The Saint-Gaudens National Historic Park in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire is open to walk around the grounds. The buildings and visitor center haven't been open at all during the pandemic.
You get a first glimpse of Saint-Gaudens' house as you come through the hedge.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens is a famous sculptor of the Beaux Arts period who summered at this house from 1885-1897 and then permanently from 1900-1907 when he died. He brought other artists to the area forming the Cornish Colony. More here.
The front of the house is dominated by this honey locust that's 135 years old. I had granddaughter try to put her arms around it for scale.
We came here on Sunday, May 2nd to stroll the grounds and see what was blooming. And also to admire the sculptures on display outside.
An inviting front door but not open for visits. This is a fee park so when we return we can use our Senior passes.
On the side of the house is this lovely verandah/porch. Daughter Emily said she met a friend here last spring for coffee, socially distancing of course.
From here you can see the studio.
Looking west from the verandah across the green field is the towering Mt. Ascutney in Vermont.
Some of the spring flowers we spied were in front of the studio.
Another view of the house from the studio shows off its grandeur.
Off to visit the sculptures.
The granddaughters had fun going along the paths through the hedges. Most of these were hemlock hedges which surprised us.
We could smell the fragrance of the magnolia before we saw it above the Adams Memorial. Like many of the sculptures here the originals are somewhere else.
This one is haunting.
The Shaw Memorial. We have seen the plaster cast for this. It is on loan to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The original is in Boston. It commemorates Colonel Robert Shaw and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment of African American troops who fought in the Civil War.
The original of this sculpture is in Chicago.
Farragut is under a protective cover since the base is the original that was eroding in New York City.
The day had started clear but quickly went to clouds and threat of rain which it finally did by 1 o'clock. When we arrived here it was blue sky again. All the daily showers we seem to have have turned the grass so very green.
One last parting photo of Mt. Ascutney.
And here is Saint-Gaudens mark.
4 comments:
...this is fabulous from every perspective!
Thanks for the tour of Saint-Gaudens National Park which is on my to-see list. I have visited the website and knew the buildings had not yet reopened. We may either wit for them to re-open at a future "soon" date or just visit the grounds as you did. It is nice to have a senior pass too!
what a great place to visit...if I'm ever in New England again, it is added to the list! Thanks for sharing it with me.
I can't believe I've lived here all my life and never gone there! Thank you! I think this may be just the nudge I needed. And tell me about senior passes, please.
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