Museuming with Dianne: Folk Art & Folly - Two Historic Homes and Their Collections

The Florence Griswold Museum is hosting an exhibit of Folk Art from the Fenimore Art Museum. To compliment this show, the museum sponsored a trip to Cape Ann, Mass to visit two properties managed by Historic New England which is a comprehensive regional heritage organization committed to the preservation and cultural and architectural heritage of New England.

The first property we visited was Cogswell's Grant in Essex, Massachusetts

The Cogswell Grant house displays the American folk art collection of Bertram K. and Nina Fletcher Little which the couple accumulated over sixty years.

The Littles purchased the 165 acres Cogswell Grant farm in 1937 and carefully restored it as a home and a place to display their large collection of antiques and folk art. The pieces in the collection continue to be displayed as the family lived with them. Admittedly, early American furniture has never been one of my favorite art forms; however, I found myself fascinated by the many portraits that hung around the house. For some reason these works seemed more interesting, more dynamic than those hanging in museum galleries.

I was also fascinating by the many small artifacts displayed as they would have appeared when the house was lived in.

There are a number of paintings on the walls that were interesting because of their theme or technique. While it added to the mood of the building to see this art hanging as a owners decided to place it; it was also frustrating because it was often difficult to get close to the art because there was an understandable prohibition against walking of the antique rugs.

It has been difficult to share pictures which can provide the full flavor of the breath and depth of the Little's collection of folk art. Taking the Photographic tour of the Cogswell's Grant house might provide the reader with a sense of this unique historical and artistic site.

Beauport - Architectural curiosity overlooking Glouster Harbor

Henry Davis Sleeper

Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House, Glouster, Massachusetts is also a property managed by Historic New England.

This unusual house was the summer home of Henry Davis Sleeper, America's first professional interior designer. It served Mr. Sleeper as a place to meet with clients and as a comfortable place to entertain his wide circle of well-known guests. It also served as a venue to display Mr. Sleeper's collection of art, curiosities, colored glass, china, and historical artifacts. Each of the 40 rooms has a unique theme based on some aspect of his collection. The Charles McCann family purchased the house after Mr. Sleeper's death and kept it, for the most part, as it was in Sleeper's time.