Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 92 Hawthorne Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts 159 West Street, Lenox, Massachusetts |
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| Area | 46 acres (19 ha) |
| Built | 1930 (studio) 1941 (house) |
| Architectural style | Bauhaus |
| Website | www.frelinghuysen.org |
| NRHP reference No. | 16000304 |
| Added to NRHP | May 31, 2016 |
The Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio is a special place in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It's now a historic house museum, which means you can visit it to see how people lived long ago. This house and studio were once the home of two famous American artists, George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen.
The studio was built first in 1930. It was designed in a cool, modern style called Bauhaus. George Morris and his friend George Sanderson created it. Later, in 1941, the house was added. It was designed by John Butler Swann. Both the house and studio became part of the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. This means they are important historical sites.
Inside the house, everything looks just as it did when George and Suzy lived there. You can see their furniture and decorations. They also had an amazing art collection. It includes their own paintings and frescoes, which are a type of wall painting. They also owned art by very famous artists like Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Georges Braque, Joan Miró, and Henri Matisse.
History of the Property
This land was once a large farm. In 1885, it became a fancy country estate called Brookhurst. William Bainbridge Shattuck from New York City owned it. He hired a famous architect named James Renwick Jr.. Renwick also designed the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C..
Sadly, the main house burned down in 1908. Only some smaller buildings designed by Renwick were left. Then, Newbold Morris bought the estate. He hired other architects to design a grand new house. One of the old buildings was turned into a guesthouse by Frelinghuysen and Morris.
After Helen Morris passed away in 1956, the estate was split into three parts. George Morris inherited the western part. This section included some of the original Brookhurst buildings.
In 1930, George Morris built his Modernist studio. He worked with his college friend, George Sanderson. They were inspired by the new ideas of architect Le Corbusier. This studio is one of the oldest Modernist buildings in Massachusetts.
The house was added in 1941, after Morris and Frelinghuysen got married. It was built next to the studio. This house is an early example of Mid-Century Modern architecture. George Morris died in 1975, and Suzy Frelinghuysen passed away in 1988. After her death, a special group was created. This group works to keep the property safe and open as a museum for everyone to enjoy.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
- Historic Artists' Homes and Studios
