Visit the home of American Abstract Artists George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen, set on a 46-acre estate in the heart of Lenox, Massachusetts. View their paintings, frescoes, and sculpture; experience their exquisite collection of American and European Cubist Art.
"Of all the historic houses in Berkshire County, the only one in which I feel the presence of non-ghostly inhabitants is the Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio in Lenox," writes Berkshire Eagle reporter Milton Bass. "The art that George L.K. Morris and his wife, Suzy Frelinghuysen, incorporated into the very essence of their home gives you the feeling that at any moment one of them may step in from an adjoining room.
Both George and Suzy were culminations of America's social and moneyed elite. George was descended from General Lewis Morris, one of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Suzy was the granddaughter of Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State for President Chester A. Arthur. George's family was fabulously wealthy, while Suzy's was comfortably wealthy. One of the most interesting things about them is that their luxurious life style did not deaden their seriousness about their artistic endeavors.
George knew early that he wanted to be an artist and studied at the Art Students League in New York after graduation from Yale. He then went on to Paris, where he studied with Fernand Leger and Amadee Ozenfant at the Academie Moderne. Cubism then became the base on which his personal art grew and flourished.
Suzy's background was more musical than any other discipline. It wasn't until her marriage to George in 1935 that she began painting under his tutelage. She started with Cubist collages in which she inserted carefully torn pages of opera programs and scores.
Old habits die hard, however, and in 1947 she returned to her first love, music, and won the title role in the New York City Opera's production of "Ariadne auf Naxos." The critics were wildly enthusiastic, especially after she performed the title role in "Tosca." However, she never lost her painterly zeal and returned to it full bore upon her musical retirement in 1951.
George never lost sight of his grail of "purity," and his works extended his abstractions despite the negative assessments by the leading art critics in the 1930s and 1940s.
George had built his studio in Lenox near his parents' great house, Brookhurst, on returning from his studies in Paris. It was the first modern architecture seen in New England. In 1941, he and Suzy decided to spend more time in the Berkshires and they commissioned Stockbridge architect John Butler Swann to design a house that would impeccably attach to the studio. Swann, who had spent time in Arizona and New Mexico, came up with a two-story stucco and glass block house that catches your attention no matter how many modern structures you have encountered. George created a large mural across the wall connecting the house and garage.
Meanwhile, Suzy and George attended the Art Students League in New York, where they studied the medieval art of fresco. George installed his frescoes in the living room, and Suzy did hers for the dining room. Encountering these frescoes today is like entering one of the Egyptian tombs in the Valley of the Kings where the bright colors dazzle your eyes and you know the drawings will never be too old to amaze.
Going through the Frelinghuysen Morris house gives you the same feeling, as you encounter exciting visual experiences one after another room after room.
The exhibition this year is profusely titled "Faces of Modern Art -- Vintage photographs of the artists from the Collection paired with their art work."
George was not only an artist but also a collector and he was equally creative at both. The house has works by Leger, Picasso, Matisse, Miro and Braque, and with each painting is a photograph taken by George or Suzy during visits to the artists in France. Missing from the collection is a Picasso painting titled "The Poet." Rich as he was, Morris ran into cost overruns while building his house, and his trust fund was at a limit. Consequently, he sold the Picasso to heiress Peggy Guggenheim for $4,500, to go in her new museum in Venice.
Along with the exhibitions at the museum, there is covey of lectures planned for July weekends dealing with modern paintings, furniture and architecture.
Well-trained guides, sometimes including Director Kinney Frelinghuysen, Suzy's nephew, conduct the tours of the house and studio. There is also a beautifully produced, hour-long video that gives perspective on the famous couple and their lifestyle. It is shown in the adjacent office and archive building.
George Morris was killed in an automobile accident in Lenox in 1975, and Suzy died in 1988. Her will stated that their house and art collection were to be used for an educational purpose. That has come true in all aspects. But there is also the added joy of spending time with two incredible people and the art they created." Read more...
A new exhibit, opening June 25th, places a photograph of each artist next to their artwork. Original photographs of Leger, Picasso, Matisse, Miro and Braque were selected from photo albums in the collection, and were largely taken by George L.K. Morris, Suzy Frelinghuysen and A.E. Gallatin, Morris’ mentor. Of particular significance, the only known photograph of Miro in front of his dining room mural, which was later destroyed by the Nazis, is on display. Photographs of the many artists Frelinghuysen and Morris knew extend the sensation of presence of the artists, their friends, and mentors.
In addition to the new exhibit, lectures on aspects of Modern Paintings, furniture and architecture will be offered on weekends in July.
All are FREE with admission:
July 11 @ 2 PM, slide lecture, “Livable Modernisms: the Great Depression, Modernism and Design Innovation” by Kristina Wilson, author and assistant professor of art history at Clark University.
July 18 @ 2PM, lecture, “Modernism in the Marketplace”, by Elizabeth Sterling, Christie’s auction house specialist in American painting, drawing and sculpture up to 1970. She will explore the evolving market for American Modernism.
July 26 @11 AM, slide lecture, “New England Modern-1930-1965”, by Geoffrey Gross, photographer and author. He will give us a glimpse of his forthcoming book published by Rizzoli which features photographs modern architecture throughout New England’s public and private residences.
“Park Avenue Cubists”, the 58-minute documentary on the lives of Frelinghuysen and Morris will be played on a continuous loop in the Classroom all season.
Berkshire County residents are invited for half-priced tours for Thursday’s 10 am tour throughout the season.
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Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio was awarded $2990 from the annual grant which must be matched dollar for dollar. Mitchell Fund grant awards range from $2,500 to $10,000 and this year there were 16 recipients from across the country.
The grant funds will be used to hire a collections conservator and museum climate specialist. They will visit the house and studio and design a year-long environmental monitoring program as a first step in planning interior environmental improvements to preserve the historic furnishings and frescoes. The team will identify the type and number of environmental devices that will be required and the locations for their deployment.
As Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said in making the awards, “These grants go toward protecting the places that tell our story and they often trigger other preservation projects, further bolstering efforts to protect America’s heritage.”
Built from 1930-1942, Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio is one of the first Modern homes built in New England. It offers examples of the” Modern Style”, early twentieth century, as well as the lifestyle of the artists who built it. The interiors display extensive collections of paintings, frescoes, sculptures and furniture. Numerous technical challenges related to the building and collection have been created by the interaction of its design: flat roofs, steel windows and skylights, concrete construction and exterior wall murals.
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