Description:
Watercolor of two adjoining rooms with a spinning wheel next to a glass-fronted secretary, painting on an easel, cloth-covered stand and screen in the front room, which is inscribed in pencil on the reverse, "Madeline Yale Wynne or Annie Putnam? Manse at Deerfield." As a young girl, Madeline Yale Wynne (1847-1918) learned metalworking techniques from her father, Linus Yale, Jr., owner and inventor of the Yale Lock Company in Shelburne Falls, Mass. After her divorce, Wynne devoted herself to artistic production as a creative outlet and a means of support; she studied painting in 1877 at the recently founded School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and later at the Art Students League in NYC. By the fall of 1883, she became interested in etching copper and brass; examples of her work such as the tray in HD's collection (HD 97.63.1) are extremely rare. Although handwork in metal, enamel, and jewelry was Madeline Yale Wynne's specialty, she also excelled as a writer, painter, watercolorist, and her interest in crafts included furniture, leather, needlework, pyrography, and basketry. These diverse interests resulted in Wynne becoming an influential and organizing force in the founding of the Chicago Arts and Crafts Society in 1897, and the Deerfield Society of Blue-and-White Needlework in 1896, and the Deerfield Society of Arts and Crafts in 1899. In 1885, Madelaine Yale Wynne and her long-term companion, Annie C. Putnam (d.1924), a Boston art critic, purchased and restored the Barnard-Willard house, which they called "The Manse" (the house opposite the Brick Church in Deerfield), where in the adjoining barn Wynn forged jewelry and metalwork. From 1890-1915, Putnam owned the "Little Brown House," which was remodeled for use as an open studio and social gatherings.
Tags:
interiors Link to share this object record:
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