Yaddo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Yaddo

Yaddo, circa 1905
Formation	1926
Type	Artist colony
Purpose	To nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment
Headquarters	Saratoga Springs, New York
Region served	United States

Yaddo is a special place for artists located on a 400-acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. It's like a quiet retreat where artists can focus on their work. Yaddo's main goal is to help artists create without any distractions. It gives them a peaceful and supportive place to work. In 2013, Yaddo was named a National Historic Landmark. This means it's a very important historical site in the United States.

Yaddo welcomes artists who work in many different fields. These include dance, filmmaking, writing, music, painting, and photography. Many famous artists have stayed at Yaddo. Together, these artists have won many major awards. These include 66 Pulitzer Prizes, 27 MacArthur Fellowships, and a Nobel Prize in Literature. Yaddo is also part of the Union Avenue Historic District.

The Story of Yaddo: How It Began

The land where Yaddo stands was bought in 1881. It was purchased by a wealthy businessman named Spencer Trask and his wife, Katrina Trask, who was a writer. The first large house on their property burned down in 1893. After that, the Trasks built the beautiful house you see today. The name "Yaddo" was made up by one of the Trask children. It was meant to sound like the word "shadow."

A Special Place for Artists

The Trasks had four children, but sadly, they all passed away too young. In 1900, Spencer Trask decided to create a special place for artists. This was a gift to his wife, Katrina, who loved the arts. He got help from a kind person who supported good causes, George Foster Peabody. The very first artists came to Yaddo in 1926.

Yaddo's success also inspired the Trasks to donate land for another retreat. This one was for working women and is called Wiawaka Holiday House. For many years, Yaddo was supported by money from a building in New York City. This building was called the Bowling Green Offices Building.

Challenges and Changes Over Time

In 1949, during a time called the McCarthy Era, there were concerns about some people's loyalty. A writer named Agnes Smedley had spent five years at Yaddo. She was questioned by the FBI. Poet Robert Lowell asked Yaddo's leaders to remove the director, Elizabeth Ames.

However, Elizabeth Ames was found innocent of all accusations. She learned that her assistant was helping the FBI with their investigation. Ames continued to be the director until 1969. She had guided the Yaddo community since it started in 1924. After her, Newman E. Waite and then Curtis Harnack led Yaddo.

A writer and Yaddo board member, Louis Kronenberger, wrote about the people at Yaddo. He said it had a mix of wonderful, kind people and some who were a bit unusual. He felt this showed that Yaddo had helped many of the best artists for over 40 years.

Yaddo Today: Recent Events

In 2005, some vandals caused damage to parts of Yaddo. They used paintball guns to spray blue paint on statues, a bench, and pathways. The repairs cost about $1,400. In 2018, a photographer named Peter Kayafas and a novelist named Janice Y.K. Lee became the new leaders of Yaddo's Board of Directors.

Yaddo has received generous donations from different groups and people. These include Spencer Trask & Company and its current leader, Kevin Kimberlin. The famous novelist Patricia Highsmith also left a large gift to Yaddo in her will.

Exploring Yaddo's Gardens and Buildings

A beautiful Pergola in Yaddo's gardens, photographed around 1900–1920

Yaddo's gardens are designed to look like the classic Italian gardens. The Trasks had seen these gardens during their travels in Europe. The "Four Seasons" statues were placed in the garden in 1909. There are many other statues and sculptures around the estate. One sundial has a special message: "Hours fly, Flowers die, New days, New ways, Pass by, Love stays."

While visitors cannot go inside the main mansion or the artists' homes, they can explore the beautiful gardens. It's a peaceful place to walk and enjoy nature.

Artists Who Have Stayed at Yaddo

More than 6,000 artists have been guests at Yaddo. Here are just a few of the many talented people who have worked there: