The William Sidney Mount House is a historic house at 1556 Stony Brook Road in
Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook is a political subdivisions of New York#Hamlet, hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the No ...
. Built in 1725 and enlarged in 1810, it was designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1965 as the lifelong home of artist
William Sidney Mount
William Sidney Mount (November 26, 1807 – November 19, 1868) was a 19th-century American genre painter. Born in Setauket in 1807, Mount spent much of his life in his hometown and the adjacent village of Stony Brook, where he painted portraits, ...
(1807–1868). The house is now owned by the
Long Island Museum
The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, known as the Long Island Museum (LIM), is a nine-acre museum located in Stony Brook, New York. The LIM serves the Long Island community by preserving and displaying its collection of ...
and is occasionally opened for tours.
Description and history
The William Sidney Mount House is located west of the campus of
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...
, at the northeast corner of North County Road (
New York State Route 25A
New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York (state), New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, running fo ...
) and Stony Brook Road. It is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and shingled exterior. Its main facade is a broad seven bays in width, with two entrances and windows placed somewhat irregularly. One brick chimney pierces the roof behind the main entrance, and a second stands against the far right facade. The main entrance is sheltered by a shed-roof porch and has a four-light transom window. Single-story ells extend to the rear (north) of the main structure.
The interior of the house has more than twenty rooms. The most notable of these are its original kitchen, which has been restored, and the attic level, which housed the studio of American genre painter
William Sidney Mount
William Sidney Mount (November 26, 1807 – November 19, 1868) was a 19th-century American genre painter. Born in Setauket in 1807, Mount spent much of his life in his hometown and the adjacent village of Stony Brook, where he painted portraits, ...
.
The oldest portion of the house is the left half of the main block, which was built in 1725 by Eleazer Hawkins, the grandfather of William Sidney Mount. Hawkins built it as an "ordinary" or
tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
, whose kitchen is now preserved. About 1810 the house was enlarged, by either attaching an existing structure or building a new addition to the right side. The house was sold out of the Mount family in 1918.
William Sidney Mount was born in this house, and occupied it for most of his productive life. His work was widely popular for its depictions of country life, and he was one of the first American artists to receive significant notice abroad.
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See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
This is a list of National Historic Landmarks and comparable other historic sites designated by the U.S. government in the U.S. state of New York. The United States National Historic Landmark (NHL) program operates under the auspices of the Nat ...
References
External links
"Artist's Homestead Restored With Care", by Marjorie Kaufman, New York Times, May 2, 1993(accessed 8/24/2007)
which also includes a photo (accessed 8/24/2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount, William Sidney, House
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
National Historic Landmarks in New York (state)
Brookhaven, New York
Houses in Suffolk County, New York
Houses completed in 1725
1725 establishments in the Province of New York
National Register of Historic Places in Suffolk County, New York