art on display here is from contemporary artists, and thankfully not all from white men. Currently, six women are spotlighted. I only have photos of two pieces of work — definitely check out the rest of their pieces on their individual websites.
There’s currently a cute collection of elk sculptures all around the grounds by the Visitor Center…
A garden can be found next to the two studios — a “Secret Garden,” made “secret” by the tall surrounding bushes, I suppose.
There’s also a barn, which will soon have interactive displays.
Now for the hiking part of this trip. Finally, I visited a Park site that has hiking! Oh, I know, the Park Service locations have thousands of miles of hiking trails altogether, but I’ve only been reporting on Historic Sites thus far, and the few I’ve visited don’t have hiking trails. Weir Farm HS does, though!
There is one 1.2 mile loop that goes around Weir Pond. Weir Pond is part of Weir Farm NHS; it’s an easy wooded walk to the pond from the house. Once at the pond, there’s an easy trail that circles the water. The pond itself is small and pretty.
Right across from the house, just before you head into the woods, is the “Palace Car” — a tiny enclosed structure Julian Weir built and used as a four-season outdoor studio. He was able to fit an oil stove in there, and he’d have the thing pulled by oxen…the thing is SMALL, the size of a toddler’s playhouse. I don’t see how Weir could have been comfortable in there. He definitely could not have stood (unless he was very very short).
That’s it for this entry. It is a beautiful place and it’s nice to have a park site dedicated to art in general. Still can’t shake the rich-white-people feel to it, though.