The Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

and former art studio in Lenox and Stockbridge,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. The house and studio were home to

American Abstract Artists American Abstract Artists (AAA) was formed in 1936 in New York City, to promote and foster public understanding of abstract art. American Abstract Artists exhibitions, publications, and lectures helped to establish the organization as a major fo ...

George L.K. Morris and

Suzy Frelinghuysen Suzy Frelinghuysen (May 7, 1911 – March 19, 1988), also known as Suzy Morris, was an American abstract painter and opera singer. Early personal life Born to a prominent family in Newark, New Jersey, Suzy was a daughter of Frederick Frel ...

. The studio was built in

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

style in 1930 by Morris and his friend George Sanderson. The house was added in 1941, designed by John Butler Swann. The house and studio were entered onto the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2016. The house contains furnishings and decorations unchanged since the couple's lifetime. The art collection includes

cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

frescoes and paintings by Morris and Frelinghuysen, as well as works by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic ge ...

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , , ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan painter, sculptor and ceramicist born in Barcelona. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

and

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prim ...

Property history

The property was part of a larger agricultural property until 1885, when it was developed as a country estate called Brookhurst by William Bainbridge Shattuck of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Shattuck hired architect

James Renwick Jr. James Renwick Jr. (born November 11, 1818, Bloomingdale, in Upper Manhattan, New York City – June 23, 1895, New York City) was an American architect in the 19th century. ''The Encyclopedia of American Architecture'' calls him "one of the most ...

, whose well-known commissions include the

Smithsonian Castle The Smithsonian Institution Building, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. The ...

in Washington, D.C. The main house burned down in 1908, leaving only a number of Renwick-designed outbuildings. The estate was then purchased by Newbold Morris (the son of

Augustus Newbold Morris Augustus Newbold Morris or A. N. Morris (June 3, 1838 – September 1, 1906) was a prominent American during the Gilded Age in New York City. Early life Morris was born on June 3, 1838 to William Henry Morris (1810–1896) and Hannah Cornel ...

), who hired

Francis L. V. Hoppin Colonel Francis Laurens Vinton Hoppin (October 7, 1866 – October 9, 1941) was a prominent American architect and painter from Providence, Rhode Island. Early life Hopping was born on October 7, 1866 in Providence, Rhode Island. He was a son of ...

and Terence Koen (who had also done work on

Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...

's The Mount) to design a grand Colonial Revival mansion house. One of the outbuildings from this period was converted into a guesthouse by Frelinghuysen and Morris. Upon the death of Helen Morris in 1956, the estate was divided into three portions. The westernmost element, which includes some of the Brookhurst outbuildings, was inherited by George Morris. He had hired George Sanderson, a college classmate, to design the Modernist studio which was completed in 1930, taking inspiration from the groundbreaking work of

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

. The studio is one of the oldest Modernist buildings in the state. The house was added in 1941, after Morris and Frelinghuysen married, as an adjunct to the studio space, and is considered an early example of Mid-Century Modern architecture. Morris died in 1975, and Frelinghuysen in 1988. After her death, a non-profit foundation was established to preserve the property as a museum.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio Frelinghuysen family residences Buildings and structures in Lenox, Massachusetts Museums in Stockbridge, Massachusetts Museums in Lenox, Massachusetts

Art museums and galleries in Massachusetts Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the N ...

Historic house museums in Massachusetts Modern art museums in the United States Artists' studios in the United States Frelinghuysen family Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Modernist architecture in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1941 Biographical museums in Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1930 establishments in Massachusetts

Property history

See also

References

External links